DEATH NOTE LAYS BLAME ON DVA
Injured ex-soldier’s last act seeks justice for thousands of suffering veterans
THE typed letter from Shaun Spain is as emotional as it is pointed.
“I am sorry you have found me this way but unfortunately I have taken my own life for many reasons and DVA (Department of Veterans Affairs) are mostly to blame,” the decorated army veteran wrote.
His funeral was held on the Gold Coast this week.
The letter is another tragic indictment on the DVA’s treatment of the nation’s veterans. The federal government has already conceded the suicide rate among veterans is a “national tragedy”.
More than 1600 serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force personnel have died by suicide since 1997 and Mr Spain’s death is the second in as many months of a high-profile veteran since the suicide of prominent Gold Coast solicitor Dave Garrett in December.
While the Royal Commishis sion into Defence and Veteran Suicide has already made sweeping recommendations to how the DVA needs to operate, including its handling of claims, its final report will not be completed until later this year.
Mr Spain’s citing of the department for his death was the end of a long battle that he hoped would bring justice for thousands of veterans struggling to transition to civilian life.
Former Corporal Spain, a popular Gold Coast real estate agent, retired medically unfit in 2014 after 15 years of service including five tours to Afghanistan, Iraq and East Timor. He struggled with multiple injuries including to his back, shoulders, knees and hip.
But his scars from service were also mental, including PTSD. Despite having established a successful realty, he struggled to get ready access to DVA entitlements.
He had to dip into his super to pay for the dozens of operations he needed from war service injuries, with delays of his DVA compensation claims.
According to his family, the 52-year-old – who grew up on a farm in Broadford in central Victoria – worried about other veterans and was always looking for opportunities to champion their cause and make change. Even after death he hoped his words would create change.
His note said he was taking his own life for other veterans, fearing DVA’s processes were not going far enough to incentivise employers to hire ex-ADF personnel, and the ongoing Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide was “all talk no action”.
“It psychologically just drained him I feel; he was gutted in the end,” his twin brother Brandon Spain said. “(DVA) just need to change the system, it is too old and needs to be brought into the 21st century. I feel right now with what’s happened to Shaun as he wrote in that letter what he could not accom
plish in life, he wanted to accomplish with his death.
“That’s not cool, no one should have to sacrifice themselves in the hope of change. We need change and to save lives, no one needs to go down this track.”
He said while his brother had been receiving DVA benefits, claims took too long and his injuries and operations were overwhelming.
Shaun’s letter said he had been “fighting constantly with DVA”, and that his pension was “useless”. “Life is … bloody hard and I have to say today I have had enough,” he wrote.
Ian Grace, a corporate business trainer and close friend of Shaun, has been advocating for eight years for returned veterans to be offered a pathway into business ownership instead of being told just to go out and get a job.
The pair last year put together videos and a plan for DVA to help veterans run their own business.
“Veterans should be treated as elite platinum frequent flyers; instead they are treated like cargo,” Mr Grace said.
Mr Keogh said he was saddened by Shaun’s death.
“The death of any veteran is an absolute tragedy... my thoughts are with his family at this difficult timeand I understand the Department of Veterans Affairs have been providing support.”
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