<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>328704</docID> <postdate>2024-09-09 15:20:44</postdate> <headline>Veteran suicide report demands action for ADF personnel</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-328705" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240909137078804101-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="601" /></p> <caption>Royal Commission chair Nick Kaldas (second left) hands the report to Governor-General Erin Mostyn. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Tess Ikonomou</strong> in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>Defence personnel need better health services and stronger protection from sexual violence and toxic behaviour, a royal commission has found.</strong></p> <p>Veterans should have a smoother transition from military to civilian life and easier access to claims and entitlements.</p> <p>After an exhaustive three-year investigation, a final report on defence and veteran suicides has been released.</p> <p>"Just as our veterans and defence personnel step up for our country, we have an obligation to step up for them," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament on Monday.</p> <p>"The government will thoroughly consider every recommendation."</p> <p>The inquiry received almost 6000 submissions and heard from hundreds of witnesses about issues ranging from bullying to abuse in the Australian Defence Force.</p> <p>Chair Nick Kaldas said a failure of leadership led to the countless inquiries beforehand not being acted on.</p> <p>"What is clear from some of the horrible stories that we've heard is that many people simply turned a blind eye over many years and felt it was too hard, or they simply didn't care enough to tackle the problems," he said.</p> <p>"We hope that the royal commission has achieved one thing, which is to make the problems undeniable.</p> <p>"It's really up to the government and our parliament now ... it should not be a political issue, united to help and support our veterans and our serving members."</p> <p>Independent senator Jacqui Lambie, who served in the military for more than a decade and called for a royal commission, said "Defence was already on the defensive".</p> <p>"If you want to fix things, then you have to be open and honest where your problems are," she said.</p> <p>"Otherwise you are never going to fix it, and that is why people are not joining, and that is why they're leaving in droves."</p> <p>Senior officials also gave evidence at the inquiry, including former chief of the defence force Angus Campbell who apologised unreservedly for the military's failures.</p> <p>There have been at least 57 previous inquiries relating to Defence and veteran suicide over the past three decades, resulting in about 770 recommendations.</p> <p>An interim report released in 2023 made 13 urgent recommendations, including eliminating the massive backlog of veteran compensation claims by March 2024.</p> </body>