Decision Maker Response
Anthony Albanese’s response
Dec 4, 2019 — Hi everyone,
Last Thursday, it was my honour to meet Julie-Ann Finney – and to hear about her beautiful son, David.
Her story is heartbreaking. It’s also heartbreakingly common.
Between 2007 and 2017, 415 Defence personnel took their own lives.
And the question we’ve got to ask ourselves is – why?
What are we missing? Where are we failing?
I don’t have all the answers. But I know we need to find them.
And that’s why Labor supports a royal commission into veteran suicide.
A royal commission is the most powerful form of inquiry we have. It will ask the hard questions. It will find the hard truths. It will show us the way forward.
And we must. For David, and all those we’ve lost. For Julie-Ann, and every other family left behind. And for our country – so we can face this national shame head-on, and do something about it.
Thank you for joining this movement. Thank you for supporting Julie-Ann and all our remarkable Defence families.
Labor stands with you.
Albo