TPI Victoria
Jeff BOURMAN (Eastern Victoria) (09:48): TPI Victoria has been serving the veteran community for nearly 100 years, having been established in 1926. ‘TPI’ means totally and permanently incapacitated as a result of military service. This is not just limited to physical injuries sustained during service but extends to other injuries as well. The experience that someone has while serving can result in injuries that are not apparent to the outside observer and also are not apparent to those that have those injuries. I am of course talking about PTSD or shell shock or any of the other names given to the psychological trauma caused by those experiences. TPI Victoria provides advocacy, welfare and connection to those veterans who need or want it.
These are more than just words to those that need that help from TPI Victoria; they are a conduit to that help, help that is usually desperately needed. I have noticed a tendency to associate these types of organisations with World War I and World War II veterans, but we have a new cohort of returned service men and women that will need help in time, being Gulf War, Afghanistan and peacekeeping veterans. We as a state Parliament do not send our people to war, but we as a state Parliament have a responsibility to help our returned veterans because they are part of our community.