Passion for action to support veterans

An initiative announced late last year has provided veterans with a burst of good news and optimism.

Launched in December, the Veterans, Emergency Services and Police Industry Institute Australia also provides unique opportunities for companies from any sector to associate themselves with defence values.

VESPIIA fills a gap in the veterans’ space I had been advocating for, as frequent readers of this column may recall. I should note that I was not involved in this initiative but can vouch for its relevance and potential impact as a result of that prior advocacy.

In a statement, VESPIIA says it is “Australia’s first dedicated professional body for the staff, volunteers, and organisations working to support veterans, emergency services, police and their families”.

Memberships will be open to organisations and professional bodies in Western Australia from February, and across the country by 2025.

VESPIIA is headquartered in WA, and the WA defence industry community is likely very familiar with some of the people driving this initiative. They include Novel Management director Rachel Falzon, defence industry and veterans’ consultant Shannon Hennessy as chief executive, and Working Spirit director Greg Whitehouse as chair.

VESPIIA has already convened roundtable discussions on issues impacting this sector, alongside the Defence and Security Institute at the University of Western Australia.

It is indicative of the quality of the people involved in VESPIIA, and their collective passion for meaningful action, that the roundtable dialogue contributed to the formation of the first issue of Future Frontlines: Strategy Papers for Australian Heroes’ Wellbeing.

“This paper provides insight into the discussion from the roundtable and provides recommendations for state and federal governments to consider, to enable the wellbeing and development of capability for emergency services agencies,” a VESPIIA statement read.

“This paper has been submitted to the Senate Select Committee on Disaster Resilience, and VESPIIA will seek to work with state and federal governments on the implementation and development of those recommendations.”

In May 2023, my column in Business News advocating for a veterans’ advisory forum identified a gap in the centralised coordination of the many dedicated and excellent Ex-Service Organisations (ESOs) within our community. In the absence of a vehicle through which these entities can frequently communicate, there is a risk of collective inefficiencies and an inability to effectively communicate to the broader market what services are available and from where.

Since writing that column, and completely unrelated to it, I have been very pleased to see progress in this regard at the Returned & Services League, and now with VESPIIA, in addition to the central role the 13th Brigade has been playing to address this very concern.

VESPIIA has the potential to be the hub around which ESOs gather, around which issues can be identified and discussed. It has already illustrated its intention to convert discussion into action.

Our ESOs and veteran support community will be far stronger and more aligned through this initiative, and that bodes very positively for the veterans so deserving of our support.

I’m also excited for the many people working in the ESO sector who give so much, with so much passion. To optimise their effort and voice as a collective unit will only make them stronger and more effective.

The VESPIIA business model relies on sponsors to fund its much-needed work. Their requirements are reasonable and clearly in support of a good cause. For any readers, even those not in the defence domain, I encourage you to consider what some contribution to VESPIIA can do for internal and external messaging and culture.

Supporting VESPIIA is not a political statement, nor is it an endorsement of any military action or inaction. It is merely support of the people and their families.

And it is not solely defence focused, as the inclusion of emergency services and police indicates.

The defence values of service, courage, respect, integrity and excellence can easily feature in company discussions on culture, on what that means within our own environments, and is easily linked to pre-existing value statements within companies. Linking your company culture to a higher purpose, to a cause bigger than self, more important than profit, has a value well beyond any contributions you may choose to make.

• Kristian Constantinides is the general manager of Airflite, and chairperson of AIDN-WA; the opinions expressed are purely his own