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

I move:

That a motion relating to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veterans Suicide be moved immediately and that the question be put after 30 minutes of debate, allowing five minutes per speaker.

Question agreed to.

I move:

That the Senate notes:

(a) the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide found the veteran healthcare system is fragmented, difficult to navigate and characterised by poor continuity of care which increase the likelihood of veteran suicide.

(b) there is an urgent need to overhaul the veteran healthcare system to properly compensate providers, ensure the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) fee schedules should at least match those of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, eliminate unnecessary administrative complexity to ensure long-term sustainability and deliver timely, appropriate and effective healthcare outcomes for veterans;

(c) it is essential claims are processed expeditiously, as prolonged delays cause further damage, undermines veterans' financial security, compounds stress and directly harms their health and wellbeing;

(d) the ongoing shortage of accessible psychiatric hospital beds for veterans is unacceptable, forcing vulnerable veterans to go without the timely and life-saving care they desperately require;

(e) the persistent delays, confusion and distress caused by DVA policies and administrative failures, including preferential provider arrangements that restrict choice, disrupt long-term therapeutic relationships and retraumatise veterans, cannot continue; and

(f) calls on the government to immediately implement the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide recommendations, recognising that further delay is placing veterans' lives at serious risk.

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide found that the veteran healthcare system is still quite broken. Actually, the commissioners at the time said it was 'fragmented', but I'm saying that it's still quite broken. It's extremely chunky, and it's rigid. We still have veterans having to fight through a sandstorm of bureaucracy to get the help they need, especially if that is help for their mental health. Veterans often struggle to find GPs and specialists who understand the military culture. We used to have these professionals inside Defence. You've got to start picking your game up. You are slacking. What's new for Defence? Get those psychiatrists back on the inside. You are shameful. As per usual, you got the biggest asset we had and you reduced it. Honestly, Defence, you're your own worst enemy.

The royal commission also said it is 'difficult to navigate'. For a lot of them, it's still bloody impossible. They also found that there was 'poor continuity of care', which contributes to suicide risk, and there is. And I tell you what: don't ask for a liaison officer in any of our public hospitals around Australia. I don't know what's happened to the veterans liaison officers in public hospitals, but it seems I'm doing their job as well. It's not good enough. The commissioner's highlighted poor funding, poor data sharing and a lot of informed, tailored care. I've been waiting for data from the Department of Veterans' Affairs for two months. It is sensitive data, and I need it. There is no excuse. That is your only warning today. Otherwise, I'm going to have to make the minister come in here and have a few words about what is going on in that department. Do not make me do that.

It's been well over a year since the commissioners handed down their report, and the government released its response in December 2024. You've now had nearly 14 months. I've given both the department and the minister time. Veterans and advocates have been contacting me for weeks now. The system is still riddled with issues that are once again causing confusion, anxiety and frustration for veterans, their advocates and their doctors. My Christmas break was spent finding psych beds for four veterans who were extremely fragile, because they couldn't get through to DVA.

Where's your helpline? It's simple. They pay the price at Christmas time. Why would you not have more beds available? Why am I ringing wards for them to tell me that there's a three-week wait? Seriously, it got to a point where I was going to fly them down to my house. How embarrassing would that have been for the department? That's your last warning. Next time, I am flying them down. I will fly them down, and it will be a media crap-storm. I swear to God! Use your brains. You had a terrorist attack, and they hate Christmas. What do you think that's doing to them? Jesus—get out there with your boots on and start talking to them. Stop sitting at those little tables with those service organisations and what you think are 'experts'. This is where your problem is. It always has been.

I do, however, want to shout out to all those amazing healthcare workers who worked with me to get this help for these veterans over Christmas. I have to say I want to thank Spencer Clinic in my own backyard, who had a veteran up there that was in dire straits. That veteran, unfortunately, had to be put in a room. He's a former Navy veteran. You can imagine the abuse he put up with in the Navy and over 12 years of service, now a fireman. He was put into a room with no windows. You can imagine what that does to a Navy veteran that has PTSD in that state. Honestly, our public system is not for veterans. It is not, when it comes to their mental health. They are not equipped for it. As much as they're trying, when I'm getting a call to come up there and settle that veteran down—and I don't have a problem with that—it just goes to show they cannot go in the public system. Our public system is struggling to hold its own in mental health. So you need to look after the veterans, and you need to take that off public health, because it's not fair on the civilians in that hospital with our veterans. It's not fair when they're that gone and they cannot get help. That psychiatrist goes, 'I just don't know what to do; I'm not trained in helping these veterans.' That's fine; you can get a hold of me. But this is not the way it should be, and it's really starting to put the pressure on our health system. And, when you're Tasmanian and you have not a very good one—we don't have beds as it is—putting them in that public system sends them off their heads. It has got to stop. You are not getting the job done quick enough, DVA. We're going back to, 'Hello, I don't want to answer your questions.' We are not going back to this. We're just not. You're bloody halfway there. Keep persisting and keep moving quicker. No more of the hiding. Enough.