Jo Briskey (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Nestled in the heart of Moonee Ponds stands the Menin barracks, which is home to the 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment Delta Company. It remains an active Army Reserve base, but it is also a living monument to my community's proud military history. It has a lineage that stretches back to the original AIF and the battlefields of Gallipoli. Last year, to welcome their surrounding neighbours and the broader Moonee Valley community, Delta Company held an open day. Major Braden Holmes walked me through the stations, the machinery and the kit. It was all very impressive. But it wasn't the equipment that stayed with me; it was the people. I met young, enthusiastic cadets. I met men and women who live, work and are raising their families in Maribyrnong and who have made the selfless decision to serve their nation. Major Holmes and I spoke about the unique culture of the Delta Company and how those barracks have served our community for generations.

Our community's connection to Australia's military history runs deep. We see it in the legacy of Essendon airport, which served as a vital defence gateway during World War II. We see it in the names of our streets. In fact, 10 streets in the City of Moonee Valley are named in honour of Australian military heroes. We see it in our three local RSL sub-branches, which carry the legacy forward every single day. But our duty to those who serve is not just about preserving their brave and historic contributions; it is about how we protect the lives of the people who put their hand up to protect us—people like those who I met at Menin Barracks and at remembrance services across my electorate. No veteran and no veteran's family should ever have to fight their hardest battle alone. The Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner Bill 2025 is how we honour that promise.

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide was a long, painful but necessary reckoning. It held a mirror up to our nation's soul and revealed a depth of service that was often followed by depth of neglect. The final report contained 122 points of action, but the commissioners were explicit—recommendation 122 was the most important. It was the cornerstone upon which every other reform would depend. They called for a new permanent statutory entity to oversee system reform across the entire Defence ecosystem, not another internal committee, not a body that answers to the very departments it is meant to scrutinise. They called for independent oversight with one sole purpose—to ensure that the systemic failures that led to suicide were identified, challenged and permanently fixed.

The commission recognised that too many had known for too long that suicide in the veteran community was not an isolated clinical issue; it was a systemic one—a product of culture, policy and institutional friction. To address it, we need an entity that exists outside the chain of command, with the longevity to outlast political cycles and the authority to demand change, an entity that ensures no-one is left to navigate a broken system alone. In February 2025, the Albanese Labor government acted on this urgency by legislating the Defence and Veterans' Service Commission. It has been operational since September, already undertaking the demanding and critical work of oversight. Today, with this bill, we are strengthening its foundation. We are transitioning the commission into its own standalone legislation, giving it the absolute independence it needs to be respected and the statutory teeth it needs to be effective. We are ensuring that the commission is not just a participant in the system, but a powerful independent force for its transformation.

As I mentioned, my electorate is home to three local RSL sub-branches, and, in October, last year I dropped into the Flemington & Kensington RSL sub-branch in the south of my electorate to catch up with president Andrew Konami-Wood and welfare officer Scott Balestra. The Flem/Ken RSL describes itself as a small sub-branch with a big heart, and that perfectly sums up the crew. Andrew and Scott walked me through the history of the branch and the quiet, essential work that they do to support our local veteran community, especially the growing number of younger veterans. Scott, a combat engineer, outlined the welfare assistance that they provide not just to veterans but also to their families. Flem/Ken RSL may be unassuming, but its social nights and strong welfare program are doing the heavy lifting of supporting veterans as they make the shift to civilian life. That shift is not just a change of job; it's a fundamental change in identity. Andrew and Scott gave clarity to what I know as a qualified psychologist—when you lose the structure, that sense of mission and the tribe that military service provide, the psychological risk factors skyrocket. We know that suicidality is often the result of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. When a veteran feels that they no longer fit in the civilian world or when they feel like they're a burden to their families because they are struggling with PTSD or trapped in a complex DVA claim, they enter a zone of extreme risk. The current system has, too often, made those feelings worse. It has been a maze of paperwork and, for too many, too many 'no' answers. Where it should have been a lifeline, it became another barrier, and no-one should face those barriers alone. By creating this commission, we are creating a systemic intervention. We are ensuring there is a body whose sole focus is to dismantle those barriers to wellbeing, to move from reactive crisis management to proactive oversight—a system that will support the heavy lifting already being done quietly and with enormous heart by sub-branches like Flem/Ken.

