LATEST VETERAN SUICIDE FIGURES SHOW WE NEED A ROYAL COMMISSION

09 October 2020

The latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) figures on defence and veteran suicides show we are failing our veterans and we urgently need a Royal Commission into this terrible scourge.

In total, the research shows there were 33 suicide deaths among serving and ex-serving ADF personnel in 2018, and 465 suicides between 2001 and 2018, although many believe the actual figures are much higher.

The report shows that male veterans are 21 per cent more likely to die by suicide than men generally, while the rate of suicide among ex-serving women is twice as high as the general female population.

Alarmingly, the AIHW research found ex-serving men had a 66 per cent higher suicide rate when they discharged for medical reasons compared to men who discharged voluntarily.

This latest update is a wake-up call and shows we are losing the war when it comes to saving our current and former defence personnel.

The data sadly back up the experience of veterans like former special forces officer Major Heston Russell, who has lost more of his mates to suicide than during four deployments to Afghanistan.

It highlights why we urgently need a full Royal Commission into veteran suicide to get to the bottom of these tragic deaths.

Many veterans are concerned the Morrison’s Government’s proposed National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention will not be up to the job – they simply won’t have the resources or independence to ask the hard questions.

We need to do a lot more to support our ex-service men and women and prepare them for life after the military through assistance with mental health and wellbeing, employment and housing.   

Labor acknowledges the Government’s release this week of an interim response to the 2019 Productivity Commission report on the veteran support system.

The response and additional funding for mental health, transition and employment in the Federal Budget are welcome, but more needs to be done.

We need a plan and not a piecemeal approach to tackle veteran suicide.

Now more than ever, we need a Royal Commission and the evidence is overwhelming.