Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very happy to make a contribution to the debate we're having this morning about this very important topic. The report of the Senate inquiry into suicide by veterans and ex-service personnel, The constant battle: suicide by veterans, is very welcome. It is a comprehensive report and I, like those who have spoken before me, very much welcome the recommendations. I think there is a great deal of bipartisan support for the recommendations in this report.

The aim, of course, is that we provide greater assistance to our veterans and ex-service people—and currently serving people—by addressing not only administrative issues in the Department of Veterans' Affairs but a wider problem we have in our community. When we send our young men and women, in our name, to do jobs that are often dangerous, where they confront significant challenges, life events and traumas, we must make sure that we look after them. It is the very least that we can do as a country. So I want to thank the members of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee for all of their work on this important inquiry, in particular former Senator Lambie for initiating the inquiry. I acknowledge the consistently hard work by the chair, Senator Alex Gallacher, and the deputy chairs, Chris Back and Bridget McKenzie. It is fantastic work, and really important work for our nation.

I thank each and every individual out there in the community, whether they are part of ex-service community based organisations, whether they are from the department, or whether they are lone former service men or women who are dealing with their issues and who put forward their experience in order to make life better for their comrades. I'll reflect on one of those people shortly, but first I want to say thanks to every individual and organisation that made a submission. It is because of their strength and resilience that this report builds such a comprehensive picture of the difficulties some veterans and ex-service personnel experience post their time in the ADF.

I say 'some veterans and ex-service personnel' because thankfully not all veterans and ex-service personnel are affected in negative ways. I think it is true to say that service most definitely has an effect on everyone. I don't think there are too many people, men or women, who go through training in our services who aren't changed, but the overwhelming majority of the time those changes are positive. They build the resilience of the individual and build the character of our country. But, as the previous speakers have said and as the member for Lingiari, Warren Snowdon, knows from his time in the role of Minister for Veterans' Affairs, there is a very multifaceted collection of experiences and reactions to experiences that brings about a very complex set of circumstances that we, as a government, need to provide the framework for within the Department of Veterans' Affairs to support our ex-service organisations but also to build that resilience in our community and that connectivity between the community and our serving people that will really provide the best context for people to make a transition that maintains the wellbeing of the individual and, of course, their families. Families are obviously the ones that are there, side by side, as our veterans and ex-service people engage in this constant battle.

The stats on suicide by veterans are just phenomenal—and some of them aren't even being counted. So, again, I welcome this report because there is so much that we need to do. The ex-service suicide rate is 13 per cent higher than the general population's. As I said, there is a lot of bipartisanship in this space, but I am really glad that on our side before the last election we committed to a first principles review of veterans' affairs. The government has agreed with the report's recommendations, so again I welcome that in a bipartisan way. Transition back into civilian life with that structure that the former speaker spoke about is a time of great vulnerability. I have seen that play out for constituents in my electorate. There are many former defence personnel in Darwin, in Palmerston and, indeed, in the rural area which is in the member for Lingiari's seat but very much part of our greater Darwin community. I could tell many stories of individual accounts and phone calls with distressed parents. So I know I can speak on behalf of all of those parents, such as Jesse Bird's parents, when I say that we need to make sure that these recommendations are turned into practical and effective support to ex-service people and veterans on the ground as soon as possible.

I just want to reflect on a good mate of mine, an old commando comrade of mine, Todd Berry or 'Chuck' as we all called him—a real champion of a bloke. I was very happy to see him again last year when I joined with the member for Menzies, the member for Warringah and others on the Pollie Pedal which was raising awareness and funds for Soldier On. It was great to see Todd Berry again. I had not seen him since the time we served together. He found himself in a very difficult place in life, dealing with a trauma that he'd been part of during his military career. He went to the depths. What he has done with a mate called Rob Ginnivan is quite extraordinary. With the support of family and friends, Todd got himself together through a long process and he's written a book called Everything's OK: Post-Traumatic Stress Dissolved. What he's attempted to do—and he's done an incredibly good job of it—is to reflect on his own experiences, what he was feeling while he was going through this very difficult process, the effect it had on his family, the depth that he went to, the actions that he took and the relief that he was not successful in taking his own life. He put his energy, love, ideas, thoughts and reflections into a book. I'm very happy to say that, in the new parliamentary year, we're going to launch that book here in Parliament House, on 6 February at noon. I'll send an invite around to everyone. It was great to hear Todd's reflections on his life and what his book is about. The great message that it has is about connectivity to the community.

Some other friends recently have given me some feedback that I thought I'd share with the House. We talk about digital communication and technology nowadays. There's a young soldier who had an idea, after one of his mates took his own life, that there would be an app for a phone. I don't want to misrepresent the idea, but it's a bit like Tinder in that you can see where other ex-servicepeople are in the vicinity if you need a chat, if you need to say, 'Oh, mate,' or if you need to reach back into the tribe and just reconnect with someone that you knew before. I think that's a great initiative, and I look forward to helping them with that.

I think we need to take into account these ideas, these reflections that come from those with that lived experience of serving our country, experiencing trauma and having difficulty transitioning but getting through with the help of their friends and family. I think we need to take those into account, as well as these recommendations that I commend to the House.

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