Focus Magazine - May/July 2020

RS L & SERV I CE S CLUB S ASSOC I ATION MAY – JULY 2020 | EDITION #2

A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY INTO THE PLIGHT OF OUR MODERN VETERANS PATRICK

LINDSAY

'MODERN VETERANS TO TELL THEIR OWN STORIES IN A FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY '

RSLSERVICESCLUBS.COM.AU

CHAIRM A N’S MESSAGE

DEAN THOMAS

RSL & SERVICES CLUBS ASSOCIATION Suite 1103, 109 Pitt St Sydney NSW 2000 Phone: (02) 9233 2624 Email: info@rslservicesclubs.com.au RSLSERVICESCLUBS.COM.AU FOLLOW US

CEO Garrie Gibson Chairman Dean Thomas CHP RSL Directors Andrew Bell Michael Brennan Patsy Edwards Del Gaudry John Millar John Rafferty

MEDIA

In this new world order that we find ourselves in, no one can predict with any certainty what is likely to happen in the next few months. We do not know how long we all will experience significant restrictions on our personal behaviour & social engagement and what impact that will have on Clubs once we are able to open our doors and serve our patrons.

The NSW Club industry has suffered an enormous blow through loss of revenue, loss of staff and inability to serve our communities. What we have all built over decades in quality of facilities & services and delivery of great hospitality has hit a brick wall. Even when we do reopen, the levels of trade we experienced prior to the arrival of COVID-19 may not be seen again for a very long time.

Similarly, the work and activities of all industry associations will not return to the preCOVID experiences. We have always encouraged networking, close personal engagement and sharing of ideas, experiences and innovative strategies in warm, friendly events and occasions. As hospitality practitioners, Club Directors, industry partners and Club staff have enjoyed the camaraderie of our regular forums, conferences, golf days and other social events. It is unknown how long, if ever, it may be before we can engage with each other in such close social environments again. The digital world of Zoom, Skype and social media will become our main avenues of communication and engagement.

Whatever lies ahead, member clubs and corporate partners can be assured that the RSL & Services Clubs Association is still actively working on your behalf. Whether its in pursuit of fair rent forgiveness for Clubs which are tenants of Sub-Branch properties, or pursuing reasonable practices for the reopening of clubs, or identifying the assistance and support that each venue needs from our partners in this difficult time, our Association team is fully engaged in your best interests.

No one can say with certainty what life will be like on the other side of this crisis; what we can say, however, is the values and spirit that initiated our important part of this great Industry will be with us forever and will help guide us in the path forward.

If there are issues where you do require further assistance, please contact the Association team for their support.

Regards

Editor Brad Smith Designer Diana Cascione Daily Press Printing Daily Press

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DEAN THOMAS Chairman

T I M E TO BR E A T H . . .

T I M E TO PL A N

GREG RUSSELL - RUSSELL CORPORATE ADVISORY

By now we should all have a view of how long we can hold our breath before we suffocate.

This may be an unfortunate analogy when we consider the debilitating effects of COVID-19 on our bodies, but the analogy matches the economic outcome flowing from the sensible decisions that have been taken to protect community health.

Business is suffocating under the weight of the social distancing restrictions and the big question is how long as an industry we can hold our breath.

By now management teams and directors should be focused on how they bring their venues back into operation and what the venue will look like in an era of new social values and new hygiene expectations. There are significant challenges ahead. All the planning that has been undertaken pre COVID-19 is probably now largely irrelevant.

We must take the time to reset the operating structure of the club.

We must identify our financial capacity into the future and think about the amount our clubs can contribute and support the community. All the financial and economic commentary suggests that we are in for a difficult 2 to 3 years, possibly longer.

Conservatism will come into play to ensure that risk can be mitigated.

Our customers have been affected by the COVID-19 experience themselves, whether they have been directly affected by the disease or not, the impacts on Australians will change how they live their lives, how they socialise, how they spend their money, and how they entertain themselves. Some of the forced changes will impact their behaviours after this crisis has passed. Notably there has been a massive increase in online gaming in the first month following the implementation of social distancing and the closure of venues.

