PUSH TO SCRAP ADVISORY GROUP
A CAMPAIGN to disband the group advising the federal government on important issues for the nation’s veterans has launched after it was revealed there is no formal membership criteria.
A round table of ex-service organisations (ESOS) like the RSL and Legacy form the group ESORT, which provides advice and consultation to government, ministers and commissions.
The two former Veterans’ Affairs ministers told the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide they met with the group and received advice from it.
During the Townsville hearing, the inquiry was told there was essentially no defensible or transparent selection criteria for ESORT membership and that being on the round table was a “job for life” with no assessment on performance.
Julie-ann Finney was one of the most high-profile campaigners for a Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide after her son, a navy veteran, took his own life in 2019.
Clutching a picture of her late son as she spoke to media in Townsville amid the royal commission, Ms Finney said the current system was not working.
Ms Finney said a new organisation was needed to speak up about what veterans really needed.
“They are not up to date,” she said.
“We are not engaging with the veterans on the ground, the veterans who are suffering, the families of the vets who are no longer here.
“We need to disband that advisory body and put a new body in place with a limited tenure, not a lifetime tenure.”
Ms Finney said the evidence presented so far in the Townsville hearing showed government leaders and the ADF’S top brass were not in touch with what was going on.
“Really we have not done what we need to do to look after the wellbeing of veterans,” she said.
Former Veterans’ Affairs Minister Darren Chester was questioned about ESORT’S membership as he gave evidence on Wednesday.
He said while he attended ESORT meetings regularly and was provided with feedback, he was not aware of its selection criteria.