A senate farce is not the answer. PAUL Keating derisively dismissed the Senate as “unrepresentative swill” but he may well have added “unaccountably irresponsible”. Rogue senator Jacqui Lambie has successfully moved to establish an independent inquiry and investigation into the performance of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs – especially in relation to crisis (sic) in […]

ROSS EASTGATE, Townsville Bulletin September 8, 2016 OCCASIONALLY words used inadvisably come back to bite you. The Australian Malaria Institute, an Australian Army unit says on its website, “Mefloquine is a safe and effective medication suitable for use as malaria prophylaxis.” Abraham Lincoln said: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and […]

Much has been written about wars, conflicts and battles. But how many historians, authors or commentators, drill down into the engine room of any conflict that is the lot of the soldier, airman or sailor? That lot is not only the engine room, but is at the heart and soul of a unit – one, that […]

As prophesied last week defence and veterans matters as discrete political issues have failed to inspire the Australian electorate. While the final election tally is still far from clear, veteran-based special interest group candidates have polled abysmally. Perhaps the most dismal performance was by the Australian Liberty Alliance which strongly identified with the wider defence community. […]

ROSS EASTGATE, Townsville Bulletin – June 23, 2016 AFGHANISTAN veteran Winston Churchill shamelessly exploited his military service to pursue his political ambitions. It was at Westminster not Canberra but after serving in India, Sudan, South Africa and a stint as an accredited observer in Cuba, Winston campaigned using lantern slides of his service to convince Oldham […]

Opinion Article from Ross Eastgate -Townsville Bulletin 1 March 2016 John Donald Eastgate’s death certificate records he died on May 9, 2004, although he had been dead for several days before his body was discovered. He was my only, younger sibling, a fellow soldier and his death just three months after his 50th birthday remains a […]