DELAY, deny, and wait for us to die.
As the curtain closed on the three-year Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide on Wednesday, those tuned in were reminded of how that slogan was earned.
During a highly-emotional closing ceremony, the audience was also reminded of the deaths of at least 1,677 serving and ex-serving Defence personnel by suicide between 1997 and 2021.
And, the repeated failures of those in a position to bring about change following at least 57 previous inquiries.
They are still doing it, Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie said during her speech in which she referenced her 'ten years of hell' after leaving the army.
"Instead of DVA (Department of Veteran Affairs) treating me like a veteran that needed support, they treated me like a criminal trying to rort the system," Ms Lambie said.
"There is a saying within the veterans' community to describe the method the DVA uses when dealing with veterans - delay, deny and wait for us to die.
"DVA spied on me, lied to me and accused me of being a malingerer."
It was that experience that gave her the determination to get into politics to "get myself into rooms with decision makers", she said.
Also in the room, in-person as well as by way of pre-recorded video content, was Port Stephens resident Tonia Keyte.
"I needed to tell my story, to make sure that it never happens again, ever," Ms Keyte said.
Fears for the future
On her way home from the event Ms Keyte said she was trying to be optimistic, but after all the effort that Defence and DVA had gone to in the past to "avoid facing the music" she feared the work of the commission would go the same way.
"Jacqui Lambie was 100 per cent correct that all veterans I know understand DVA's motto to be delay, deny, and wait for them to die," Me Keyte said.
"I hope I'm wrong."
Judgement day
Commissioner Peggy Brown warned that Australia would be judged on its response to the Royal Commission.
"In the last six months, we have, at last, heard senior Defence leaders acknowledge the nexus between service and the risk of suicide, and commit to change," Commissioner Brown said.
"We now need them to deliver on their newly gained insights, remembering their people are their greatest asset."
Senator Lambie, who called for a Royal Commission in her first speech in the Senate in 2014, said to date the response had not been encouraging.
A report into the first ever audit of the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) has been sitting with the Minister for Defence for five months, Ms Lambie said.
It was a cultural issue that must change, she said.
"When they find problems they aren't transparent, they don't move quickly to address the issue and they ignore or fail to put through the recommendations that could make a difference," Ms Lambie said.
"We cannot let this Royal Commission go the way of the reports and inquires that preceded them.
"It cannot just sit on a shelf gathering dust while the Defence establishment moves on and nothing changes.
The Commission's report will be handed down on September 9.
Tonia's story
Ms Keyte had always wanted to join the Air Force and follow in the footsteps of her father, and her grandfather before him.
"I can't describe the sense of pride on my graduation day from recruit training," Ms Keyte said in her submission to the inquiry.
But her joy was short-lived, following an incident which sparked years of bullying, relentless harassment and cruelty.
When she requested a post away from the individual at the centre of it all for personal reason, she was instead co-located with him.
That was just the tip of the iceberg for Ms Keyte who has since battled for her life - not overseas, but here at home.
"I had to get out because, I had endured nearly three years of bullying and harassment and threats to my personal safety, and in the end, I just couldn't any longer."
Her trauma triggered dissociative amnesia, where she blocked out the events, and was not subsequently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) until years later, when she recovered her first memory, while driving home from work as a registered.
"Fortunately I managed to pull off the side of the road, get through the memory and get home safely," Ms Keyte said.
"And after that, it was opening Pandora's box and all of the memories were flooding back. And I was just in crisis. And I started remembering everything that had happened to me on the RAF base by the Australian service men and women."
Home-based battle
What many people don't understand, she said, is that you don't have to go to war to end up with PTSD, or be overseas to be fighting for your life.
"What people don't realise, and they need to start realising, is that we have Australians now fighting for their lives every day in Australia, from other Australians.
"And the fact that the sheer volume of numbers of people that we've lost in Australia from suicide as opposed to in combat ... there's no such thing as worse or better, but their trauma is just as valid and just as important and we really need to fight it."
'Fight for them'
The Royal Commission has already flagged the need for a powerful new oversight body to monitor the implementation of its recommendations.
Commissioner Nick Kaldas said Government must now accept the undeniable evidence presented to the Royal Commission and act.
"We call on this government and succeeding governments to finally take the courageous step of overruling bureaucratic inertia and doing what is needed, what is necessary and what is right," Commissioner Kaldas said.
"The men and women of the ADF have done all we ever asked of them. They have worn the uniform, many have gone where angels fear to tread, and too many have paid a very dear price, up to the ultimate sacrifice.
"Our nation is indebted to them and that debt must be now be repaid."
- Lifeline 13 11 14
- Open Arms 1800 011 046
- Defence All-hours Support Line 1800 628 036
-
Defence Member and Family Helpline 1800 624 608
- Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636
- SANE: 1800 187 263 saneforums.org