The long-term impact on people’s propensity to spend can only be estimated.

So, it is now time to significantly reset strategic plans, revise business plans. We need to reconsider what appropriate key performance targets may look like, and to develop business plans with associated financial modelling and forecasts, which are focused on achieving financial viability.

The effect of the closures and holding venues closed for an extended period will be to denude clubs of their financial reserves and their liquidity. This will mean that equity contributions that may have been available for investment in diversified opportunities have probably been largely eliminated except for a select few clubs. The capacity to sustain trading losses will also have been substantially reduced.

Given that our financial reserves will have largely been burnt by holding venues closed, a significant period of risk arises during the initial months after opening if clubs are not able to return to at least cash flow neutral trading.

Financial modelling and scenario analysis are vital business tools that need to be developed and implemented so that stress tested scenarios can be considered, and risk levels evaluated based on costed rosters and varying levels of revenue. Reconsidering access to premises and floor space in the context of social distancing and efficiency will take serious thought and planning. There will be a cost in doing this.

On the most optimistic estimates we are 4 to 8 weeks away from some form of reopening. We hopefully will be given advance notice of an opening date and therefore planning needs to start now.

Planning does not need to be done face-to-face; we have the technology to facilitate planning sessions via electronic means.

In addition to the challenges of reopening, we will also face the challenge of preparing our financial reports, in circumstances where there has more than likely been a breach of financial covenants, a significant debt burden and poor liquidity, and potentially an impairment of assets.

There is much to think about, there is a lot of work to be done.

Careful planning and having good information will be critical factors in clawing our way out of this crisis.

Greg Russell | Partner | Russell Corporate Advisory + 61 2 9957 6700 | greg.russell@russellcorporate.com.au

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ACTION-HOPETRANSFORMATION J A C Q U I V A N D E V E L D E - WE L L B E I N G AU S T R A L I A The Veteran Wellbeing Summit is on again this year. #VWS2020 is taking place over three separate weeks. #VWS2020 is a completely online event. Building on the success of #VWS2019, we are continuing to gather stories and people who have success in veteran wellbeing, mental health and suicide prevention. Last year we reached over 10K people with 74% identifying as veterans.

We are able to put this summit on thanks to the generosity of our partners including the Veterans Benevolent Fund. We launched in March and were delighted to have John Millar, VBF Chair, participate in the launch. #VWS2020 is a completely online event. At this time, we are probably the only national event that can still gather in large numbers and maintain the social distancing rules.

Wellbeing Australia presented the data analysis from last year's summit in an interactive workshop. Participants from all over the country joined in to speak about how the data was reflected in their own experiences and in the work, some were doing as welfare officers at various veteran organisations and service providers. Some great wisdom and new working partnerships were started as a result of that session. It is really encouraging to see organisations willing to share their expertise and resources to further the cause of veteran wellbeing and mental health. Some quick takeaways from that discussion: • Veterans want to have agency in their wellbeing • Veterans are looking for practical actions to assist their wellbeing • Veterans value and look for veterans working in the wellbeing space. The veteran peer has a significant role to play in supporting the wellbeing of other veterans.

The founder of CancerAid, Dr. Raghav Murali-Ganesh was our first webinar guest, speaking on“CancerAid's Coaching Program for Veterans”. CancerAid offers a 6-week support and education program for people with a cancer diagnosis.

The program is designed by oncologists and delivered by trained health coaches, and helps people take back control over their diagnosis. The research shows the health and wellbeing outcome for people working through cancer treatment with the support of a CancerAid coach were better. CancerAid is generously giving a limited number of coaching programs to veterans who would like to make use of the program during their cancer treatment. The details of that offer are on the Veteran Wellbeing Summit website or veterans can contact CancerAid directly by email: contact@canceraid.com.

