Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I watched and listened to testimonies from the royal commission into veteran suicide in utter disbelief. The figures laid out before us are not just troubling; they are utterly heartbreaking. It is tragic that we are losing an average of three veterans to suicide every two weeks. Since 1985, conservative estimates put the total number at 2,000 veterans who have taken their own lives. The weight of this crisis is felt across generations. Each veteran lost to suicide leaves behind not only a grieving family but also a community deeply impacted. Some of those were present yesterday in parliament.

After more than 50 formal inquiries over 30 years, we are still facing these devastating issues. Our service men and women, those who have sacrificed so much to protect us, have been systematically let down by the very institutions designed to protect and support them. I want to take this opportunity to thank those veterans and families and friends of veterans who contributed to the heartbreaking testimony to the royal commission. To the veterans and veterans' families in my community, I say: we hear you; I hear you.

I have spoken to community groups and veterans in the past 24 hours. The government has committed to considering and responding to the royal commission, and my community urges a thorough, substantial and speedy response. In particular, the final recommendation, to establish 'a new statutory entity to oversee system reform across the whole Defence ecosystem', is critical to making sure that we make a lasting difference to veteran and defence suicide. We owe veterans more than our gratitude. We owe them our action.