Diary blamed for Albanese Minister’s veteran storm, Labor insiders split over Matt Keogh’s future

Junior Albanese Government frontbencher Patrick Gorman has leapt to the defence of his senior West Australian Labor colleague Matt Keogh as the embattled Veterans’ Affairs Minister faces calls to resign following a series of policy missteps.

Over the past week Mr Keogh has endured sustained criticism in Parliament over the Albanese Government’s “cruel cuts” to veterans’ allied health services and over his initial refusal to meet with stakeholders campaigning against the Budget move.

Inside Labor ranks there is increasing discussion over Mr Keogh’s future in the Veterans’ Affairs portfolio, with opinion divided over whether he should remain in the notoriously difficult job.

“He’s worked hard to reverse lots of the problems we inherited in Vets Affairs from the Coalition, but I think the past week has shown it might be time for him to do something else,” says one Labor MP who has closely watched the recent controversy.

Another Labor figure claims Mr Keogh has confided to colleagues that he would prefer to be in another frontbench role but the Prime Minister, who he is not close to, was determined to keep him where he was.

In this year’s Budget the Albanese Government unveiled a $5000 allied health cap which is expected to claw back more than $700 million in savings over four years, in a move strongly opposed by the RSL and other veterans’ groups.

After Mr Keogh reluctantly agreed to meet with the Coalition of Veterans’ Voices on Monday evening, members of the group then accused him of behaving arrogantly and showing indifference to them.

On Friday, the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Patrick Gorman led the defence of his fellow West Australian frontbench colleague, denying claims he needed to change portfolios to improve the Albanese Government’s relationship with veterans.

Mr Gorman said that Mr Keogh had just made a “mistake with his diary” which he swiftly corrected and insisted the fellow West Aussie was “determined” to do a good job in the role.

“Matt Keogh does not need to do (switch portfolios),” Mr Gorman told reporters.

“Matt Keogh has done an outstanding job as the Minister for Veterans Affairs in terms of delivering on the recommendations of the royal commission into veteran suicide.

“If you look at the additional staff that he’s been able to secure into the Department of Veterans Affairs, where we have some 500 additional staff to make sure that we can deliver the packages and supports in a timely fashion, there was an embarrassing backlog when it came to the delays in providing support to veterans.

“And I just acknowledge, as I said earlier, you know, the minister showing a sort of level of maturity that you’d expect from anyone who has the privilege to serve.

“Acknowledged that he made a mistake with his diary.

“He instantly, that day, corrected it.

“I’ve been with Matt talking to veterans across my electorate, I see the determination that he has to make sure that we deliver the absolute best of services for those who’ve served Australia.

“And I see absolute respect from him for those who serve in our armed forces and those who have served.

“And I’m really pleased that we’ve got someone with Matt’s determination and Matt’s compassion in that role.”

Under questioning from the Coalition on Tuesday, Mr Keogh apologised for declining to meet with the group last week when an initial request was made and insisted Labor wanted to ensure there would be no gap in allied healthcare for veterans.

Former veterans’ affairs minister and deputy National leader Darren Chester this week claimed Mr Keogh’s position was untenable following several recent policy backflips including on medal recognition.

The Albanese Government has signalled there could be some adjustment to the cap., with the implementation still 10 months away, and a discussion paper to be released “very shortly”.