Tanks for nothing

By Tania Martin
UPWEY veterans feel cheated after a promised gift of a free, decommissioned Leopard battle tank was put on hold.
After months of silence, Upwey-Belgrave RSL was last week told it would have to wait for more than three years before it knows if a tank could be gifted to them.
The RSL was also told that it could cost the club more than $20,000 to have the tank transported to Upwey.
The tank was one of 33 gifted to RSL and veterans’ groups by former Defence Minister Brendan Nelson in the lead-up to the federalelection last year.
But up until last week, the RSL had heard nothing but silence regarding the tank.
Club memorabilia officer Rob Ferguson said the veterans were devastated by the news.
“They were really looking forward to getting the tank,” he said.
Mr Ferguson said the least the Federal Government could do was give the veterans who served to protect Australia’s freedoms, a straight answer.
“We have heard nothing but silence,” he said.
“Our vets should be the first group the government looks after, not the last.”
A Defence Force spokesman said although a pledge was made to gift the tanks to a range of veterans’ organisations, it wasn’t sanctioned.
He said the gifting of the tanks couldn’t occur without written approval from the German Government and the original vehicle manufacturer.
“Depending on where the tanks need to be delivered, veterans’ organisations could be responsible for costs of up to $20,000 for transportation,” the spokesman said.
“It will take up to three years to fully deactivate the Leopard tank fleet and render them in a safe condition for donation.”
At Upwey, the RSL is trying to build a museum with memorabilia from all wartime conflicts and peacekeeping missions.
Mr Ferguson said the tank would have been a great drawcard for not only the RSL but the local hills communities.
The RSL has veterans from Korea, Vietnam, various peacekeeping operations, Iraq, Afghanistan, Timor and Somalia.
“We want to have a museum that represents all wartime efforts and peacekeeping missions,” Mr Ferguson said.
“Some people don’t like to see the guns but at the end of the day this is what the veterans served with and what keeps people’s freedom.”
Mr Ferguson said the museum was all about developing education for the community and local schools.
“It is about education and remembering all wartime efforts,” he said.
La Trobe MP Jason Wood has slammed the government for maintaining a wall of silence where the tanks are concerned.
“The problem is we don’t hear anything from the government – they don’t say yes or no either way,” he said.
The Defence Force is now working to sort out these issues in order to gift the tanks to the suitable groups, which according to the spokesman remains the preferred option of disposing of the tanks.
Proposals for disposal are still under consideration.