NCGSF patron has the right qualifications July 24, 2000 Mr Bruce Scott Mrs Julia Anderson, wife of the Deputy Prime Minister Mr John Anderson, has been appointed the honorary inaugural patron of the National Consultative Group of Service Families (NCGSF). The Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence and the Minister for Veteran's Affairs, Mr Bruce Scott, welcomed Mrs Anderson to the post. He said the NCGSF played and important role in representing families of men and women who serve in the ADF. Mrs Anderson will bring her own experiences to the role. "Mrs Anderson is the daughter of a retired naval admiral and has experienced first hand the challenges of growing up in a defence family," Mr Scott said. "She is also a dedicated mother of four who understands the particular needs of families with school age children." Mr Scott said mobility, family life and children's education have always been areas of great concern to defence families. He said Mrs Anderson will be a tremendous asset to the work of the NCGSF by helping raise its profile. NCGSF convenor Mrs Judy Swan said the organisation had represented defence families since 1987 and had worked closely with Mr Scott, the CDF and Head Defence Personnel Executive in helping families deal with the daily challenges they faced. "Mrs Anderson's patronage will enhance our effectiveness in our capacity as official defence family representatives," Mrs Swan said. "It is a great honour to have her on board. "ADF families across Australia will also benefit enormously from Mrs Anderson's patronage of the NCGSF as her appointment through Minister Scott acknowledges the important and often understated sacrifices made by all Defence families." Mrs Swan said that during a visit to Brisbane Mrs Anderson met defence members and their families at an NCGSF afternoon tea. "The function was tremendously successful with senior representatives of defence, DHA, Removals Australia and the NCGSF attending. "Mrs Anderson's warm personality and engaging manner made the function memorable to all who attended," Mrs Swan said. The NCGSF has been involved with highly publicised and important issues facing Defence members and their families. These include the recent exemptions from RBT reporting requirements, the new easier procedures when vacating defence housing and the new housing allocation processes.