Veteran’s grieving mum, who crusaded for royal commission, targets senate spot

Julie-Ann Finney fought for a royal commission into veteran suicides after losing her son. Now she’s targeting a new arena.

A grieving mother who relentlessly pushed for a Royal Commission into veteran suicides is about to wage a new battle — running for federal parliament.

Julie-Ann Finney, whose navy veteran son David Finney took his own life in 2019, will stand as an independent senator for South Australia in next year’s election.

“I am truly here, because of my own traumatic experience, because of my son, but not for

him. He can no longer be helped but many (others) can,” Ms Finney, who will run under the newly-registered “Local Party”, said.

“Alongside of many others, I have fought hard for a royal commission into veteran suicide, it is time to start listening to what veterans and their families need for change to occur, not to the high-powered institutions, including the government, about who should get funds to solve the unsolvable.”

Ms Finney, who will formally announce her candidacy on Thursday at Montefiore Hill in North Adelaide, said she was not only concerned about veterans but also “First Nation people, the elderly and disabled” and believed an upper house seat would help her “make change”.

“In government we seem to only make announcements that benefit the economy and we

fund corporations and bureaucracies to make change,” she said.

“I stand by what I have always thought, get social justice right and the economy will follow.

Julie-Ann Finney, who crusaded for a royal commission into veteran suicides, will seeka Senate seat. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

“Surely if we hear the voices of those that require the most help, listen to the issues and

what their needs are, we will get the most appropriate solutions.

“This includes veterans, First Nation people, the elderly and disabled.”

In her dogged two-year pursuit for a royal commission, Ms Finney collected almost 500,000 signatures.

She was backed by The Daily Telegraph’s Save Our Heroes campaign and a fortnight ago, saw her hard-work come to fruition, as public hearings opened in Brisbane.

Sadly, her 38-year-old navy poster-boy son had spoken publicly about his struggle with mental health issues only months before ending his life.

The veteran of service in Bougainville, East Timor and Middle East, who enlisted in the

Royal Australian Navy as an 18-year-old, spent 20 years on deployments, rescuing refugees and helping war-torn communities.

But when he was medically discharged in 2017, diagnosed with post-traumatic stress

disorder (PTSD), the father struggled with depression and reconciling civilian life with the

horrors he had witnessed.

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide wraps up in Brisbane this week, before resuming in Sydney in February and March next year.

Originally published as Veteran’s grieving mum, who crusaded for royal commission, targets senate spot