Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide spokesperson Nicole Chettle outlines the recommendations of the interim report

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Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide spokesperson Nicole Chettle outlines the recommendations of the interim report · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We are going to talk now about the Royal Commission. Now,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: we know that a Royal Commission into Defense and Veterans
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Suicide has released its interim report outlining thirteen recommendations for
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  Speaker 1: urgent action. Now, improving the compensation claim system is among
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  Speaker 1: the key priorities. It does come ahead of hearings in
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  Speaker 1: Darwin which are due to take place in October. Now,
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  Speaker 1: Royal Commission spokesperson Nicole Chetel joins me on the line
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  Speaker 1: right now. Good morning to Nicole.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, Thank you for having me.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time. Nicole, What are
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  Speaker 1: some of the key recommendations in the interim report.
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  Speaker 2: Look, we've released the interim report yesterday in Camber and
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  Speaker 2: it does cover a number of things, but some of
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  Speaker 2: the key recommendations include clearing this massive claims Backlook, but
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  Speaker 2: the Department of Veterans Affairs, so we know that as
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  Speaker 2: of at the end of May, there were forty two
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  Speaker 2: thousand people still awaiting processing of their claim. We need
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  Speaker 2: to simple the confusing and complex veteran compensation and rehabilitation laws.
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  Speaker 2: The commissioners say that we need to increase legal protections
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  Speaker 2: that are available for serving and ex serving ADF members
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  Speaker 2: to engage with the Commission, and there are many things,
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  Speaker 2: including the exemption of the Royal Commission from parliamentary privilege
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  Speaker 2: to make it easier for us to hold Defense and
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  Speaker 2: DBA to account, and ultimately for Defense and DBA, to
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  Speaker 2: improve access for serving and ex serving members and their
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  Speaker 2: families to get their service information, including medical records. Many
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  Speaker 2: many issues. What I would say is this is just
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  Speaker 2: the beginning. It is the interim report. The final report
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  Speaker 2: is due in twenty twenty four, and the Commissioners are
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  Speaker 2: saying please, if anyone in the territory wants to have
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  Speaker 2: their say, whether you're a serving member, an ex serving member,
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  Speaker 2: or perhaps you know a loved one or a family member,
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  Speaker 2: please get in touch and make a submission, because we
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  Speaker 2: have teams that are carefully reviewing every single submission and
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  Speaker 2: what you have to say will inform the direction of
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  Speaker 2: the rest of this inquiry.
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  Speaker 1: And it's so very important. It is so important that
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  Speaker 1: their voices are heard. Nicole, I do want to ask
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  Speaker 1: what kind of personal accounts has the Commission heard so
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  Speaker 1: far from these hearings.
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  Speaker 2: Look, the personal accounts have been harrowing. I was having
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  Speaker 2: a chat with the Commission chair Nick called this joke
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  Speaker 2: yesterday in Canberra, and you know it's his job to
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  Speaker 2: be professional and listen to what people have to say,
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  Speaker 2: but he said, you'd have to have a heart of
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  Speaker 2: stone not to be moved by the experiences of some
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  Speaker 2: of these people. For instance, in our first hearing in Brisbane,
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  Speaker 2: doctor Nikki Jamison, who is the mother of Private Daniel
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  Speaker 2: Garford who died in twenty fourteen, described her anguish but
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  Speaker 2: also said, you know, part of the problem is that
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  Speaker 2: families can't access mental health information and it needs to
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  Speaker 2: change because had she known, had any hint that her
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  Speaker 2: son was struggling in such a way, she would have
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  Speaker 2: been explain and taken him home and had help. So
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  Speaker 2: clearly there are communication issues and also cultural issues, and
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  Speaker 2: every other day the Commissioners are receiving submissions from three
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  Speaker 2: families or veterans or former serving members who've struggled with
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  Speaker 2: suicidality themselves. One of the issues that the commission is
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  Speaker 2: keen to highlight is suicide doesn't start with a tragic decision.
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  Speaker 2: There are so many things that happen along the way,
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  Speaker 2: which is why the Commissioner is looking at everything from
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  Speaker 2: recruitment and training to service, deployment at home and overseas,
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  Speaker 2: right through to transition out of the military, and then
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  Speaker 2: things like compensation, and it can be any number of
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  Speaker 2: factors there that might contribute to the risk of suicide.
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  Speaker 2: And that's why we're asking people to reach out because
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  Speaker 2: we know that a lot of people in defense of
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  Speaker 2: stoic they think, oh, perhaps my story doesn't count because
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  Speaker 2: I haven't experienced suicidality myself, but they may be able
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  Speaker 2: to shed some light on some of the practices or
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  Speaker 2: the situation that they're in that might put other people
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  Speaker 2: at risk. So we're really saying, please, if you've got
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  Speaker 2: a story, reach out. We want to hear from you.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and it does sound as though the scope and
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  Speaker 1: certainly the breadth of issues is incredibly wide and something
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  Speaker 1: that you guys want to know absolutely.
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  Speaker 2: And one of the issues that the commissioners raised in
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  Speaker 2: this report too was the need for a permanent body
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  Speaker 2: because we know that the Australian government's formally responded to
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  Speaker 2: fewer than half of fifty seven previous inquiries or reports
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  Speaker 2: that they've received in matters relating to defense and veteran suicide.
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  Speaker 2: And what the commissioners are saying is there should be
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  Speaker 2: some sort of permanent body to follow this commission to
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  Speaker 2: report on not only the progress but also the quality
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  Speaker 2: of what happens next. It's not enough to make recommendations.