Our second webinar presentation was delivered by Mr. Stuart McCarthy, addressing “Wellbeing and living with the long-term toxic effects of quinoline antimalarials”. Mr. McCarthy is a cofounder of the Quinoline Veterans and Families Association and is himself living with the toxic effects of quinoline antimalarials. Mr McCarthy provided detailed information on the research and challenges with obtaining clear clinical diagnoses for veterans who have been adversely impacted. The Q & A that followed was lively and informative. In the feedback participants asked for a panel discussion at a later date to focus on techniques to manage health and wellbeing with this group of veterans.

Ms Megan Davidson from Buddy Up Australia presented on their researched based program focusing on social connections. Buddy Up Australia is a relatively new organisation, but it makes a real difference to people's lives where it is operating. Many of the presentations from last year's summit linked wellbeing to improved social connections, so it is encouraging to see more of this work taking place. Ms Davidson has invited veterans to join local chapters or contact her at Buddy Up Australia to talk about how you can be involved. Ms Davidson's passion for service continues in the work she is doing now with Buddy Up. We received a lot of feedback from participants last year and have used that to shape the work we are undertaking in VWS2020. The focus is very much on skills. Skills for veterans to manage and nature their own wellbeing and skills for their partner, families and support network to do the same. To that end we have some exciting opportunities planned. In Week 2 along with webinar presentations, the team from MindRight and StoryRight will be running their workshops online and as part of the Summit.

In July, we will be bringing John Henden to Australia. With the travel restrictions in place, John will be delivering his training from the UK via webconference. You will be able to participate from home over the internet.

Register your interest at www.veteranwellbeingsummit.com.au On behalf of the VWS2020 Organising Committee Jacqui Van de Velde | Director | Wellbeing Australia

SAVE THE DATES: Solution Focused approach to suicide prevention – 13th and 14th July 2020 Solution Focused approach to combat stress and severe trauma recovery – 16th and 17th July 2020.

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REGISTER YOUR INTEREST AT veteranwellbeingsummit.com.au

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THE HOME FRONT...

THE NEVER-ENDING WAR WITHIN OUR VETERANS PATRICK LINDSAY AM

All too often the world of our modern veteran is one of shadows, doubt, pain and isolation. It’s a world of darkness and depression, of PTSD and unresolved mental issues, a world where homelessness looms, where suicide lurks.

Author and broadcaster, Patrick Lindsay, wants to change the national conversation on the plight of our modern veterans.

He’s seeking funding support to complete the production budget and to fund a national outreach program for THE HOME FRONT, a landmark feature documentary that will take viewers on a chilling journey of discovery into the world of our modern returned veterans.

Our veterans are tragically overrepresented in our homeless and suicide rates. Each week we lose at least one veteran to suicide and vets under 30 have a suicide rate twice that of the national average. And one in every 20 of Australia’s homeless is a veteran.

“The film will highlight the dramatic differences between military and civilian life,” Lindsay says. “It’ll examine the behaviours the military instils in its members and the transition difficulties veterans experience when they make the transformation from warriors to integrate back into their communities. Above all, the film will aim to educate Australians on the issues our veterans face and will show our veterans that they are not alone in dealing with them.”

Lindsay believes the film comes at a critical time in the nation’s treatment of veterans, on the heels of three major reports on the subject that provide a wealth of factual, accurate and timely data that establishes the scale of the problems and suggests solutions to deal with them. The situation became even more timely after the Federal Government’s recent announcement of a Commissioner for defence and veterans’ suicides.

“The extent of the problems challenging our veterans are reflected in many other

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countries,” Lindsay says. “For example, the most recent study on veterans’ suicides in the US, the 2019 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, shows that America has lost more of its vets to suicide in the last decade than were killed in action in the entire Vietnam War. The US lost 58,000 in Vietnam and more than 60,000 vets have taken their lives over the past ten years. Every single day in the US, sixteen veterans commit suicide.”

THE HOME FRONT will allow Australia’s vets to tell their own stories, supplemented by the stories of their families and loved ones, with the issues examined by experts and illustrated with real examples.

