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Defence’s day of reckoning · The Front

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  Speaker 1: A warning before we start. This episode mentions suicide and
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  Speaker 1: sexual violence from The Australian. Here's what's on the front.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Claire Harvey. It's Tuesday, September ten. One of Australia's
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  Speaker 1: worst child sex offenders was given a redundancy by Uniting
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  Speaker 1: Church Childcare Service with just forty four minutes of official consideration.
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  Speaker 1: That's after a colleague had tried to report him for
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  Speaker 1: allegedly abusing a child. Ashley Paul Griffith later pleaded guilty
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  Speaker 1: to hundreds of charges of rape and sexual abuse. That
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  Speaker 1: exclusive is live right now at the Australian dot com
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  Speaker 1: dot au. The Electrical Trades Union is pushing for a
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  Speaker 1: twenty percent pay rise for Sparkey's ahead of the federal election. Plus,
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  Speaker 1: construction workers around the country will put their tools down
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  Speaker 1: this week to attend rallies protesting the government's force take
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  Speaker 1: over of the CFMU. A three thousand page Royal Commission
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  Speaker 1: reporters recommended starting from scratch to curb veteran suicides and
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  Speaker 1: clamp down on sexual violence in the Defense Force. Today
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  Speaker 1: we meet some of the people devastated by defens's failures
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  Speaker 1: and find out if this really means meaningful change. Andrew
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  Speaker 1: Perry was a sniper in charge of keeping our troops
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  Speaker 1: safe on bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is his wife,
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  Speaker 1: Benita Perry, giving evidence at the Royal Commission into Veterans Suicide.
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  Speaker 2: He was so funny. He was the funniest man in
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  Speaker 2: the world. When he was working, he could be quite
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  Speaker 2: black and white, but when he let his hand down,
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  Speaker 2: in his guard down, he was just hysterical. There was
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  Speaker 2: never a day that you got out of bed without
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  Speaker 2: having laughed.
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  Speaker 1: Benita's daughter, come I Alexander, was a toddler when Andrew
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  Speaker 1: became her stepdad, someone she loved a lot. As she
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  Speaker 1: grew older, Camiah noticed some of Andrew's personality traits, in
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  Speaker 1: particular that he would either be seeking total control of
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  Speaker 1: a situation or would be laughing and joking. She put
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  Speaker 1: the stress down in part to his sadness over the
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  Speaker 1: loss of contact with children from a previous relationship. She
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  Speaker 1: was in her early teens when for the first time
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  Speaker 1: the stress of Andrew's military deployments became clear.
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  Speaker 3: We were on a boat with friends and I noticed
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  Speaker 3: that fireworks had gone off. And Andrew responded with yelling
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  Speaker 3: at the fireworks and saying, don't you know that people
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  Speaker 3: have been to war, and he actually broke down in tears.
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  Speaker 1: Camiah was in no doubt it was his war service
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  Speaker 1: that had left Andrew in severe distress.
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  Speaker 3: He was, unfortunately, very honest about how you would have
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  Speaker 3: to do your rounds and around base, you know, monitoring everything.
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  Speaker 3: And he had a group of children no older than
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  Speaker 3: ten coming up to him and saying, I want you
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  Speaker 3: to go check out. There's something down there that I
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  Speaker 3: think needs to be looked at, and he's like, well,
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  Speaker 3: you walk in front. And he said to me that
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  Speaker 3: at that point he had zero regard for their life.
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  Speaker 3: You know, if there was a bomb that they were
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  Speaker 3: trying to lead him to, he was going to make
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  Speaker 3: sure that they got hit first. And you know, going
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  Speaker 3: from zero regard to their life to absolute regard for
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  Speaker 3: his team, he could differentiate between you know, your life
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  Speaker 3: not worth saving these ones at absolute paramount, and he himself,
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  Speaker 3: unfortunately became one of those that it's not paramount.
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  Speaker 1: When Camaia was aged between six seen at eighteen, Andrew
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  Speaker 1: attempted to end his life seven times. After the second attempt,
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  Speaker 1: he was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. And severe anxiety.
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  Speaker 2: He no longer cared for safety. It was like one
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  Speaker 2: day went out to corroborreate Billibong and he was chasing
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  Speaker 2: crocodiles because he wanted them to eat him. He was
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  Speaker 2: just doing all these risky things. He could sleep for
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  Speaker 2: days when the depression was really bad, or he could
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  Speaker 2: just sit there and do nothing.
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  Speaker 1: In twenty fifteen, Andrew died by suicide. Bonnie Perry said
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  Speaker 1: she had tried with no success, to get help for Andrew.
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  Speaker 1: She said he was badly mismanaged by the Australian Defense Force.
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  Speaker 1: Bonnie said there was a shroud of secrecy about mental
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  Speaker 1: health problems. She said Defense sent senior officers to visit
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  Speaker 1: him in hospital instead of his mates, and that he
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  Speaker 1: wasn't help to access a pension, which left him feeling
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  Speaker 1: terrified about not being able to support his family. She
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  Speaker 1: said it took six months for him to get mental
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  Speaker 1: health treatment in the first place, and that he was
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  Speaker 1: treated with a lack of compassion.
