Why would anyone want to join the ADF? For many, that will be the key takeaway of the interim report of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
With unemployment at historic lows, young people have lots of options.
Why would they submit themselves to a system where bullies and abusers are protected, and seeking help for mental health problems can spell the end of a person’s career?
Why would they join up when a workplace injury could leave them despairing in a queue of nearly 42,000 veterans seeking help?
There will always be a core of adventure-seekers and adrenaline junkies who want to serve their country in uniform.
But, in a nation of just 25 million, there’s not enough of them to fill the ADF.
Where will the submariners come from to crew our future nuclear submarines? Or the highly skilled engineers to operate and maintain advanced new missile systems?
We need more and different types of recruits to keep Australia safe in the 21st century.
Both sides of politics back Defence’s plan to grow its workforce by 18,500 uniformed personnel over the next two decades, to meet desperate strategic needs.
At first blush, it seems a pathetically unambitious target – a net increase of less than 1000 a year. But after a decade of static recruitment, it’s one of Defence’s most difficult challenges.
The iPhone and TikTok generation aren’t known for their sense of national duty.
And their parents are unlikely to encourage them towards a military career if, as the report warns, nearly 30 per cent will think life isn’t worth living once they leave the service.
The stain of Defence and veteran suicides is deeply ingrained, but rarely spoken about outside of families and official government reports.
The royal commission has shone a light on this terrible problem, and offers hope of action.
First and foremost, the government needs to properly fund the Department of Veterans’ Affairs so it can do its work, rather than leaving fragile people hanging for years.
It has already committed to an extra 500 staff to clear the backlog.
As the royal commission’s interim report recommends, legislative reform is also urgently needed to simplify the diabolically complex veterans’ claims system.
It’s not yet a specific recommendation, but Defence also needs to work harder to fix its culture.
Defence careers are among the most challenging and rewarding available to young people. They don’t need to be put in cotton wool, but they need to be treated with respect, protected from bastardisation, and looked after when they leave.
‘Unique’ AUKUS deal a safeguard from tariffs: Marles
Defence Minister Richard Marles spruiks Australian contributions to US military at a meeting with Pete Hegseth in Washington, as Donald Trump runs the ruler over American allies.
Marles pays US an AUKUS advance
Australia has made its first AUKUS down payment to the US as the Albanese government looks to lock-in Trump administration support for the submarine program.