One veteran who will feature in the film is John Cantwell, who rose from a private soldier to become a Major-General and commanded the Australian forces in the Middle East in 2010. His experiences show that even the finest soldiers can be profoundly affected by the cumulative impact of traumatic experiences.

“It’s very similar to a physical wound,” Cantwell says. “You know, one wound, yeah, OK I can survive and heal maybe. But if you get another wound, and another wound and another wound it gets harder and harder to heal and the same thing applies to emotional trauma.”

Eventually, after a 40-year career, including service in three different wars Desert Storm in 1991, Iraq in 2006 and Afghanistan in 2010 - Cantwell was confronted with a shattering reality: “I was just a bundle of misery really and it was a very, very awful time. And I was toying with all sorts of stupid ideas. You know, I can’t do this anymore and how can this go on.”

Although he was on the short list to be appointed Chief of the Australian Army, Cantwell knew his time had come and he told his superiors he needed to step aside and seek treatment.

“I may not have been selected and that’s OK but it was clear to me that I shouldn’t even be in the running and so I let the Chief of the Defence Force know that I was unwell and needed to try to start to heal and he was wonderful as were all of

my colleagues to say let’s get you better, let’s see what we can do. So that was the reason I chose to out myself if you like as a sufferer of what I then knew was called PTSD.” Former Lance-Corporal, Lee Sarich, a ten-year veteran infantryman, who served two tours in Afghanistan, was also forced to call time on his service career because of the slow-creep of PTSD, following a series of IED attacks.

“From an outsider looking in, what happens is I just become a maniac. I feel really anxious and a loud noise, lots of people, I’m feeling anxious. The way it comes across is that I’m just being really aggressive because I feel like my life’s threatened and I kind of respond accordingly. We’re trained in the infantry that when our life is threatened, when we’re under attack, the best defence is to attack back harder.”

“I thought that I’d just get out and get a civilian job and everything would be OK. And I’d just kind of deal with it and roll on. And that happened for about a year, maybe eighteen months, but then it didn’t happen. I wasn’t able to keep a civilian job and I wasn’t able to maintain a relationship and so probably eighteen months after leaving the army and then discharging, everything just crumbled around me.”

Sarich spiralled into addiction, bankruptcy and homelessness. He found himself on the brink of suicide before mates intervened and the resultant counselling and treatment provided by the “Homes For Heroes” Program at Narrabeen saw him stabilise and rebuild his life.

The film will also examine the impact of PTSD, mental illness and suicide on the veterans’ families and loved ones. Leesa Kwok, an Ambassador for Legacy, who also worked at “Homes For Heroes”, met her partner Jamie Tanner after his service and before his PTSD became evident.

“I’m not the only first responder in the house,” Leesa says. “There are two others, and they’re teenagers. And the really frightening thing is they were kids,

A journey of discovery into the plight of our modern veterans they were six and eight, when they first became first responders. Never should a child have to understand that there’s a possibility that they will outlive their parent but they do understand the fact that it’s more likely that they’ll lose their dad to suicide than a natural cause or to age.”

Leesa’s partner Jamie, another ten-year veteran, served in Timor Leste, Iraq and Afghanistan, but, years after his discharge, PTSD saw him on the brink of suicide on multiple occasions: “I remember we pulled up at the front of the clinic and I got out of the car and looked at the sign at the front door and I thought, F**k! Has it really come to this? Is this what it’s come to now? That was, yeah, that was really hard. That was really, really tough. I look at that now and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. I should have done it years ago.”

Jamie has no doubt about the importance of the support of Leesa and their kids: “The reality is that If I didn’t have Leesa and the kids, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be dead and that’s the reality of it.”

In addition to broadcast, the film will be the central tool of a co-ordinated national education outreach program. The program will target veterans, their friends and families, and extend, through services clubs, to schools, ex- service organisations, politicians, bureaucrats and public servants, corporate decision-makers, health providers and the community.

“The film will examine the full spectrum of issues challenging our modern veterans,” Lindsay says, “From the ageold perceived adversarial approach of DVA, where the onus is placed on vets to prove they are worthy of support, through to the failure of the RSL to connect with them.

