The federal government has apologised to Australian veterans and their families for failings in the way the defence forces and veterans affairs department has operated in the past.
The apology comes after the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide released a 300-page interim report and announced 13 initial recommendations on Aug. 11.
“To people that have felt they have not got the treatment that they deserve … I apologise for that,” Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh told reporters in Canberra.
“As the government of this country, veterans always deserve the best, and we should be delivering that.”
The commission has recommended that urgent changes are needed to the Australian defence personnel support network. They also declared that the backlog of veterans claims must be cleared no later than March 2024….