1 week Ago By Andrew Brown and Tess Ikonomou
Afghanistan veteran Bradley Carr died by suicide on Anzac Day in 2019. or signup to continue reading His mother Glenda Weston was part of a group of grieving mothers who successfully petitioned the former Morrison government to set up a royal commission into veteran suicide, which has handed down its report after three years of hearings. "In honour of my son Brad, I feel I have done the best I could, to bring justice and recognition to his life serving his country," she said.
"The trauma we as a family have suffered from the day he arrived home from Afghanistan to this day was unjustly put upon us." Ms Weston said the pain of losing her 34-year-old son to post-traumatic stress disorder has had an "outstanding and devastating effect". "I have found peace in the knowledge that hopefully now and in the future more care will be taken in observing and determining results that will prevent this damage ever occurring again," she said.
"It has been a long and heartbreaking journey, but at the end of the day, I still can't hold my son and tell him I love him." Five years on from Mr Carr's death, the royal commission's final report laid out 122 recommendations for addressing suicide among serving defence personnel and veterans. Recommendations in the seven-volume report included setting up an agency dedicated to the wellbeing of veterans to help with the transition from military to civilian life.
It included calls for a national register of suicides and risk factors, along with an inquiry into the prevalence of sexual assault within the defence force. The federal government said it would consider all off the report's findings. It was critical all the recommendations were acted on immediately, RSL Australia president Greg Melick said.
"The final report demonstrates how Australia has systematically failed those who have served and continue to serve our nation, and importantly, it provides a clear pathway to redress those failures," he said. The report had been a milestone for the defence community, Suicide Prevention Australia chief executive Nieves Murray said. "There are on average three deaths by suicide by serving or ex-serving defence members every fortnight across Australia," Ms Murray said.
"The work of the royal commission has been critical in unearthing the depth and scale of the issues regarding suicide risks for our veterans and defence personnel." Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie said the coalition would work closely with the federal government to implement reform. "The men and women of the ADF serve our nation with honour and bravery.
But paying lip service to them is not enough," Mr Hastie said. "These findings are a stark reminder that we must do better by those who defend us." Lifeline 13 11 14 Open Arms 1800 011 046 DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team.
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