“But the film will certainly not be all doom and gloom. We’ll highlight the wonderful success of the programs that are bringing hope and clarity to vets and we’ll celebrate the many success stories that shine through them.”

Lindsay hopes the film will act as a beacon to foster collaboration between veterans, ex-service organisations, government, clubs, the corporate world and the community.

“I’ve been a lifelong supporter of the RSL and its ideals,” Lindsay says. “My fervent hope is that the film will serve as a catalyst to bring the RSL and our modern veterans together. We’ll be working with the RSL & Services Clubs Association, services clubs and sub-branches to bring the two together to discuss issues, the find common ground and to work out ways to re-connect the two.

The last word goes to General John Cantwell: “The fact that hundreds of young veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan have ended their lives is not an easy statistic to hear. We’ve got to do something about that. Every week there’s a chance that we’ll lose another. Not good enough.”

PATRICK L I N D S A YA M Patrick Lindsay has spent more than 40 years as a journalist, broadcaster and filmmaker. For the past 20 years he’s also been one of Australia’s leading non-fiction authors, having written 20 best-selling books, including The Spirit of Kokoda, The Spirit of the Digger, Fromelles, Cosgrove - Portrait of a Leader and The Coast Watchers.

He has written, directed and produced a trilogy of documentaries on the WWII Kokoda Campaign and he created the top-rating TV series, In Their Footsteps. He was one of the founding directors of the Kokoda Track Foundation and served as its chairman from 2006 to 2017.

In June 2015, he was named a Member of the Order of Australia for ‘significant service to the media as a television presenter and journalist, to international relations and to literature as an author’ .

EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT If you are interested in supporting the documentary in any way please email Patrick Lindsay. patrick@patricklindsay.com.au

Lee Sarich

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F E D E R A L CO M M I T M E N T TO F U N D VE T E R A N S CE N T R E S

GARRIE GIBSON CEO - RSL & SERVICES CLUBS ASSOCIATION In April 2019, as part of the Federal election campaign, the Liberal/National Coalition Government announced plans to fund the establishment of six Veterans Wellbeing Centres, one in each mainland State, providing $30 million to this new initiative. The funding was contained in the Federal Budget that had been brought down a few weeks earlier.

Veterans’organisations across Australia welcomed the decision, as it reflected the views of many that a more comprehensive case management model was required to assist ex-service personnel experiencing a complex array of health and other issues with their transition out of the ADF. This announcement also reflected the position of the RSL & Services Clubs Association. We had been promoting a plan for a network of Veterans Centres, modelled on the success of the Northern Beaches Veterans Centre at our member Club, Dee Why RSL, since 2017.

Association staff had worked with a large number of RSL Sub-Branches and RSL and Services Clubs across NSW to develop plans for such centres. The missing ingredient at that time was substantial funding to establish and operate the centres, as the costs were beyond the resources of individual clubs or Subbranches. We needed the Government, through the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), to provide the start-up funding to build the Centres and cover most operational costs for the first twothree years.

This has now happened, albeit with only six Centres across Australia, and is an incredibly important development for the delivery of comprehensive, veteranfocused management and support. It will enable the ESO community working with these Centres to demonstrate the validity and success of such a care model to better manage the needs of our veterans and to tackle the long-term gaps in service provision which has impacted so severely on many vulnerable people. Hopefully, additional funding will be provided by Government in the years ahead for more

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RIGHT: Lee Cordner LEFT: Shoalhaven Ex-Servos, Nowra such Centres to be established wherever large numbers of current and former servicemen and women and their families reside around NSW and Australia.

The Government in its pre-election announcements identified where each Centre would be established, in Darwin, Townsville, Perth, Adelaide, Wodonga and Nowra in the Shoalhaven region of NSW. DVA is responsible to coordinate the efforts in each State to establish these six centres.

