Veterans still waiting on museum promise

THE National Vietnam Veterans Museum is still operating out of an ageing aircraft hangar in Newhaven four years after $10 million was announced towards a new purpose-built home on Phillip Island.

The Andrews Labor Government announced the funding on Vietnam Veterans Day in 2022, while the Liberals and Nationals also committed funding to the museum at that year’s election.

One Nation’s candidate for Bass Nikole Schellekens has met with the museum’s chief executive and board members to discuss the current facility, the proposed redevelopment, the funding history and what is needed to secure the museum’s long-term future.

The museum holds more than 40,000 items documenting the experiences of Australians who served in Vietnam and the impact of the war on veterans, their families and Australian society, but space constraints mean only a fraction of the collection can be displayed.

Ms Schellekens, who says she is an accredited mental health social worker and has worked therapeutically with military veterans, said the museum’s significance extended far beyond its collection.

“We cannot rewrite the way Vietnam veterans were treated when they came home. But we can decide how we treat them now,” she said.

Ms Schellekens said the museum was also an important educational institution with the potential to become a major year-round visitor destination for Phillip Island.

She said One Nation would work directly with the museum to establish the status of existing State and Commonwealth funding commitments, progress its staged development plans and identify the funding pathway needed to get the project moving.

“Our Vietnam veterans have waited long enough. It is time to stop making promises about preserving their legacy and start delivering one,” Ms Schellekens said.