Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I have a few more questions to ask, but I want to go back to the veterans mental health inquiry where, very recently, we put a number of questions on notice in reference to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee report published on 17 March 2016 concerning the mental health of Australian Defence Force members and veterans. We asked the minister if he could advise which of a number of recommendations had been actioned, or when they would be actioned. If they were not to be actioned, we asked why not. There were 17 questions that we put on notice, and this is the answer that we got back: 'The Senate inquiry report presented the government with 25 recommendations comprising 17 main recommendations and eight minority report recommendations. Of the 17 main recommendations, three were agreed to by the government, four were agreed to in principle, six were partly agreed and four were noted. The government did not rate any of the main recommendations as not agreed. Of the eight minority report recommendations, one was agreed to by the government, one was partly agreed, two were noted and four were not agreed.'

What they didn't say is that not one of those things has been put into place. So, nearly 16 months later, nothing that was recommended by that committee to start helping those veterans with their mental health has been done. That is shameful in itself. I simply say this: if the government's intention in introducing the DRCA bill is to streamline veterans legislation—if that is what they believe it will do—are they prepared to make a commitment to adopting the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee's recommendation in the veterans suicide report for a Productivity Commission study into veterans' entitlement law today, instead of us all waiting for the 90-day period?