Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For too long now we have not been listening to veterans. We haven't been responding to what they need as opposed to what we think they need, and this needs to change. I hope that the royal commission that's been announced does this. We need to ensure that the services, responses and assistance offered to veterans and their families actually hit the mark. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the case yet. There were 33 suicide deaths among serving and ex-serving ADF personnel in 2018 and 465 suicides between 2001 and 2018. We know that the actual figures can actually be much, much higher than that. So we need to do everything we can to listen to veterans and their families.

For example, I have been approached by the devoted wife of a veteran in my electorate who is very concerned about how the DVA communicates over payments and raises debts with veterans. Her husband is a veteran who suffers from a range of physical and mental health problems resulting from combat trauma. He struggles with PTSD and suicidal thoughts of self-harm, which is an ongoing battle for him, his wife and his family. He was recently sent a series of correspondence from the DVA alerting him to the fact that he had been overpaid and that he owed the DVA a considerable sum of money. Luckily, before he read the letters that were sent to him, his wife was able to intercept them from the mailbox. However, she has told me that the situation could have been dire had the husband, the veteran, seen the letters first.

I have therefore written to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs to ask what steps are taken to ensure that such correspondence does not cause more harm or stress to veterans. It is the ticking time bomb that can send them over the edge. I'd also like to be assured that these debts that are raised have been check and double-checked, as the case with this particular person was that the debts were wrong and were reduced, in the end, when they argued about it. We know that we don't have the best track record when it comes to debt recovery in this space, and the government certainly doesn't with robodebt. So I want to know that our veterans are being protected by ensuring that any correspondence is clear and has been thoroughly checked and, if requested, is sent to a family member first.

Our veterans deserve better. They've sacrificed a great deal serving our country and ensuring the safety of our nation and the region. We must now do all we can to safeguard their health and avoid adding unnecessary stress.