Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the outset, I acknowledge the remarks of the previous speaker and thank him for his service to our country, for the sincerity of those words and for his courage not just to get through the war within, as he described it—I was touched by that description; it perhaps gives those of us who haven't served an insight into that internal battle—but to speak about these issues and bring light to this problem. I respect that and thank him for it. I also acknowledge the many other members of this House and the other place that have served in the military over many years in different capacities.

I rise to speak on the National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention Bill 2020 and the consequential amendments. I'll address my comments to both bills but also to the second reading amendment. I say at the start that I do believe every member of this House shares a determination to address the ongoing tragedy of veteran suicide. The desire to make change in this area is not a partisan matter and nor should it ever be. But we do differ, as is proper and reasonable on many matters, about what the right approach is, what the right and necessary action is. As colleagues have noted, Labor is gravely concerned that the establishment of a national commission, while better than nothing, absolutely does not go far enough to prevent veteran suicide.

There is still time for the Morrison government to establish a royal commission and ensure that there is effective accountability and transparent justice for veterans and their suffering families. I'm concerned that the Prime Minister is so desperate, as in so many areas, to avoid agreeing with Labor and calling a royal commission, so he's made up this convoluted workaround. It's not in any way to disrespect the sincerity of the previous speaker, and I'm sure many others opposite, but I encourage the Prime Minister to swallow his pride and call a royal commission. It would not be a surprise if one of the outcomes of a properly constituted, properly run royal commission was a recommendation for a standing commissioner with those powers as has been described, but I believe the Morrison government needs to actually listen to the voices of veterans and what they're saying.

I've been besieged by emails, and I'm sure every other member of this place has received emails, from veterans, from RSLs, calling for a royal commission. There is not us playing politics as we've been accused of. This is what so many veterans are saying and are calling for. We do not need to lose more lives waiting. It's a national travesty that men and women who served our nation are taking their own lives due to unresolved trauma and the inability to access adequate care upon their return.

I personally have never served, but it's been an enormous privilege to spend time with the men and women of the Australian Defence Force through the Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program. I have previously stated in this chamber that I believe, it's a personal belief, there's a moral imperative on members of parliament, particularly those who haven't served, to put and to keep a human face to those who have served and continue to serve, because state sponsored violence and war is the ultimate, the greatest failure of politics.

When I was elected in 2016 I visited Afghanistan and have participated in many other ADFPP programs. I have committed to myself—a little promise to myself—that I'll spend at least a week every year that I serve in this place with the ADF to learn and to keep that human face front and centre. COVID, of course, has disrupted that for all of us, but otherwise I'm on track and will remain so.

During these times I witnessed firsthand how in conducting their service ADF personnel honour life by sacrificing their own safety and security to defend ours. It's, therefore, our duty and our moral responsibility to honour their lives by ensuring there are appropriate and effective supports in place for them on their return to civilian life. If we send young men and women to theatres of war and they return with damaged bodies and minds, it is our failure if they feel disrespected, unheard, forgotten, and it is our failure if we do not do everything within our power, everything possible, to help them heal.

If anything demonstrates the ongoing, continuing systemic failure of not supporting veterans it is the suicide rates for returned service personnel. The statistics are well-known but should be repeated by all of us. Recent reports suggest that 41 ADF personnel and veterans have taken their own lives this year, that's 41 human beings who have needlessly died and now 41 families and loved ones who are also victims. The trickle-down effect of these deaths will be long felt throughout the community and our country. Ex-servicemen are 21 per cent more likely to die by suicide, and 465 people took their own lives between 2001 and 2018, and indeed most of the experts tell us that those statistics are underreported. Every suicide is a tragedy that reverberates for decades and down the generations. Tragically, of course, veteran suicide is not new. I visited the War Memorial only this weekend. When in Canberra I try to pop in there quietly from time to time—spend an hour, keep that human face, learn something new. I read a few stories of the early VC recipients. The first story that I read I thought, 'What incredible bravery and it ended in suicide' and that was back in the early 1900s.

I asked someone a couple of years ago when we were talking about this and also the trauma, the PTSD, that many Australian Federal Police experience for different reasons. It was a private conversation. I said, 'I don't understand—why does this seem to be a growing problem these days?' They observed—wisely, I think—that soldiers have always suffered mental trauma in the horror of conflict, but the black truth they offered me was that, these days, we're much better at keeping their bodies alive than in years past, decades past, and we're much better at recognising and naming PTSD. So now we must become much better at helping people heal their mental trauma, or the war within, as the member for Herbert so aptly described it. Things on that front need to change, and they need to change fast. We don't need another marketing exercise from the Morrison government; we need change. These people we're talking about are not numbers and statistics; they're real people who sacrificed and served our nation. We disrespect their inherent humanity and betray our values and their service when we don't take every step within our power to address the ongoing injustice that faces veterans and their families.

I'll take this opportunity to acknowledge the suffering of the families and express my sincerest condolences to those who've lost loved ones, including in my electorate. Sometimes the families are invisible in these debates, and so are those with long-term physical and psychological injuries. So, even though we cannot see those psychological scars, we want you to know we see you. We want veterans and families to know that, despite the bureaucracy they fight, often on a daily basis, people in this chamber do truly care about their circumstances and suffering, and hear them.

Inquiry after inquiry has found that the system is broken and that people are falling through the cracks. The suicide rate is evidence of this. As Julie-Ann Finney, the mother of David Finney, who tragically took his own life in February 2019, stated, 'The failure to address PTSD is creating a whole new war zone for our veterans.' That is why Labor has repeatedly called for a royal commission to address the continuing systemic failures that a royal commission—with those powers, with those resources, with that evidence and with that compressed time frame—does focus on. It is time for change; it is time for a royal commission. Any steps to support veterans and their families and, in turn, address the rates of veteran suicide is something that we all should support. As I said earlier, it would not be a surprise if the proposal for a commissioner arose out of the royal commission, but we should have the royal commission, with those powers, with that mandate, with those resources, to really shine light on this and come up with the best possible solutions.

We need to ensure that, if this legislation passes, as I believe it will, a national commissioner will have the same powers as a royal commission, and it doesn't appear to us that this is the case. A royal commission would ensure accountability—that there are public hearings, that there's the ability to compel witnesses and to produce evidence. Importantly, a royal commission will have the power to refer charges of criminal or official misconduct. This is about the dispensation of justice, not the appearance of justice. It's also important that there is institutional independence, that any commissioner will have the independence required to bring down impartial findings that can then be implemented to create long-term and systemic change. Inquiry after inquiry has been fraught with issues of independence, and that is a risk with the commissioner model. This is central not just to accountability but also to ensure that veterans and their families feel heard and have some greater semblance of justice, and to ensure they have closure.

The government must start listening to families—not just hearing them but listening to them. So many families are calling for the royal commission. That's why Labor referred the legislation to a Senate inquiry to allow for proper scrutiny. However, I must stress: the longer the Morrison government stalls, I fear the more veterans will take their own lives. Only the government has the power to establish a royal commission now. I conclude by saying that this bill is certainly better than nothing, but it's not good enough. We need a royal commission.

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