Dear Prime Minister 

My son David is dead, but you know that. David is just one of thousands who died because the Australian Defence Force (ADF) abused, destroyed, and abandoned them to a system that doesn’t work. 

The Morrison Government gave us an underfunded and under-resourced Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide (DVSRC). Still, veterans and their families were grateful and took the opportunity to work with what they were given.  

In opposition you pledged to support and stand by veterans and their families, you pledged to stand by me and my son, and other families like us. I will never give up, I will not abandon my son.  We deserve answers and we deserve accountability. 

The Commissioners have asked for an extension of 12 months to untangle the coverups and possible criminality that is our ADF.  If the Commissioners make a request, they should be heard. Isn’t the idea of having a Royal Commission, an investigation without fear or favour? I am urgently calling for the DVSRC to be extended. 

There are veterans with brain injuries, veterans homeless, veterans living in poverty, veterans with terminal illness, veterans with physical injuries and veterans who are dead - all due to their service. We need to see the DVSRC through to the end.  We need changes.  We need to know why our kids die.

Your ministers need to front the Royal Commission to expand on why they throw millions of $ at institutions that continue to let our sons and daughters die. Institutions that could possibly be engaging in criminality and corruption. 

Australians need to know why Veterans like David McBride could not be saved by your government or by Defence because the USA has been given total authority to determine what becomes of Australian Citizens (including Julian Assange and Dan Duggan).  If you enlist in the ADF you are no longer serving or fighting for “Australia”.   AUKUS ensures that we are allies to the USA but they are in no way ours.

Thousands of us need answers and thousands of us need accountability.  Defence and the DVA, the RSL and other ESOs have either not complied with the requests of the commissioners or have been very economical with the truth. You cannot make satisfactory (the best possible) recommendations without “the full story” and enough time to analyse that story.  Time to discern the truth from lies, and silence.

Dave said: “If you serve or have served, I am your brother, and although I may have given up the fight, I will be there for you.” Yes, my son is dead and so is Jesse, Paul, Brad, Brock, Michael, David, Daniel, Shaun, Ian, Teri, Jules, Jason, Jacob and thousands of others. Let the truth come out and fix it. 

Do not recruit our children to die.

Julie-Ann Finney, proud mother of David (Dave) Stafford Finney.

If you or someone you know needs help, please phone Lifeline on 131 114, Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.