Speeches

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This speech was written as an imagined address for a careers fair, by Claire Perry MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport. April 2016.

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Good morning,

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I can see you are all pleased about a morning out of the classroom. I admit I am glad to be out of the office myself. I hope you are also excited about the wonderful range of careers and courses you can find out about today.

 

Some of you, I am sure, know what you want to do when you leave school and will be making your way directly to the right booth. Many more of you, I suspect, are not sure yet and that’s ok. I recall feeling very daunted myself—yes, believe it or not, I can remember that far back!

 

Today is just about exploring your options and starting to plan your future. You are not going to be trapped by any decision you make now. So let yourself be excited by the array of opportunities you have—there are even more opportunities today than ever before.

 

As a minister for transport however, I would like to speak to you briefly about jobs in the rail sector in particular. I can feel some of you switching off straight away. But you shouldn’t. The rail sector offers many diverse career options in engineering, construction, customer service and management. We all recognise that attracting bright young recruits is crucial to improving transport services. So rail companies are particularly committed to staff training, in-house promotion and offering great job perks.

 

The government is currently making the most ambitious investment in rail since the Victorian era and you stand to benefit. Next year work begins on the High Speed Two project which will link London with the cities of the north. The first phase alone is forecast to create at least 14 600 new jobs and apprenticeships.

 

Just last week the Strategic Transport Apprenticeship Taskforce was set up. This will help achieve the government’s goal of creating 30 000 new apprenticeships in transport by 2020. But even now apprenticeship targets are being surpassed. The Crossrail project alone now has 500 apprentices. Its target was 400. Every year Network Rail takes on 150 new recruits in its 3-year Advanced Apprenticeship scheme where you can earn while you learn. It includes 20 weeks living alongside fellow recruits at a state-of-the-art training centre with fantastic leisure facilities.

 

These programs will put you on track to a bright future. Tusp Rail Recruitment reports that 52 percent of Network Rail apprenticeship graduates reported that they were the first of their friends to buy a house. 71 percent felt that they were more likely than their friends to be promoted. As the demand for skilled rail workers has soared with the wide range of projects underway, so has their wage. According the NoPalaver Group, average weekly pay in rail construction dramatically increased from 492 pounds in 2012 to 857 pounds in 2014. This is much higher than other jobs in the construction industry.

 

Some of you young women may be thinking ‘why am I sitting here listening to all this?’ But the government, and I personally, are very committed to encouraging diversity. Crossrail is currently the largest construction project in Europe. I can proudly say that nearly a third of its workforce are women. This compares to the average for the construction industry of just 11 percent, including office-based positions. So I urge you young ladies not to discount a career in rail. The tide is changing and we are working towards more female-friendly construction workplaces.

 

If you would like any further information or have any questions, please come and find our stall at the back right of the hall. I will be here until 12. We also have industry experts on hand all day for career advice. Or you can speak to young adults currently going through an apprenticeship scheme. We hope to inspire you to consider a future in rail.

 

Good luck to you all. I wish you every success in your future careers, wherever they may lead you.

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See related press release.

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This speech was written for an imagined book launch. July 2014.

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Good evening and welcome to all of you who have braved the terrible weather to be part of this wonderful occasion.

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I am honoured to be able to introduce such an important story by our very own local veteran, Sergeant Robert Kent.

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It has been a long journey for Robert. The book we are here to celebrate the launch of tonight, has been in the making for many years. The story was first birthed into the mind of a young soldier from the moment he stepped back upon Australian soil after a long, drawn out war. 39 years later and a not so young sergeant is finally sharing his story with the world.

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Robert sets out to bring to the forefront of public consciousness the silent suffering of Vietnam Veterans. Having overcome serious depressive illness himself, there is no-one more qualified to speak out to shatter this silence.

 

As you embark on the incredible journey that is ‘The Unspoken Story of the Vietnam Vet’ you will begin to see with clarity why mental illness was, and still is, so prevalent amongst these men.