I want to speak now about a change in this bill that I'm particularly proud of—the formal inclusion of veterans' families. There is a group of people who are often overlooked for too long in government responses to veteran affairs. At the Menin Barracks open day and at many services I've attended in my community, I have met the partners holding toddlers, I've met the parents watching their sons and daughters with a mixture of pride and anxiety, and I've met widows and proud children who honour the memory of brave loved ones who have passed on.

In my electorate, the RSLs in Essendon, Keilor East and Flemington-Kensington are full of those family members. They are the silent ranks. They are the primary caregivers, the first responders in the home, and the ones who notice the first signs of withdrawal or the quiet onset of a flashback in the middle of the night. When a veteran is struggling, the whole family feels it. These RSLs understand that because they too have lived it—deeply and personally. I see this in the spirit of community and care at the mighty Keilor East RSL. It is always a great honour to stand with them at their Anzac Day dawn service, their Vietnam Veterans' Day service and on Remembrance Day—all led with such dedication and deep pride by their president, John Johnson OAM. John and his team don't just run a sub-branch; they maintain a sanctuary. Whether it's a solemn commemorative service or a Friday night social event, the focus is always on the person standing next to you and the family standing behind them.

Yet, for too long, our national systems have not treated these families with the respect and care that they deserve. This bill changes that. It legislates that the commissioner's functions must also include reference to veterans' families. As a qualified psychologist, I know that you cannot treat or support a person in isolation. Mental health is social; it's relational. You cannot heal the veteran if you ignore the family holding them up. By enshrining families in this legislation we are telling the silent ranks—the partners, the parents and the children of our veteran communities: 'We see the quiet work that you do. We recognise you and we are making sure you never have to carry that weight alone.' We are giving the big hearts of Flemington-Kensington and the dedicated volunteers at East Keilor and Essendon RSLs the institutional backing that they have long deserved.

One of the strongest messages from the Senate committee and the veteran community was that this commission must be independent in law, in function and in spirit. This bill delivers exactly that by establishing standalone legislation. The commissioner will be appointed by the Governor-General following a merit based public recruitment process, ensuring the role is held by an individual with a mandate to speak truth to power without fear and without favour. We have also refined the commission's powers to ensure it is a watchdog with teeth. Based on stakeholder feedback, we have strengthened the commissioner's ability to access vital information and expanded witness protection so that anyone can provide evidence without fear of reprisal. Truth only emerges in an environment of safety. These protections are the foundation of the commission's integrity. We are creating a space where systemic failures can be called out and corrected, backed by the full authority of the law.

Transparency is nothing without a timeline. This bill sets statutory deadlines for the completion of two major inquiries into the Commonwealth's implementation of reform: 2 December 2027 and 2 December 2030, the third and sixth anniversaries of the government's response. These are not arbitrary dates. They are deadlines of accountability, guaranteeing the commission will remain a sustained, transparent voice for change long after the media spotlight has moved on.

As I reflect on the history of Maribyrnong—the wartime hangars at Essendon airport to the disciplined grounds of Menin Barracks—I'm reminded that we are not just a community that remembers service; we are a community that lives it. The stories of the men and women I met at the 5th/6th Battalion, the grit of the veterans at the mighty Keilor East RSL and the enduring heart of the members at Flem/Ken RSL all point to a single inescapable truth: the system must be as resilient as the people it serves.

This legislation is the institutional embodiment of that truth—a permanent, standalone commission, a watchman on the tower who will never again be silenced or sidelined, a move from temporary fixes to sustained, independent oversight. For a person to heal, they need to know the system looking after them is honest, transparent and safe. Through the strengthened powers and the rigorous accountability deadlines of 2027 and 2030, this bill finally creates the environment of trust.

Most importantly, we are bringing the silent ranks—the families of those who serve—into the fold of our national policy. We're acknowledging that the ripples of service touch every partner, every parent and every child, and we're telling them: 'Your burden is seen, your role is recognised, and you'll not be left to carry it alone.' We stand on the shoulders of proud local legacy, but our duty is to the present and the future. We owe it to every person today who wears a uniform and to every veteran who has since laid it down to ensure that the promise of service is met with the promise of support. No veteran and no veteran's family should ever have to fight their hardest battle alone. With this bill, we are building a system that finally holds itself to the same high standard that they hold for themselves. I commend the bill to the House.

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