It’s a national shame that so many people who have risked their lives for our country are homeless.

The people who walk along our main streets with medals on Anzac Day shouldn’t have to sleep there that night.

The statistics are alarming:

• One in ten people sleeping rough in NSW is a veteran.
• Around 5,800 ex-servicemen and women have been homeless in a 12-month period, far more than previously estimated.
• RSL Queenslandhas seen a 26 per cent increase in demand for their veteran homelessness program year on year and RSL NSW has also reported a 25 per cent increase in the number of veterans seeking housing support
• Carry On Victoria, which provides crisis accommodation for veterans sleeping rough, estimates 7,500 veterans are homeless in Victoria.

Studies have found chronically homeless veterans need tailored services to help get them into permanent and supported accommodation.

Without it, veterans will continue to fall through the cracks.

We have a special obligation to support our veterans.

The Morrison Government needs to do more, and they can do that by including veteran homelessness in the Terms of Reference for the Royal Commission into veteran suicide.