I still can't quite believe this happened, but yesterday I turned up at Parliament House and asked to speak at a special Veterans Ministerial Council meeting between Veterans’ Affairs Minister Darren Chester and his state and territory ministerial equivalents. The meeting was about the mental health and “suicide prevention” of veterans. I wasn't invited, and they had no idea I was coming. But guess what happened?
Darren Chester invited me into the meeting and gave me time to speak.
I just knew I needed to be in that room so I could share David's story, the stories of hundreds of veterans and their families, and the fact that 242,694 of you are behind this campaign.
I told that room full of politicians that now is the time to make drastic, urgent improvements. Now is the time for honesty. Now is the time to honour the 500 servicemen and servicewomen we have lost to veterans suicide.
I told Darren Chester and the other defence/veterans ministers that I was just one mother, but there are 500 of us. 500 of us whose children aren't coming through the door ever again.
I was so grateful to Darren Chester for allowing me to turn up uninvited at that high-level meeting and speak with the politicians who have the power to bring on this royal commission and address the veterans suicide crisis.
Five minutes after leaving the room, my phone rang: those politicians heard what I had to say and they want me back in the room the next time they meet.
A seat at the table for these discussions is an important step in getting justice for the veterans we've lost, and support for those still with us who are struggling. This isn't over, but I'm not giving up. Now, they can't ignore us.
I won't stop until we have this royal commission, until we have justice, and until we have support for veterans and their families.
Julie-Ann Finney, proud mother of Dave Stafford Finney.
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