The best thing that can be said about the ALP's decision to support the call for a Royal Commission into veteran suicides is that it focuses attention on a tragic issue many say has been allowed to bump along under the radar for far too long.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
On the downside, Mr Albanese and his colleagues risk being accused of using damaged veterans as pawns in an ongoing game of wedge politics.
While it is to be sincerely hoped this is not the case, it is now incumbent on the ALP to walk a very fine line on this issue. It is not in anybody's interest to weaponise veterans' mental health for political purposes.
By far the best outcome for all concerned would be the adoption of a bipartisan approach to an issue that has been of concern for almost two decades. That, unfortunately, may have just got a lot harder to achieve.
It has been widely reported 415 serving and former defence personnel are known to have taken their own lives between 2001 and 2017.
Of those at least 142 were veteran suicides, involving former soldiers who had served in peacekeeping roles, East Timor, Afghanistan and elsewhere, who took their lives between 2001 and 2014. At least seven veteran suicides had been recorded by April this year.
Given Labor was in power from 2007 to 2013 it is in no position to be claiming any moral high ground.
While Mr Albanese is correct in stating "Our nation has lost to many veterans to suicide" it is his claim "we owe it to these men and women to have a close look at the circumstances driving the tragic rate of suicide in their ranks" that needs to be scrutinised.
Many of those closest to the problem, including some of the most senior leaders in defence, fear analysis paralysis is a part of the problem and that yet another inquiry, particularly in the form of a protracted and expensive Royal Commission, could do more harm than good.
Or, as Veterans' Affair Minister, Darren Chester, said in June: "I don't want to spend $100 million paying lawyers when that money could be spent on medical assistance, mental health specialists [and] providing on-the-ground support for our veterans.
Mr Morrison says he has not "ruled out" a Royal Commission.
"I've had probably the best part of 20 roundtables with veterans [and] ex-service organisations this year where we've gone through [the] various issues".
The logical consequence of Mr Chester's position, and one which would not have escaped him, is that as the minister in the hot-seat he is one of the few Australians able to pick up the phone and make things happen in this space.
He, and the Prime Minister, have given repeated assurances this is happening and they consider the issue of veterans' suicide to be of vital importance.
We also need to understand this problem is not unique to Australia, is highly nuanced and complex, and will take a great deal of time, expertise and resources to manage.
Although it is tempting to cast the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the Department of Defence as the "bad guys" in this narrative things are never as simple as they seem.
Yes, the DVA has been too "adversarial" in its interrogation of veterans' claims in the past. And yes, neither DVA or the individual services have done enough to keep track of those who have served once they left defence.
That said, strenuous attempts are being made to ensure the two giant bureaucracies are no longer prisoners of their past cultures and that resources are spent where they will do the most good.
Mr Morrison says he has not "ruled out" a Royal Commission. Fair enough. But he should not rule a Royal Commission "in" unless he can demonstrate there will be tangible benefits for veterans as a result.