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  Speaker 2: I just don't understand how the ADF can see all
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  Speaker 2: those suicide attempts. You know, how many red flags do
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  Speaker 2: you want? You know, a guy should shouldn't be successful
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  Speaker 2: on his eighth attempt. It's crazy.
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  Speaker 1: She described this conversation with a senior medical officer who
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  Speaker 1: discharged Andrew from hospital after one of his suicide attempts,
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  Speaker 1: and just.
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  Speaker 2: Said, how come Andrew's home And he said, excuse my language,
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  Speaker 2: but he said, Bonnie, he's not a threat to himself
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  Speaker 2: or to take his life. He said. I just told
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  Speaker 2: him he's a shit husband that really needs to learn
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  Speaker 2: how to treat women better. I told him that I
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  Speaker 2: wanted him to go for five days, not contact you,
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  Speaker 2: and go away and have a good heart think about things.
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  Speaker 2: And then at eight point thirty the police car rocked
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  Speaker 2: up out of the front and I knew it as
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  Speaker 2: soon as I saw him. I said, he's gone, as
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  Speaker 2: an inn. They said, yes, we've just found his body.
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  Speaker 1: That story is part of the catalyst for a shocking
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  Speaker 1: report tabled in Federal Parliament. It found sixteen hundred and
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  Speaker 1: seventy seven serving and ex serving defense personnel died by
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  Speaker 1: suicide between nineteen ninety seven and twenty twenty one. That's
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  Speaker 1: more than twenty times the number killed in active duty
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  Speaker 1: over the same period. The Royal Commission found deep problems
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  Speaker 1: with both Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs and
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  Speaker 1: recommended a new agency within Veterans Affairs to actively help
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  Speaker 1: outgoing defense personnel, to support them into a new life,
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  Speaker 1: to access the services that are available, and support them
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  Speaker 1: and their families to stay alive.
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  Speaker 4: It's a shocking report, Claire, and it shines a light
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  Speaker 4: on what's a terrible national tragedy.
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  Speaker 1: Joe Kelly is The Australian's National Affairs editor. The report
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  Speaker 1: was commissioned by the Morrison government under pressure from veterans
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  Speaker 1: bereaved families, and now it's the Albanese government which will
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  Speaker 1: have to handle the response.
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  Speaker 5: We will work across the parliament on those issues and
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  Speaker 5: do what we can to ensure that just as our
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  Speaker 5: veterans and defense personnel step up for our country, we
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  Speaker 5: have an obligation to step up for them.
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  Speaker 6: I look forward to doing what we can on this side,
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  Speaker 6: to work in good nature and with honor with the
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  Speaker 6: Minister to make sure whatever can be done can be
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  Speaker 6: done as quickly and as properly as possible and to
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  Speaker 6: the best of our ability.
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  Speaker 4: The Labor Party in the coalition believes there is a
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  Speaker 4: significant problem, that this is a national failing, that governments
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  Speaker 4: of Labor and conservative characteristics have let down veterans in
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  Speaker 4: the past. They've been let down by Defense, They've been
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  Speaker 4: let down by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and it
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  Speaker 4: must be fixed. Very encouraging, but the second point is
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  Speaker 4: getting on with the job now. Will need to give
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  Speaker 4: the government sometime to devise its response and its solution,
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  Speaker 4: and we'll get an idea of what that is in
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  Speaker 4: the not too distant future.
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  Speaker 1: Coming up, Defense's sexual violence problem. Subscribers to The Australian
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  Speaker 1: get access to this kind of in depth reporting and
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  Speaker 1: analysis twenty four to seven. Check us out at the
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  Speaker 1: Australian dot com dot au and we'll be back after
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  Speaker 1: this break.
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  Speaker 7: So I guess my story starts back in a little
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  Speaker 7: country town where I was looking for opportunities to have
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  Speaker 7: a career, get something outside of a small country town.
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  Speaker 7: And one day one of those Defense Force recruitment vans
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  Speaker 7: pulled up in the main street and I took my
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  Speaker 7: look at it and went, that's for me. This is
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  Speaker 7: my ticket out of town.
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  Speaker 1: That's the voice of Danny Levisage. He's describing how in
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  Speaker 1: nineteen eighty eight he said goodbye to his tiny hometown
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  Speaker 1: of Dalsford in Victoria and set off for what he
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  Speaker 1: hoped would be a long career in the Air Force.
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  Speaker 7: My dad was very proud of me. He was very
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  Speaker 7: proud of me joining, and he was very proud to
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  Speaker 7: be there that day, as was my whole family and
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  Speaker 7: friends to see me graduate.
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  Speaker 1: Danny became known as the twenty year Man among his
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  Speaker 1: fellow emen because of his aspiration to retire at age
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  Speaker 1: forty two with a full military pension. But less than
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  Speaker 1: two years after celebrating his graduation, Danny would be discharged
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  Speaker 1: from Defense. Danny is gay, which was unacceptable under the
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  Speaker 1: Defense Act, legislation that was drafted in nineteen oh three
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  Speaker 1: and was still in effect in the late eighties and
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  Speaker 1: early nineties. An excerpt of the Act is being read
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  Speaker 1: by a voice actor.