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The Vietnam soldier’s experience was traumatic from the start. Men of only 20 years of age were required to be part of the ‘Birthday Ballot’, where they would have to report for service if their birth date was chosen. This meant that a significant proportion of the soldiers in Vietnam were young men forced to go. Regardless of their moral view of the conflict, they were under legal obligation with significant penalties. Effectively it was war or jail.

 

Upon the battlefield the military strategy of their opposition, the Viet Cong, was characterised by guerrilla warfare. This meant that Australian soldiers had to be constantly on edge. They never knew where or when the enemy would appear. Unsurprisingly, this induced record levels of post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly known as ‘shell shock.’ The Journal of Traumatic Stress reports that in 1990, 25 percent of Vietnam Veterans met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. The unfortunate reality, is that this condition does not just disappear in times of peace. It cannot be ignored.

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Yet, just as importantly, Vietnam was not just a battle that was fought on a battlefield in a far off land… It was a battle fought in the hearts and minds of the Australian public. And later in an enduring turmoil in the souls of those it spewed back out into an unwelcoming society.

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The Australian War Memorial explains that the Vietnam War was “the cause of the greatest social and political dissent in Australia since the conscription referendums of the First World War.” Vietnam is often known as ‘the living room war’ as it was the first war to have its graphic reality televised and as such provoked strong public response. Veteran Wayne Scott articulated in his 2001 novel that; never before “in Australia’s military history have returned soldiers been attacked psychologically by their own people.” Those returning from Vietnam were continuously faced with hostility, even to the extent of being labelled as ‘baby killers.'

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The psychological turmoil of the Vietnam Veteran is thus characterised not just by the horrors of a wartime experience, but by those factors identified in the Journal of Traumatic Stress of shame, negative interpersonal interaction, social withdrawal and resentment; brought forth from a post-war persecution.

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It is not just shell shock and social issues that the Vietnam Veteran has to come to terms with, but the long term physical health implications of war. This of course includes any injuries sustained during conflict. Yet in contemporary warfare, health implications can range far beyond the immediately obvious. For instance, a dangerous substance called Agent Orange was used in Vietnam. In a study undertaken by the American Cancer Society, twice as many men who were exposed to the substance were identified with prostate cancer, than those that had been unexposed. This is unsurprising when we can see the terrible birth defects Agent Orange inflicted on the Vietnamese themselves.

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Robert Kent has captured all this in ‘The Unspoken Story of the Vietnam Vet.’ Of course with far more depth and flair than I have tonight! His writing manages to be both inclusive of a diversity of experience as well as intensely personal. It is a novel that reaches from the dark depths of veteran suffering to today’s generation, bridging an immense divide.

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Despite the heavy weight of his topic, Robert reflects an endurance of spirit that inspires and uplifts. It is a story of eternal relevance.

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I must admit when first meeting Robert, I had expected to find a sombre man. Sergeant Kent had spent his first 5 years after Vietnam in a mental health institution, struggling with extreme post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Yet in complete contrast to my expectations, I was met with a lively soul that demonstrated a strong determination to reach out past his dark history to hold on to the joy of life.  It was a truly inspiring moment for me. And now this same experience is offered to all of you who will pick up his novel.

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‘The Unspoken Story of the Vietnam Vet’ is not just a triumph of content, it is also a mastery of form and it has been duly recognised as such. Critics, who were handed an advance copy of the novel, have applauded Robert’s refreshing mix of story-telling and analysis, as well as his incredible ability to create a strong visual scene that immerses the reader.

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I am pleased to be able to announce that ‘The Unspoken Story of the Vietnam Vet’ has already been nominated for the prestigious Man Booker Prize of 2014! [pause for applause] I of course wish him every success, which he truly deserves with this novel.

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I won’t hold you any longer, as I’m sure all of you would like to delve into the delicious refreshments provided by our local Rotary Club Volunteers. Thank you ladies, it all looks delightful!

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Without further ado, please join me in a huge round of applause for our very own Sergeant Robert Kent!