Pressure is mounting on the federal government to call a royal commission into veteran suicides, as the Victorian opposition joins calls for an inquiry.
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Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien on Tuesday announced the Liberal-National coalition would join RSL Victoria and the veteran community in supporting a royal commission.
He said more than 500 veterans had taken their own lives in the past 20 years, including 20 deaths this year.
"This is a problem that's not going away. It's a problem that's not getting better and we owe it to those veterans who served, who sacrificed for us, we owe it to them to help them now," he told reporters.
"A national royal commission into veteran suicides is an absolutely essential step to addressing this really serious problem."
Mr O'Brien said his federal counterparts were "actively considering" holding a royal commission and noted that they did not oppose a motion calling for the inquiry in parliament last month.
"This should be a bipartisan issue, it is an issue that deeply affects the veteran community and we think that it's an appropriate time for action now," he said.
Outgoing Warragul RSL president Bill Westhead has been campaigning for a royal commission for years and wants it to also examine veteran health and the management of the Australian Defence Force.
"When we come back, we deserve to be looked after and to have the expectation of leading a full life," the Afghanistan veteran told reporters.
"Veteran health, veteran suicide has precluded that."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has resisted calls for a royal commission for years, despite federal Labor and several of his coalition backbenchers supporting an inquiry.
In February 2020, he announced a permanent independent commissioner to investigate veteran suicide with Dr Bernadette Boss, a former magistrate and coroner in the ACT, appointed to the role in September.
But the government has been unable to legislate her powers, as Senate crossbenchers including Tasmanian independent Jacqui Lambie, a former soldier, want a royal commission instead.
Victorian Acting Premier James Merlino said the state government has backed a royal commission on the issue for some time.
"I'm not going to give a pat on the back to the state opposition, who have just realised that this is a serious issue," he told reporters.
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