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

This Christmas over 400 veterans' families will have empty seats at their tables either because theirs was one of at least 419 serving or former serving veterans who have taken their lives since 2001 or because their loved ones are lost in some other way. As we, members and senators in this place, enjoy Christmas with our loved ones, we should offer more than thoughts and prayers to those too many serving members and veterans we have lost to suicide. We can do more than thoughts and prayers; we can give them the hope that the Christmas season promises. A royal commission into veteran suicide can give hope to so many who are lost or hurting by shining a light on this national crisis. The Labor Party wholeheartedly supports families and veterans' calls for such a royal commission. Prime Minister, you can help to give them that hope, and we stand ready to support you in a bipartisan manner. I'll personally support you in doing this. This isn't a political issue; this is a moral issue. It is the right thing to do. It's what the families and the veterans from around our nation are asking for and it's the least we can do for them.