NSW RSL has been given the job by DVA of managing the process of identifying a suitable location and drafting the business case for the Centre in Nowra. The RSL Central Southern District Council President, Lee Cordner, was appointed by RSL NSW to drive the project. This appointment recognizes that the Nowrabased Centre will deliver wellbeing services to veterans across the greater Shoalhaven, Illawarra and Southern Highlands regions.

Since late last year, Lee has been meeting with many ex-services groups and other key stakeholders to identify potential locations for this new Centre and to develop the business case. Lee has been very inclusive in his approach and has welcomed into the consultation process every organization that has something to contribute to the future success of a Nowra Veterans Wellbeing Centre, including our Association and our member club in Nowra, the Shoalhaven Ex-Services Group.

This work by Lee and his Steering Committee has now reached the point where organisations and potential Centre partners are being asked to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the Steering Committee, outlining how they wish to be involved and what they can bring to the project to ensure its success. The RSL & Services Clubs Association is one of those asked to submit.

The Veterans Wellbeing Centre's success will rely on the engagement and involvement of Federal and State Governments, the local Council, key exservices organisations, RSL Sub-Branches and RSL and Services Clubs across the region. The Nowra Centre is a community partnership project operating in a regional and rural context. A major emphasis will be placed on the provision of outreach services to veterans across the Shoalhaven, Illawarra and the Southern Highlands. It is not the intention of this Centre to duplicate the work of existing organisations or agencies, nor to try and deliver directly the services and assistance that every veteran needs to build a successful civilian life after transitioning out of the ADF.

Rather, the Centre will have a facilitation and referral mode of operation, working with each veteran and their family to understand their unique circumstances and conditions and identify specific service provision to address those requirements.

The Centre will coordinate the veteran's access to the services already funded by government or the community and ensure that any gaps can be quickly identified and addressed. The Centre will be staffed on a full-time basis with professionally trained and experienced staff, supported by a broad team of people from the various stakeholder groups, including volunteers where appropriate.

Although the Federal Government has committed $5 million to the Centre's establishment and initial operations, there is an expectation that local funds will sustain the Centre in the long term. This will require a range of fundraising efforts, including commitments from local Clubs in the region serviced by the Centre. Clubs, particularly RSL and ex-services Clubs, will be asked to provide annual grants to the Centre to help meet the ongoing operational costs.

Such support is ‘core purpose’ for RSL and ex-services Clubs. Our Clubs were formed to provide safe venues for veterans to gather and share their experiences, and to assist those who needed greater levels of support. Our continuing license to operate in each community is predicated on this ongoing purpose.

It is our Association's role to work with Clubs to attract significant ongoing grants to ensure the Centre's viability and delivery of services. Clubs will not be the only targets for donations and grants. Local businesses, Sub-branches across the region, and the general public will all be asked to make regular contributions.

Connection and engagement with the local community is an essential ingredient of the Centre's purpose.

Our Association supports the establishment of the Centre at the Shoalhaven Ex-Servos venue in Nowra.

We believe that it is best placed to provide easy access for veterans and their families in a supportive environment. Use of a large space in this existing building also enables the Centre to be established quickly and in a cost-effective manner.

It will be the decision of NSW RSL where they recommend to DVA that the Veterans Centre is established, based on assessment of the submissions they will receive in coming weeks. Wherever it ultimately operates, RSL and ex-services clubs across the Shoalhaven and Illawarra will have an obligation to support its operations and provide grants to sustain it in the years ahead.

For more information please contact Garrie Gibson garrieg@rslservicesclubsassociation

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D I S A B I L I T YE M P L O Y M E N T IN UNCERTAIN T IMES RICK KANE CEO - DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AUSTRALIA

In late March, Australia witnessed the effective shut down of the core levers of Australian life. Millions of people were either laid off from their jobs, stood down or left wondering about job security. TV news screened images of kilometre long lines of people outside Centrelink offices across the country. Our collective hearts trembled. It brought home just how swiftly everything can change.

People with disability who are on the DSP and have not yet received a supplement to support themselves through this crisis are more likely to lose their job and there is already a 30 point gap just trying to gain a foothold in the labour force. These statistics cannot be ignored and more importantly the people behind the data cannot be ignored.

