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Opinion: Building a better world for Australia’s veterans and their families is a sacred duty and mission for the nation, with the findings of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide now handed down, it is time to get to work, explains CEO of Families of Veterans Guild Renee Wilson.
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Three years ago, three women set out on a mission. A mission to reverse the rate of suicide in our defence and veteran system.
Julie-Ann Finey, Karen Bird and Nikki Jamieson – all mothers of defence veterans lost to suicide – petitioned the government to effect change so that other mothers would not have to know the trauma that they experienced. This led to the creation of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
Last week, the government released the final report and recommendations from this inquiry.
Throughout 5,889 submissions, 886 private sessions, 346 witness statements, and the review of some 230,000 documents, the commission has overturned rocks that many in the system would likely have preferred stay buried in the dark.
For the first time in many years, we have seen the significant and systemic issues in our veteran support processes discussed openly. This is the first time the experiences of the 581,000 Australians who have served or are serving and the more than 450,000 veteran family members have been validated.
Australia doesn’t know enough about the challenges and sacrifices of veterans and their families, which, in part, is a measure of Defence’s success. Each night, we all get to go to bed knowing that we are safe because of what others are providing for us. But with this comes a danger that the people in these roles will not feel the ability to speak up when something is wrong. The royal commission has helped all of Australia understand this.
So, what happens now?
Last week’s report included 122 recommendations to address the health and wellbeing outcomes for serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force personnel and those connected to these veterans.
While this is a positive step in the right direction for veterans and their families, now we must see the rubber hit the road with the government driving real action.
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide is the 140th official inquiry or commission since Australia’s federation.
The first was also connected to veterans and war in 1902. Over 122 years later, we are still speaking about the treatment of veterans and their families.
We must not spend another 122 years having the same conversations.
Previous reports and reviews into the veteran system have failed to see real progress and change because it’s too easy to say this is all up to the government to solve. There is so much more that we can be doing in our organisations and in our everyday life to contribute to a better system and a better future for veterans and their families – and it must start today.
I’ve experienced firsthand for 14 years how the system can chew you up and spit you out, and other families have had harder experiences than mine. I implore the government to take the advice of the commission and turn this three-year investment into a system that supports the people who sacrifice for our country each day – our veterans and their families.
It is time for fundamental system transformation. For too long, we’ve tinkered at the edges of the problems in the system, often treating only the symptoms without actually getting to the core of the issues. Today’s report grants us an opportunity to overhaul this and build a better system for those who come after us.
While the government must pioneer these changes, I also call on fellow veteran organisations to keep the system accountable.
We must pledge to continue to keep the government accountable. For too long we have all assumed that it will address recommendations put before it, so we don’t demand action as a sector, we don’t demand accountability, and we don’t follow through. But if we want to grow as a veteran community sector, we must be brave and demand change.
We have a responsibility to future generations as the custodians of this system. We cannot hand them off to another generation. We cannot make them someone else’s problem.
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Renee Wilson is the CEO of Families of Veterans Guild (formerly the Australian War Widows NSW).
