Mother vows to haunt government if Royal Commission recommendations on defence and veteran suicide are not implemented

SA woman Julie-Ann Finney has vowed to haunt the government until it tackles the mental health and suicide crisis among veterans. Read her emotional column.

After years of fighting for justice for my son and thousands like him, the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide finally delivered its long-awaited report to the government.

Over the past week, I have met with the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), as well as the Chief of the Defence Force and other senior members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

And after speaking with hundreds of veterans, the message couldn’t be clearer: all of the recommendations must be implemented in full.

We will not accept any promises of actions or give any more time to politicians to gaslight us and feed us political BS.

Julie-Ann Finney organised a petition of 283,000 signatures calling for a royal commission. Picture: Gary Ramage

All of the voices of the past have failed and there are no more chances. More than 3000 veterans are dead and my son is one of them. I have travelled around Australia with the photos of deceased heroes for more than three years.

Ex service organisations (ESOs) have discredited veterans and even attacked me personally. They must not hold any positions of power. A peak body for ESOs needs to be led by an individual, someone independent and certainly not one of the current ESOs.

We need to also change how the DVA works because as the final report shows, it is failing.

Of course, one of the most important recommendations is the appointment of an national commissioner. This must be completely independent to ensure there’s true accountability, giving veterans and their families confidence in the process.

David Finney lost his life at aged 38 in 2019. Picture: Supplied

What will we do to ensure not only implementation of the recommendations, but to ensure that they are action in the spirit intended by the commissioners?

On September 11, I have booked the lawns of Parliament House to let politicians know what are acceptable responses and to let veterans and their families know what are the next steps.

Should politicians waste the opportunity to implement great changes in the Defence and veteran space, then we will campaign in the electorates of the ministers who have let us down the most.

Holding photos of our deceased loved ones while acknowledging that under these ministers the numbers continue to grow. I have consistently said don’t underestimate a mother, or anyone, whose loved one has been harmed. Definitely don’t underestimate thousands of us.

Finally, if the government needs further understanding of the importance of the recommendations of a royal commission, the mothers of the men who suicided due to Robodebt (an unlawful Centrelink debt assessment and recovery scheme) will be in attendance. They are in a prime position to teach politicians what happens when you give jobs to your mate.

Put simply, to reduce the number of members who are leaving voluntarily or are medically discharged, the ADF needs to prioritise its members’ health and wellbeing.

Parents are losing their kids and families are losing their loved ones.

There can be no more “jobs for the boys”. And the royal commission must not end up just another report that gathers dust and for the issues to be repeated over and over again.

Julie-Ann Finney’s 38-year-old navy son David suicided in 2019. She was backed by The Daily Telegraph’s Save Our Heroes campaign.

Originally published as Mother vows to haunt government if Royal Commission recommendations on defence and veteran suicide are not implemented