Department boss, organisations believe royal commission is ‘not appropriate idea right now’

Ex-service organisations that hold regular meetings under the chairmanship of the boss of the Department of Veterans Affairs has been slammed for being “out of touch” with younger veterans.

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A round table meeting of ex-service organisations that hold regular “cucumber sandwich” meetings under the chairmanship of the boss of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs has been condemned for being “out of touch” with younger veterans.

The 14 ex-service organisations including Legacy and the National RSL met and issued a statement against a royal commission into veteran suicides the day before their biannual meeting chaired by DVA secretary Liz Cosson.

The group’s spokesman Kel Ryan, president of the Defence Force Welfare Association, issued a statement this week saying: “Calls for a royal commission into the suicide rate and its causes among members and former members of the ADF, while well meaning, are not supported.”

President of the Defence Force Welfare Association, Kel Ryan, said calls for a royal commission into suicide rates of veterans was “not supported.

But contacted by telephone later he said: “I don’t think (a royal commission) is a bad idea, I am not sure if it’s an appropriate idea right now.”

The War Widows Guild is one of the signatories to the statement but a former branch president said the organisations “are totally out of touch with younger veterans”.

Beth Brosgrath, whose husband was a Lancaster pilot, said: “All this talking at the round table is a waste of time and it never goes anywhere. They get paid for their cucumber sandwiches and accommodation and leave feeling that they’ve contributed to lessening the distress of veterans and ex-service people.”

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The Daily Telegraph’s Save Our Heroes campaign has backed calls for a royal commission from Julie-Ann Finney, whose naval officer son David took his own life in February this year after his pleas for help were ignored by the DVA.

“This is about 14 ex-service organisations who are fighting to keep their funding. They don’t want a royal commission because it will bring together their inadequacies,” Ms Finney said.

The DVA gave $3.8 million last year to 159 ex-service organisations.

Each of the 14 organisations receives a small grant every year from the DVA but deny it influenced their position on whether a royal commission was needed.

Julie-Ann Finney with a picture of her son David, took his own life this year after his pleas for help were ignored by the DVA. Picture: AAP Image/Brenton Edwards

Ms Finney criticised the organisations’ plea to focus on a national suicide problem.

“The whole point of their organisations is to focus on veterans and the trauma they received from service, which is different from the national suicide problem,” she said. Griffith University Critical Military researcher Deborah Morris said the ex-service organisation sector was unregulated, overcrowded and did not offer frontline services to the veteran community.

“Much criticism has been drawn towards the ESO space from younger veterans,” she said. “There is a growing belief that some ESOs are more interested in maintaining relevance and position as opposed to the welfare of veterans.”

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