Radio Interview - ABC NewsRadio - Breakfast with Thomas Oriti

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
ABC NEWSRADIO
BREAKFAST WITH THOMAS ORITI
TUESDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2024

SUBJECTS: Final Report from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

HOST, THOMAS ORITI: The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide has made 122 recommendations in its Final Report, including the establishment of a new dedicated body to help Defence personnel transition to civilian life and access ongoing support. The Commission has also called for an inquiry into the prevalence of sexual violence in the ADF and a national register of suicides and suicide risk factors for serving personnel and veterans. The Government says it will consider the recommendations. It previously accepted, all the recommendations of an interim report. Joining us now is the Federal Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Matt Keogh, who joins us from our Parliament House studios. Minister, good morning.

MINISTER FOR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE PERSONNEL, MATT KEOGH: Good morning. Tom. Great to be with you.

ORITI: So, 122 recommendations. I do note this is a dense report. There's a lot in it. When do you think the Government will respond to these recommendations?

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, as you say, Tom, there is a lot in it, not just 122 recommendations, but seven volumes reaching some 3,100 pages. So there is a lot for us to digest, but we are committed to responding to this Royal Commission Final Report quickly. We understand the urgency that sits behind this. When we think about what led to this Royal Commission, the rate of suicide that we saw across our Defence and veteran community is just too high. It's significantly higher than we see across the general Australian population. And we know that this is important to deal with promptly. We've heard the harrowing stories of people that came to share their lived experience, whether they were serving personnel themselves, whether they were the family members of those that have taken their lives, and it's important that we respond promptly. We have a lot of work to get through here with the all 122 recommendations, but we will do that soon, so that we can crack on with implementing recommendations, so that we can address this issue properly.

ORITI: As you said, though, this does come after a lengthy inquiry and we heard, you know, a lot of overwhelmingly passionate and disturbing testimony from a lot of loved ones, people they've lost. I mean, so there's a lot we do know, is what I'm trying to say. What do you see as a Minister now as your key goal as far as these recommendations go?

MINISTER KEOGH: I don't want to go into any one or two recommendations, but I think the key thing that comes out of this report is that whilst a lot of work has been undertaken in Defence and DVA over recent years to try and improve service offering, and we've cleared the claims backlog for example, there's still a lot of work to do to make sure that the cultural settings are right, to make sure that the service delivery is appropriate to our veterans and families, to make sure that we improve that transition for people that are leaving full time service and entering into civilian life, that they're able to manage that transition, not just for them, but for their families as well, making sure they can get good, secure jobs, making sure that their housing is appropriate, making sure that they are connected to the services that they need. And there are so many services out there, but it can be very confusing for veterans and families to know where do they access those services, what is available, the Royal Commission highlights those issues in its report, and that's going to be really important that we address that.

ORITI: That's access to services, of course, as you say, an important issue. But the report was very scathing of the culture within the Defence force. I get this idea of toxic masculinity and that sort of thing, and several recommendations are concerned with aiming to address that. I mean, is the Government prepared to implement the changes necessary to address these apparently deeply embedded cultural issues, even if it does ruffle some feathers?

MINISTER KEOGH: We do need to make sure that the culture is right in Defence and in DVA, but it's important we get that culture right in Defence, because we need to have people staying in our Defence force. We need them to be treated properly. We need it to be an employer of choice. We need to make sure that we have a Defence force that is fighting fit for whatever it may have to deal with. And part of that means making sure that our Defence force are properly supported at a human level as people that they treated appropriately. That's what a number of these recommendations in the report go to, and we'll be taking all of those recommendations very seriously.

ORITI: I mean, this idea of almost toxic machoism, you know, if you're not tough enough, you're not one of us, that kind of stuff. Challenging road ahead right. How long do you think it could take for the type of overhaul of culture within Defence the report outlines would be required?

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, certainly one of the things that the Royal Commission speaks about is the long history of these, some of these cultural issues within Defence, and so I don't think anyone's kidding themselves that these are issues that can be changed overnight. But what's important is that we respond to these recommendations quickly, so that we can start taking further action as soon as possible, so that we can make the change that is necessary, so that we have the Defence force that we need as a country, both in the national interest, for national security and to make sure that the people in it are appropriately protected and are getting the right response and culture that they should have, that they deserve.

ORITI: Just on that note of ruffling feathers. Jacqui Lambie, among those, have been quite critical of what she's described as stonewalling by Defence throughout the Commission. You know, she said, you know, instead of responding to the criticism, they pull up the drawbridge. They say, nothing to see here. Do you share that view? Are you concerned about that continuing to be an issue once you begin implementing changes, if you do indeed share that view?

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, certainly I know the Royal Commission was quite concerned about these issues as well. That Senator Lambie has also reflected on. I met with the Royal Commission, as did the Deputy Prime Minister and the Attorney General. We met with the Commissioners very quickly upon coming into Government, to talk through those exact issues with them. And we also were then very clear with our agencies, Defence, the ADF, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Attorney General's Department, that it was our expectation that there be cooperation with the Royal Commission. We made sure that there was some clarity around some issues the Royal Commission had raised, around public interest immunity, access to cabinet documents, which is a common issue, parliamentary privilege, so that the Royal Commission was able to undertake what we regarded to be very important work. And I'm sure what everyone will see in the report is very important work. And I note the Commission itself acknowledged yesterday that in the end, they did end up being able to see all the documents and information they did need to see in order to do their work.

ORITI: Ok, so you're confident there has been that transparency. Just on those recommendations, and, as you say, there's a lot to read here, but Karen Bird is the mother of army veteran Jessie Bird, who died by suicide after a long running struggle with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the DVA. And she says, just one of these recommendations, this new independent body that's been recommended, must have the powers to hold people to account the power, that regulatory teeth. How do you ensure that a body like that can do what it says it will?

MINISTER KEOGH: Certainly, that is the final recommendation of this Royal Commission Report, and there's quite a lengthy piece of information or explanation as to what the Royal Commissioners see as the functions and the powers of that body. We need to work through that, because, as I said, it is actually quite detailed what they've proposed there, so that we can make sure that we properly understand that and all the recommendations when we consider our response. But we very much understand not just the desire of the Royal Commission, but the desire of the veteran community and the family members of those that have taken their own lives, like Karen, that want to make sure that in implementing the recommendations from this Royal Commission that there's not just an agreement by Government upfront, but that it actually happens. And we understand that. We understand why that body's been recommended, and obviously, we'll consider that as part of all of the recommendations in developing our response.

ORITI: Minister, thank you very much for joining us this morning. Appreciate your time.

MINISTER KEOGH: Thanks, Tom.

ORITI: Matt Keogh is the Federal Minister for Veterans’ Affairs.

END

Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling provides 24/7 free confidential crisis support for current and ex-serving ADF personnel and their families on 1800 011 046 or the Open Arms website. Safe Zone Support provides anonymous counselling on 1800 142 072. Defence All-Hours Support Line provides support for ADF personnel on 1800 628 036 or the Defence Health Portal. Defence Member and Family Helpline provides support for Defence families on 1800 624 608