Radio Interview - ABC Radio National - Breakfast with Steve Cannane

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
ABC RADIO NATIONAL
BREAKFAST WITH STEVE CANNANE
TUESDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2024

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

HOST, STEVE CANNANE: Matt Keogh is the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and he joins us now. Minister, welcome back to RN Breakfast.

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

CANNANE: The Chair did not hide his frustration there, in fact, improving the capacity of Royal Commissions to do their job was the very first recommendation in this Final Report. Do you acknowledge there was a level of obstruction by Government departments and the ADF in this inquiry?

MINISTER KEOGH: Certainly, I know the Royal Commission felt very hindered by its capacity to get access to some information or to be able to use certain parliamentary information. When we came into Government and we spoke to them about that, I engaged with the Royal Commission, as did the Minister for Defence and the Attorney-General, to make sure we understood the full nature of those concerns. And we made sure that our departments were cooperating and there seemed to be some latent issues that we'd inherited there when we came into Government. And I'm pleased that the Commission acknowledged yesterday that in the end, they did see all the information that they needed to see.

CANNANE: Do you think, though, that Defence, as Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie was suggesting, was stonewalling the Commission?

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, I think it's important to appreciate that something like 250,000 documents were provided to the Royal Commission, most of those coming from the Department of Defence, but also principles like public interest immunity are important ones when it comes to things like Cabinet documents. That's a very standard process for any Royal Commission or inquiry to run through. But I don't think there was a deliberate attempt to hide information, but I certainly understand the frustrations. And we made sure that the Government departments, the ADF, the Department of Defence, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the Department of the Attorney-General, were very clear on our Government's intent that this Royal Commission be assisted and have access to all information that it could, so that we could get the best recommendations from this Royal Commission, so that we can properly address suicide from Defence personnel and veterans.

CANNANE: There are some very urgent and grave issues highlighted in this Report. What recommendations can you implement immediately?

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, we're now working our way through all 122 recommendations, and indeed, there's a lot of material that sits behind those recommendations, as you'd imagine, with there being seven volumes of Report running to some 3100 pages. So, I'm not going to start working through some recommendations now and some later. We want to look at these collectively, but also look at them quickly. We very much understand the urgency that comes with dealing with the Royal Commission like this. It was clear that clearly the rate of suicide amongst Defence personnel and veterans is way too high. It is a national tragedy and it's much higher than we see the rate across the general population. And that's why we supported having this Royal Commission in the first place, so that detailed, informed, proper work could be undertaken to give us a full set of recommendations. That's what we've got, and now we need to do that justice by making sure that we review them properly and preparing a response quickly.

CANNANE: Ok. I do want to bring you to some of the recommendations, though, because I know some of these have been on the agenda for a while. And among the recommendations is calls for a new support body to help personnel transition to civilian life. This is what Senator Lambie had to say on the issue.

[Excerpt begins]

SENATOR JACQUI LAMBIE: When you're already physically and psychologically been in harm's way and you are hurt and that is the way that you get medically discharged, there is no job on offer for you and your claims have still not gone through, or they have not done your claims by the time you leave, that's when the problems start. It should be put on Defence that they have to keep those people in until their claims are done through DVA.

[Excerpt ends]

CANNANE: Do you think Defence should remain responsible for personnel during this process?

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, certainly Defence is responsible for all its personnel whilst they are serving. And in fact, under the current policy arrangements, Defence has a responsibility for personnel for up to two years after they leave full time service as well, to reach out and continue to engage. And personnel who have left can access services through Defence in those two years after they've left. The Royal Commission has identified in its recommendations that it can see a larger role for DVA during that time working with Defence. That's something, that's a good example of things we need to work through in terms of making sure that that interface works in the best interests of veterans, making sure that they are set up for success when they transition out. And I think the observations that Jackie has made there, as she has through the whole course of this Royal Commission, are very important and appropriate, and they're the issues that we need to make sure we get right. That's what the Royal Commission has been getting at is that where there are gaps, we need to make sure that they are properly filled and that people are able to be supported in that transition in so many different ways, and not just them, their families as well.

CANNANE: The Royal Commission Report also highlighted the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force plays an essential oversight role in the military justice system in the ADF. Now, Jacqui Lambie brought up on this programme that the Minister has had that Report with them for five months now. When is that review going to be released?

MINISTER KEOGH: So, that is a review that's been undertaken and is with the Minister for Defence, that's not something that I'm across. However, given the scope of recommendations that have come forth in this Final Report of the Royal Commission, it probably goes to the point that it's useful sometimes for Government not to get too far ahead of a Royal Commission like this, given that we should now need to take into account those recommendations when dealing with the review that's been undertaken as well. I'm really pleased to see that there's a number of things in this Royal Commission Report, recommendations that we have started work in relation to those issues, and that's good. But equally, we need to now calibrate that work to the recommendations that have been made in the Royal Commission. And this is probably an example of just that, where we can take the review work that's been done and calibrate that with the recommendations about the IGADF that are in the Royal Commission Report itself.

CANNANE: When the role of the Inspector General is to investigate and expose any failure of military justice, it's in the public's right to know, isn't it, if they're doing their job adequately or not, that should be made public, shouldn't it, soon?

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, certainly the public, and, of course, serving members of the Defence Force in particular, need to have confidence in the way in which the military discipline and justice system operates. It's a system that is different to the way our civil justice system works and to some extent, that can cause a degree of confusion and that comes out in some of the recommendations that are made in relation to the military discipline and military justice system. And it's important that people are able to have confidence in the way that system operates and properly understand how that system operates. And I think that's what the recommendations are driving at.

CANNANE: Senator Lambie also wants the Royal Commission recommendations implemented within two years. Do you have a timeline that you're willing to set for this?

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, we are working quickly now to get across these recommendations and the information that sits behind the recommendations in this very lengthy Report from the Royal Commission and we want to respond to that quickly. I know there are some recommendations in here that talk about certain activities commencing from 2027, so the Royal Commission itself has staggered out some of the ways in which these recommendations get implemented, but to the fullest extent we can, we obviously want to move quickly in a response and then moving forward with the recommendations being implemented.

CANNANE: Minister, it's a conversation we will continue having. We appreciate you coming on this morning and responding to the findings. Thank you.

MINISTER KEOGH: Thank you very much, Steve, it's been great to be with you.

CANNANE: Thank you. Matt Keogh, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, discussing there the Royal Commission findings that have been handed down yesterday afternoon, and we will follow that up after 08:00 too, to talk to people who've had a real personal input into this Royal Commission.

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