Campaigner Julie-Ann Finney wants defence advisory body ESORT dissolved

There are calls to disband a defence advisory body accused of being outdated, failing to consult, and previously voting against a Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

DAY THREE UPDATE: A CAMPAIGN to disband the group advising the Federal Government on important issues for the nation’s veterans has launched after it was revealed there was no formal membership criteria.

A round table of ex-service organisations (ESOs) like the RSL and Legacy form ESORT, which provides advice and consultation to government, ministers and commissions.

The two former Veterans’ Affairs ministers told the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide they met with the group and received advice from it.

During the Townsville hearing, the royal commission was told there was essentially no defensible or transparent selection criteria for ESORT membership and that being on the round table was a “job for life” with no assessment on performance.

Julie-Ann Finney was one of the most high-profile campaigners for a Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide after her son, a Navy veteran, took his own life in 2019.

Speaking to media in Townsville amid the royal commission, Ms Finney said the current system was not working as she clutched a picture of her late son.

Ms Finney said a new organisation was needed to speak up about what veterans really needed.

“They are not up to date,” she said.

“We are not engaging with the veterans on the ground, the veterans who are suffering, the families of the vets who are no longer here.

“We need to disband that advisory body and put a new body in place with a limited tenure, not a lifetime tenure.”

Ms Finney said the evidence presented so far in the Townsville hearing showed government leaders and the ADF’s top brass were not in touch with what was going on.

“Really we have not done what we need to do to look after the wellbeing of veterans,” she said.

Former Veterans’ Affairs Minister Darren Chester was questioned about ESORT’s membership as he gave evidence on Wednesday.

He said while he attended ESORT meetings regularly and was provided with their feedback he was not aware of its selection criteria.

ESORT previously sparked controversy when representatives from 14 high-profile veteran support groups including Legacy and the RSL voted no to the Royal Commission at a roundtable meeting in 2019.

EARLIER DAY THREE: Former minister accused of failing veterans over welfare delays

THE FORMER minister for Veterans’ Affairs has been accused of failing his duty to veterans and faced a harsh grilling about the three-year delay in implementing critical welfare recommendations.

Federal MP Darren Chester was the third witness to give evidence before the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicides in Townsville on Wednesday.

He oversaw the departments of Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel between March 2018 and July 2021 and was at the helm when the Productivity Commission handed down its report on Compensation and Rehabilitation for Veterans.

Former Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Darren Chester arrives at the Royal Commission in Townsville.

He described the report as the most important he ever received as the minister.

A set of three critical recommendations made in the 2019 report centred on a fix before 2025 for the complicated claims assessment process which fell under three disparate pieces of legislation. The report recommended the harmonisation of The Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986), the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988 and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.

DAY ONE: Soldiers face eight week wait for psych appointments

Three years to the week since the recommendations were made and they have still not been implemented.

The complexity of the compensation process has widely been attributed as a significant contributor to stress, poor mental health and suicidality for veterans.

Counsel assisting Peter Singleton said written evidence from DVA before the commission said that in early 2022 the Australian Government had still not formally agreed to implement the three recommendations.

Mr Chester agreed that this was “largely fair”.

“I would point to changes that have been made which were consistent with the need to harmonise the claims processing system as indication some changes have been made but I guess I would accept your broader commentary that the big transformation in harmonisation hasn’t occurred,” he said.

DAY TWO: Minister told to cut $400m from veterans’ funding

In a written statement to the commission Mr Chester said DVA was asked to develop a legislation reform road map, but that he understood the development of the road map was still underway.

@DarrenChesterMP says the benefit of hindsight is an important part of the @roycommDVSRC conversation about the @DVAAus backlog.
Counsel assisting has replied – "I want to put it to you that it shouldn’t have taken hindsight." #dvsrc

— Ashley Pillhofer (@ashpillhofer) June 22, 2022

During his evidence, Mr Chester said there was no specific deadline for this document and that he could not say why it was not ordered in 2019 or 2020.

The commission was told that the workshop to consider the critical set of recommendations only took place in December 2021, months after Mr Chester left the office.

Under tense examination Mr Singleton pressed

“In virtually three years the former government failed to make even an informal in-principle decision to accept the recommendations or reject them, that’s true isn’t it,” Mr Singleton said.

“The government got no further than saying that those recommendations would be the subject of a legislation reform road map.

“The government failed even to do the work needed to make a decision after three years. It hasn’t done the costings, it hadn’t done the modelling and a number of things that would be necessary before (it) could make a decision.

“I’m talking about the most important recommendations in the most important report you ever received. You would agree … that the government has not applied enough urgency to get this done.”

While Mr Chester disputed parts of the question he accepted that no completed draft legislation or costing were presented in his time as minister.

“The ultimate conclusion must be, mustn’t it … with what has been achieved in three years (the) government’s failed in its duty to veterans,” Mr Singleton asked.

The hearings continue.

Do you or anyone you know need help?

• Open Arms: Veterans and Families Counselling 1800 011 046 or visit openarms.gov.au

• ADF All-hours Support Line: 1800 628 036

• Defence Members and Family Helpline: 1800 624 608

• Defence Chaplaincy Support: 1300 333 362

• Lifeline: 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au

• Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or visit suicidecallbackservice.org.au

• Beyondblue:1300 22 4636 or visit beyondblue.org.au

Originally published as Campaigner Julie-Ann Finney wants defence advisory body ESORT dissolved