People with disability represent more than 20% of every town and community that patronises their local RSL and Service Club.

As the crisis deepened, the Australian government and our state and territory governments acted in unison, trying to reduce the chaos and calamity, by quickly attending to health imperatives and providing economic supports. Their work, on both counts has saved countless lives and livelihoods. At a macro level and for many millions of Australians, these efforts are a welcome relief that has offset what might have been an even worse predicament.

As noted earlier, this is a deeply troubling time for employers, especially in hospitality and entertainment. This essay does not want to imply that things can be easily fixed or that people with disability should be considered just for the sake of it. What I am asking, is that they are not forgotten. To assist you in considering employment opportunities for people with disability, please keep in mind that DES providers are open for business through the crisis and as part of the pathway to re-establish your business. Many of you may already work with local DES providers.

However, for many people and businesses, will the government support be enough? The SMH last week reported in an article entitled ‘Clubs’ plea to Premier: We need to reopen,’ that more than 40% of clubs across the state may close permanently due to financial pressures. The same piece states that 35,000 employees have been stood down since 22 March. Regional clubs will struggle disproportionately.

I want to address one cohort of people caught up in this complex and challenging dilemma. I want to highlight the need to consider people with disability, as club patrons, employees and hopeful jobseekers. I urge you to keep their connectedness to clubs at the front of your mind, in the strategy to rationalise the pathway out of the crisis.

People on the Disability Support Pension were not recipients of the increased fortnightly payment, afforded to those whose receive JobSeeker payments (formerly Newstart). Disability advocacy peak body, Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) is calling for the Australian Government to “urgently include Disability Support Pension (DSP) recipients in the $550 per fortnight Coronavirus Supplement.”

Disability advocacy services across Australia are in lockstep with this position, as is our organisation, Disability Employment Australia. Only 53% of people with disability of working age are in the labour force, compared with 83% of those without disability (AIHW, 2019).

The Grattan Institute’s recent research paper, ‘Shutdown: estimating the COVID-19 employment shock’ (April, 2020) examines who has been hit hardest. It makes for a sombre read.

Figure 3.2, pg.20 highlights the estimated percentage of workers who will be out of work by industry. The industries most impacted include hospitality, arts and retail. These are industries in which many people with disability, assisted by Disability Employment Services (DES) providers find work.

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Another resource to utilise is JobAccess (https:// www.jobaccess.gov.au/home). They can assist you to understand supports that are available to employers, when employing people with disability. These include Workplace Modifications, Wage Subsidies and links to DES providers. You can access fact sheets and employer stories as well.

The COVID-19 crisis has brought people together in a unique way.

In this moment, we recognise the commonalities we share with each other, respecting our fellow citizens, as we try to make sense of it all.

People are discussing what we can learn from this ordeal. At the top of that list, in both our daily lives and our work lives, is the need for deeper engagement to core principles of respect. ‘Cultivating compassionate leadership in a crisis’ (McKinsey, May, 2020) notes that “leadership cultivate awareness, vulnerability, empathy, and compassion … to address the concerns of stakeholders, leaders can exhibit individual care, build resilience, and position their organizations to positively reimagine a post crisis future.”

RSL and Service Clubs have been hit a heavy blow due to the COVID-19 crisis. Your resilience and fortitude will see you recover.

In that journey, please don’t forget that people with disability are your patrons, employees, hopeful jobseekers; they are part of your community.

C.ex Coffs | Coffs Harbour

C.ex Coffs | Coffs Harbour

C.ex Coffs | Coffs Harbour

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11111111""" The RSL & Services Clubs Association is stronger and a more effective voice for RSL and Ex-services Clubs when we join together to address the issues and challenges facing our sector.

As an Association the highest priority is listening to you, working with you and supporting all of you in the work you do for local communities . Through our joint efforts with RSL NSW, ClubsNSW, the Australian War Memorial and other key stakeholders, the Association will deliver a stronger profile and a positive engagement with government, regulators and the Australian community.

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