“Too long to get there”: Bruce Scott on the making of the Nasho medal
Nashos waited 30 years for medallic recognition.
Former veterans’ minister Bruce Scott oversaw the rollout of the anniversary medal.
🎙️ His recollections in Ep12 of The Men Australia Forgot podcast
Meet the Nashos: Erino Mosconi
Erino Mosconi missed his National Service call up because his mum hid his letter. But soon enough the duty officers came knocking, and Erino’s world fell apart. To this very day, he’s never forgiven them for what they did. Read more about his story here: https://menaustraliaforgot.com.au/erino-mosconi/
Gold card backflip
The veteran gold card was the top priority in Nasho Fair Go’s reparation plans for the nashos of 65-72.
But that’s all changed in the last few months, with NFG dropping its push for the highest level of veteran benefits.
Hear why on Ep7 - The road ahead.
- Streaming now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify -
Discharge shame
Five words printed on the discharge certificates of hundreds of nashos have brought years of shame and confusion.
When Gough Whitlam abolished national service in December 1972, his government used the expedient of “exceptional hardship” to fast-track their exit from the army.
But it was extremely controversial and unbefitting for these men who sacrificed so much, as Nasho Fair Go President Geoff Parkes explains in Ep7 - The road ahead.
- Streaming now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify -
The Road Ahead
Everything you need to know about the year ahead for Nasho Fair Go, including the reason why the gold card is off the table.
Ep7 - The Road Ahead with NFG President Geoff Parkes
Why the 65-72 nashos?
So what makes the 65-72 nashos so different from any other group of conscripts? And why do they need more support than others who came before them?
MAKING FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES
Greens senators were the first politicians to publicly support Nasho Fair Go.
In 2022, NFG President Geoff Parkes presented a petition to the party’s Veterans’ Affairs Spokesperson David Shoebridge and Senator Jordon Steele-John, calling on the government to rectify the injustices confronting nashos.
One critical problem is their lack of service classification - how the nature of their service was not deemed dangerous enough to warrant high levels of veteran entitlements.
This misses the fact that some nashos fought in places that were never classified as war zones (Ep2 - Short End of the Stick).
It also ignores the astronomical toll that conscription had on their long term finances and health (Ep1 - Don’t Call Me Nachos).
Senator Shoebridge told us there is a simple solution.
It would involve passing a bill to upgrade their service type from ‘peacetime’ to ‘active’, which would qualify them for better entitlements 🔈📻
The Senator’s full interview is on Ep3 - Making friends in high places
- Streaming now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts -
Peacetime v Warlike Service
Peacetime v Warlike Service
Service classification types are one of the most rigid and restrictive aspects of the medical claims process for nashos.
In principle, they sound like a logical way of allocating entitlements.
In practice, they are fundamentally flawed, excluding veterans from help they need and deserve.
As Veteran Entitlements Officer Nick Warren says, “If you are 10 miles out or two days late, you simply don’t get that classification of service.”
Hear more from Nick in Ep2 - Short end of the stick, unpacking the story of a nasho who was almost killed in combat but has been rendered ineligible for the gold card.
- Streaming on Spotify and Apple Podcasts -
Nasho’s gold card snub
Nasho Graham Parlour shouldn’t have had any issue getting the gold veterans’ card.
He almost died during guerrilla warfare in Malaysia (formerly Malaya) in the late 1960s, which still haunts him today as he explains here.
But the government never recognised his service as being ‘war-like’, so he’s been rejected from full medical benefits given to other veterans with a similar level of experience.
To hear his full story, see our link in bio or search for The Men Australia Forgot on Spotify of Apple Podcasts.
