It is about time the Morrison Government has finally come around to the idea of a Royal Commission into veteran suicide.
\nVeterans, their families and Labor have been calling for this since 2019.
\nSince the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, we have lost more veterans to suicide than soldiers killed in combat, while more than 18 defence personnel and veterans have taken their own lives this year alone.
\nWhile we are disappointed\u00a0this\u00a0has taken\u00a0so long, Labor now stands ready to work with the Government in\u00a0a\u00a0bipartisan way to ensure this Royal Commission is vested with all the powers and resources it needs.
\nThe Government needs to consult widely and wisely\u00a0on processes, timelines and Terms of Reference.
\nThe Commissioner, or Commissioners, appointed must be\u00a0of the right standing andbe\u00a0independent from the Australian Defence Force in order to ensure trust and confidence in this process.
\nIn particular, we are concerned that the Government has said it wants to have a \u201cstanding Royal Commission\u201d in tandem with a Royal Commission to look at this issue in an ongoing way.
\nMany\u00a0veterans and families do not support the Government\u2019s proposed National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention, and the legislation is stalled in the Senate.
\nLabor, along with many in the veteran community, has said it is open to a permanent body to tackle this issue, but only if this is a recommendation coming out of an independent Royal Commission, which must happen first.
\nThe work of Julie-Ann Finney and Karen Bird, and the other brave mothers and families of veterans must\u00a0also\u00a0be acknowledged. They have campaigned tirelessly for a Royal Commission, despite the personal grief and pain they have experienced.
\nMany parents of veterans who have tragically taken their own lives have said a Royal Commission will allow them an opportunity to have their say and be heard, while providing a powerful voice for their children.
\nToday\u2019s announcement is a crucial step forward on this journey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It is about time the Morrison Government has finally come around to the idea of a Royal Commission into veteran suicide. Veterans, their families and Labor have been calling for this since 2019. Since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, we have lost more veterans to suicide than soldiers killed in combat, while more … Continue reading “Royal Commission into Veteran Suicide Welcomed by Labor”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11067\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}