Sexual offenders will be removed from the defence force under a sweeping overhaul to combat the crisis of suicide in the Australian military. A new statutory agency will also be established to drive and monitor changes as the government accepts almost all recommendations from a landmark royal commission.
Category
đŸ“º
TVTranscript
00:00For five years, the memory of her son Dave has spurred Julianne Finney to drive change.
00:09Don't enlist.
00:10Just don't.
00:11We don't want our children dying.
00:12We don't want our grandchildren dying.
00:14Now, just months after the completion of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran
00:19Suicide which she campaigned for, the government's announced its formal response.
00:25We have accepted through the Cabinet process the overwhelming majority of the Royal Commission's
00:31122 recommendations.
00:34Among those recommendations, a crackdown on sex offenders in the military, including
00:40a presumption that ADF members committing serious sexual misconduct would be discharged,
00:46as well as a new formal inquiry into sexual violence in the military.
00:52We are out here today making very clear that we accept these recommendations and the importance
00:56and significance of them.
00:57But the government has rejected a push for troops permanently injured in training to
01:02receive the same compensation as those hurt in overseas deployments.
01:08The service differential is a long-standing feature of Australia's support for veterans.
01:14It's been there a long time.
01:15In future, officers will also have their emotional intelligence tested before being considered
01:21for promotion, and a new statutory body is being established to oversee progress on all
01:28the recommendations.
01:30We do want to work with the government on a bipartisan basis to deliver for our Defence
01:34and Veteran community.
01:36While Defence begins implementing dozens of Royal Commission recommendations, it's also
01:41grappling with how to lift recruitment and retention levels inside Defence, and it's
01:46hoped improving workplace military culture will help with that massive task.