Royal commission

“SHELLSHOCK” they called it when men seemingly lost all reason in the trenches of Europe in World War I.

“Battle fatigue” was another term used when fighting men returned home, quiet, distracted, bad-tempered and turning to alcohol before ending the torment with a permanent solution to the war still going on in their heads.

Now we say “nervous breakdown” and “PTSD”, but while we use these terms to recognise the well-known problem of terrible mental health outcomes for defence personnel, we don’t seem to be any closer to a remedy.

I wholeheartedly welcome Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement of a Royal Commission into veteran and defence suicides because we all want to do better by our veterans and serving personnel.

This announcement is particularly timely leading up to Anzac Day but I am incredibly saddened by a growing antimilitary mindset that seems to gain more traction each year.

We don’t glorify war, but we should certainly glorify those who put on their country’s uniform, and we should prove we value their service by fully investigating the struggles they go through.

Suicide is the leading cause of death in Australia for people aged between 15 and 44, and former and serving defence personnel are overrepresented in this sad statistic.

I would like to thank all the government and non-government support services working every day to provide counselling and support for Defence personnel and their loved ones.

And I sincerely thank all Defence Force members – past and present – for their service. SUSAN McDONALD, LNP Senator for Queensland