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  Speaker 2: We need to make sure that someone is responsible for
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  Speaker 2: making sure that they're rolled out in a timely and
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  Speaker 2: an a fifty manner. So the idea would be that
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  Speaker 2: we do more research next year so that such a
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  Speaker 2: body could be in place by mid tw twenty twenty
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  Speaker 2: four when the Royal Commission delivers its final report, and
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  Speaker 2: the intention would be then that the community can have
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  Speaker 2: confidence that any recommendations will be effective and will hopefully
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  Speaker 2: create real and meaningful change for veterans and their families.
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  Speaker 1: One hundred percent. You know, that's one of the things
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  Speaker 1: that everybody wants to be sure of is that all
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  Speaker 1: of this work does mean that there's going to be change,
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  Speaker 1: and you know that that hopefully we do not see
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  Speaker 1: the rate at which we have in Australia of veteran
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  Speaker 1: and defense suicide.
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  Speaker 2: That's absolutely right. And the thing to note with suicide
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  Speaker 2: is the commissioners are genuinely moved by hearing. They want
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  Speaker 2: to honor the service of the people who wear the
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  Speaker 2: uniform in Australia and they want to make sure that
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  Speaker 2: people can have long, happy, meaningful lives. And we know,
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  Speaker 2: because we're hearing it regularly, that this tragedy is ongoing.
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  Speaker 2: We're in regular communication with Defense. We know that they're
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  Speaker 2: there have been a number of people who have died
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  Speaker 2: in in recent months and years, and the commissioners are
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  Speaker 2: absolutely determined to shine a light on this problem, to
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  Speaker 2: really try and understand what's going on so that we
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  Speaker 2: can make a difference. Then Senator Jackie Lamby gave evidence
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  Speaker 2: in Tasmania and she said, look, this is it. There
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  Speaker 2: may not be another Royal Commission in her lifetime, so please,
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  Speaker 2: if you're a veteran, come forward, share your stories. And
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  Speaker 2: I think that was a very powerful and courageous message
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  Speaker 2: from the Senator.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and we do know, Nicole, as you touched on
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  Speaker 1: a little while ago, that Territorians are due to have
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  Speaker 1: their say in October. What's your message to them this morning?
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  Speaker 2: Reach out. We know that the defense community is broad
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  Speaker 2: and diverse, and that the issues that are happening in
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  Speaker 2: Darwin may not be the same as what's happening in
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  Speaker 2: Wogga Wogga or Sydney. Or townsil or Perth or Adelaide,
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  Speaker 2: So the commissioners know that there will be some things
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  Speaker 2: that these communities have in common. But we certainly know
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  Speaker 2: in Tasmania, for instance, where we've just held hearings in Hobart,
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  Speaker 2: that isolation is an issue for many veterans, particularly when
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  Speaker 2: it comes to accessing services. And I'm not pre emptying
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  Speaker 2: what we'll find when we visit Darwin, but I imagine that
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  Speaker 2: there may be similar issues there for veterans in Darwen
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  Speaker 2: and across the territory, so we really need to understand
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  Speaker 2: what those local issues are. We know, for instance, in
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  Speaker 2: Hobart that homelessness is an issue for many veterans, and
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  Speaker 2: the only way that we can find out what's happening
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  Speaker 2: on the ground is for people to share their stories,
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  Speaker 2: and they need to know that if they want to
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  Speaker 2: have their say, they'll be supported to do so. Who
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  Speaker 2: have a line, if I may with it, absolutely a
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  Speaker 2: hot line if anyone wants any information, and that's one
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  Speaker 2: eight hundred three two nine zero nine five, or you
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  Speaker 2: can visit our website but that number again is one
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  Speaker 2: eight hundred three to nine zero nine five and we
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  Speaker 2: can put you in touch with counselors. If you need it,
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  Speaker 2: we can provide support and also information about what you
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  Speaker 2: need to do to have your say, But the most
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  Speaker 2: powerful thing you can do is make a submission. Every
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  Speaker 2: single one is considered very carefully. There's also an opportunity
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  Speaker 2: to meet commissioners one on one in a private session,
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  Speaker 2: and that can be done in an absolutely watertight, confidential
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  Speaker 2: setting so that your identity can be protected. If that's
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  Speaker 2: what you.
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  Speaker 1: Wished well, Royal Commission spokesperson Nicole Chestel, I really appreciate
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  Speaker 1: your time this morning. Thank you so much for having
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  Speaker 1: a chat with us.
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  Speaker 2: Look, thank you very much, and the commissioners certainly appreciate
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  Speaker 2: your interest, and I hope that we can keep in
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  Speaker 2: touch in the future.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, we'd be very keen to. I know that we
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  Speaker 1: have a lot of people who listen to this show
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  Speaker 1: who are defense personnel. We've got a lot of veterans
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  Speaker 1: who listen to this show as well, so I think
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  Speaker 1: it's really incredibly important and something that we definitely be
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  Speaker 1: ken to keep in contact about.
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  Speaker 2: Terrisy. Well, one more thing I should say, which I didn't.
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  Speaker 2: If we will have some community engagement, our team will
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  Speaker 2: be in touch with ex Service organizations, for instance, when
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  Speaker 2: we're heading up to Darwin, so we'll actually reach out
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  Speaker 2: to the local community and there'll be many ways people
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  Speaker 2: can be involved and make their voices turned.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time this morning, Nicole
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you