00:00 Well, this Royal Commission has been going for more than two years now.
00:06 It's taken thousands of submissions, it's heard from hundreds of witnesses and last
00:11 year it put out an interim report with some recommendations.
00:15 But Commissioner Nick Cowduss said from the evidence that he's seen, it seems like Defence
00:21 has done too much talk and not enough action.
00:25 He's questioned whether Defence is really committed to change or whether it's simply
00:30 going through the motions.
00:32 He said they're hearing evidence that poor workplace culture still exists in Defence
00:38 and they're having trouble getting timely responses to requests for data and information
00:43 from both Defence and other Commonwealth bodies.
00:47 Defence's approach to investigating and reporting on suicides has progressed at a snail's pace.
00:53 We are yet to find sufficient evidence of urgency in responding to these complex issues
00:58 holistically, even with this Royal Commissioner on foot.
01:01 Leah, it's unusual for a Royal Commissioner to give a public address like this one at
01:06 the National Press Club before they've handed down their findings.
01:09 Did the Commissioner say why he was doing it today?
01:12 Yes, he did and it's really because of those concerns and frustrations that he expressed.
01:19 He earlier this year asked for an extension for the Royal Commission so that it could
01:24 continue to take evidence, but that wasn't granted and that means that they're going
01:28 to have to wrap up next year.
01:30 And he said he wants to ensure that when that does happen, when they do hand down their
01:35 findings and their recommendations, he wants to ensure that something is actually done
01:40 about it and it doesn't just become another report on a pile of what have been many reports
01:45 in the past.
01:47 We made a conscious decision to speak out at the moment because we're at a point where
01:51 we feel that the issues that we've uncovered have not been noticed, absorbed, people have
01:56 not been all that interested in them and one of the things that must happen for things
02:00 to improve is that there must be more interest both from the public and I have to say the
02:04 media on these issues and when reporting begins then people begin to notice.
02:11 And in light of what he's just said there, the other thing that he did say in his address
02:16 is that once the Royal Commission does wrap up, he doesn't want that to be the end of
02:21 it, he wants there to be set up an independent body that can really keep defence and keep
02:26 government accountable to holding up whatever recommendations the Royal Commission does
02:31 hand down.
02:32 Leah, thank you.
02:34 And if this story has caused any issues for you or those close to you, you can reach out
02:39 on the following numbers.
02:40 The Suicide Callback Service on 1300 659 467.
02:46 And Arms on 1800 011 046.
02:50 Or the Defence Member and Family Helpline, that's 1800 624 608.
02:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]
