Pressure grows on Canberra for ADF suicide inquiry

Defence veterans, families and support groups have ­rallied behind calls for a royal commission into the “national tragedy” of shocking suicide rates among ex-servicemen and women.

Dave Finney, whose death by suicide prompted the campaign.

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Defence veterans, families and support groups have ­rallied behind calls for a royal commission into the “national tragedy” of shocking suicide rates among ex-servicemen and women.

Author of the book Resurrection, Andrew Cullen, a 17-year veteran of the Australian Army, said he suffered a mental breakdown after serving as a member of the explosive ordnance disposal unit.

Julie-Ann Finney with a picture of her son Dave, who lost his battle with PTSD after serving in the Navy. Picture: AAP/Brenton Edwards

He said defence authorities looked for ways to deny claims “instead of asking if we need help”.

“The fact that we are losing people at such a rate and it’s so excessive, it warrants a royal commission,” he said.

“If it was happening to politicians and they were dropping like flies they would have a royal commission set up straight away and it wouldn’t take long to throw money and effort into it.”

Veterans Suicide Prevention Inc president Clarence Ormsby, who served in Vietnam for New Zealand, said there were many “appalling” stories of ill-treatment of veterans, such as the plight of Naval Petty Officer Dave Finney, 38, who took his life earlier this year.

Mr Finney’s mother Julie-Ann Finney is calling on the Morrison government to set up a royal commission into the suicide toll, which at an estimated one a week far exceeds battlefield casualties over the past decade.

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Male veterans under 30 are killing themselves at double the rate of other Australian men their age.

“I will stand with David Finney’s mother on this, it’s a disgraceful betrayal,” Mr Ormsby said.

Mrs Finney said she had been “overwhelmed” with public support over the issue, highlighted by The Daily Telegraph’s Save Our Heroes campaign.

Her son battled mental health issues and despite having been a widely promoted “poster boy” for the Navy, was medically discharged with post-traumatic stress syndrome and was told in October last year by a representative of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs that he would have to wait up to six months to see a psychiatrist. He took his own life in February.

“There are so many of these deaths that literally thousands and thousands of family (members) have been affected,” Mrs Finney said.

Julie-Ann Finney laying a reef of memorial for her son Dave at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Opposition spokesman for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel Shayne Neumann said the government needed to act on many of the existing strong recommendations that had already come out of multiple reviews.

“It’s a national shame for us, this issue,” he said. “The government needs to get on with it and take action.

“These are men and women who served in our defence, in the front lines, in peacekeeping, have experienced horrors unimaginable to the average Australian and deserve our support.”

A currently serving friend of Dave Finney rang The Saturday Telegraph to say his wife had been medically discharged but put through a “ridiculous and unwarranted” amount of stress dealing with the Department.

Clarence Ormsby pictured at a Veterans Suicide Memorial in Budgewoi lobbied for due to personal experience after the Vietnam War. Picture: Sue Graham

“They’ve been belligerent, hostile, it’s unbelievable,” the man said. “In the last nine years 17 people I’ve worked with have killed themselves. It needs to stop. Dave never seemed down, but obviously he was. It shocked me.”

Loretta Somerville, a veteran and member of support group The Warrior’s Return, said there were “too many loops to jump through” to get appropriate services from the defence agencies.

If concerned about yourself or a loved one, ring Lifeline 13 11 14, or Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636.