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  Speaker 8: Homosexual behavior is not a accepted or condoned in the
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  Speaker 8: Defense Force. Members can be and are regularly discharged for
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  Speaker 8: a variety of reasons. Not listed in the DFDA. ADF
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  Speaker 8: policy is that members who engage in consenting homosexual behavior
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  Speaker 8: be treated in a similar fashion, sympathetically and with discretion.
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  Speaker 1: Danny Livisig had been observed visiting gay bars in and
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  Speaker 1: around Melbourne, and so he was hauled in for an
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  Speaker 1: interview and asked to explain himself.
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  Speaker 7: Eventually, their questioning got down to lac levisage, are you
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  Speaker 7: a homosexual? And it was the very first time I
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  Speaker 7: ever said it out loud. Yes, I believe I'm homosexual.
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  Speaker 7: They forced me to put a tag on myself, which
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  Speaker 7: I wasn't prepared at that stage to put that tag
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  Speaker 7: on myself.
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  Speaker 1: It was a traumatic experience and I'm.
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  Speaker 7: Sitting there terrified, absolutely terrified. I've been humiliated. I'm feeling
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  Speaker 7: absolutely ashamed of myself. I hate myself for this aspect
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  Speaker 7: to myself that I've just been forced to put a
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  Speaker 7: tag on by someone else sitting on the table with
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  Speaker 7: four people. And it got worse from there, in didn't
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  Speaker 7: get better.
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  Speaker 1: Danny was told homosexuality was incompatible with military service. Senior
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  Speaker 1: personnel said he'd be outed, dishonorably discharged and his training
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  Speaker 1: records would be withheld if he didn't leave then and
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  Speaker 1: there of his own volition.
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  Speaker 7: And they effectively told the twenty year man that your
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  Speaker 7: career is over and here are you three terrible options.
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  Speaker 7: One's not so bad, one's really bad, and one's just
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  Speaker 7: to go nowhere option and threatening dishonorable discharge and withholding
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  Speaker 7: of the records was apparently their sympathetic way of dealing
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  Speaker 7: with the homosexual in the Air Force.
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  Speaker 1: Danny lived on base, so he lost his job and
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  Speaker 1: his home. He didn't have time to say goodbye to
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  Speaker 1: his friends or explain what was happening, and he wasn't
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  Speaker 1: allowed to keep any insignia issued over the course of
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  Speaker 1: his service. With no support nowhere Togo, he slept the
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  Speaker 1: next two nights in his car. What followed was a
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  Speaker 1: cycle of depression, anxiety, substance use and suicidal ideation.
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  Speaker 7: At that point in time, I'd gone from being a loyal, committed,
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  Speaker 7: enthusiastic member of the Air Force to jobless, unemployed, homeless
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  Speaker 7: living in my car, surrounded my possessions in the space
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  Speaker 7: of less than two weeks. That was a lot for
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  Speaker 7: a twenty three year old to be dealing with at
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  Speaker 7: that point in time. That jehole career has gone up
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  Speaker 7: and smoked in two weeks, and you're now living in
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  Speaker 7: your car on the side of the street. That's what
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  Speaker 7: they did to me.
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  Speaker 1: The ban on gay and lesbian personnel in the eightyf
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  Speaker 1: was lifted by the Keyting government in nineteen ninety two,
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  Speaker 1: just two years after Danny Leversage was bounced out of
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  Speaker 1: the force. It took three decades for his story to
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  Speaker 1: be heard at the Royal Commission and hopefully for change
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  Speaker 1: to follow. One of the report's most stark findings is
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  Speaker 1: that this problem is not just about suicide, it's the
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  Speaker 1: physical safety of personnel serving today in military jobs. Here's
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  Speaker 1: Joe Kelly.
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  Speaker 4: There is a problem with sexual violence in the ADF,
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  Speaker 4: the majority of which is obviously perpetrated by men, but
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  Speaker 4: the report says this is a highly concerning development. It
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  Speaker 4: says that close to eight hundred sexual assaults were reported
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  Speaker 4: in the ADF over the past five years, and Defense
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  Speaker 4: estimates that sixty percent of sexual assaults are not reported
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  Speaker 4: at all. And there were multiple submissions to this Royal
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  Speaker 4: Commission from victims which included both historic and contemporary accounts
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  Speaker 4: of being gang raped, including by fellow serving members of
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  Speaker 4: the ADF. So this is shocking, it's completely unacceptable. The
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  Speaker 4: report goes into detail about the fact that this kind
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  Speaker 4: of sexual violence has on serving and ex serving members,
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  Speaker 4: and the report has actually also recommended a further inquiry
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  Speaker 4: into sexual violence within ADF.
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  Speaker 1: Joe Kelly is the Australian's National Affairs editor. Thanks for
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: joining us on the front and please join ours subscribers
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  Speaker 1: at the Australian dot com.
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  Speaker 7: DOREU