Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present two ministerial statements relating to:

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate take note of the statement on the apology to people subjected to sexual or other forms of abuse in Defence.

I make this statement on behalf of my friend Senator David Johnston, the shadow minister for defence, who is unable to be in the Senate today. The coalition offer our strong and unqualified support to the government as it offers a formal apology to the men and women of the Australian Defence Force who have suffered abuse in the course of their service to our nation.

Ours is a unique fighting force, a small but potent military that has delivered a disproportionate effect upon every battlefield upon which it has fought. We have a rich military history and can rightfully hold our heads high in the concert of nations when it comes to defending freedom. Our history of military endeavour is second to none. Yet, despite our overwhelming battlefield success, there have been a flood of complaints, some going back to the 1950s, of abuse within the ranks. By any standard, the litany of abuse allegations is completely unacceptable, let alone by the standards of the finest fighting force in the world, the ADF. This conduct does not accord with the values of our society, let alone the values of our military. Our military is a disciplined force; however, the DLA Piper review has made it clear that there have been elements and individuals within the ADF that have abused their power or position and inflicted abuse on those who sought only to serve our nation.

We deeply sympathise with and say sorry to those who have experienced abuse at the hands of those who were to be trusted with their leadership and care. This was a great betrayal. This abuse should never have happened. Every effort must be made to ensure that it does not happen again. Our military must train hard and fight hard, but, as they do, we must not allow our men and women to suffer abuse in any form. This is not who we are as a country and it is certainly not who we are as a military. Abuse destroys lives, limits our operational capability and undermines public confidence in our military.

We are at our best when we pause and walk in the shoes of others and reflect on their experiences, acknowledge their pain and then commit to right that which is wrong. That is the start of the process. Accordingly, the government enjoys the full support of the coalition as it establishes its Defence abuse task force. We will provide every support to the senior defence leadership and we have faith in their capacity to work with the task force both to assist it in its work and to implement its recommendations. The coalition stands with the government with an absolute commitment to care for all of those who care for us.

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Greens join the government in expressing our deep sadness and apology to the victims of abuse in the Defence Force. We welcome the fact that on 26 November the federal government issued that apology to hundreds of victims of physical and sexual abuse within the Australian Defence Force and we also welcome the fact that the Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, also announced the setting up of an independent task force to deal with hundreds of claims of sexual and physical abuse within the ADF.

We note that Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, referring to the inquiry she led into the treatment of women in the Australian Defence Force, said:

… by its nature, the ADF is a workplace involving inherent risks.

Experiencing sexual misconduct, harassment, bullying, victimisation and sexual abuse, however, should never be one of them. The reality is that sexual harassment and abuse exists today in the ADF.

The Greens commit to giving the government what support it needs to make sure this inquiry has the power it needs to establish what happened, why it was able to happen and what must be done to ensure it never happens again as well as to enforce recommendations.

Determining the facts of individual cases and compensating the victims is important, but it cannot end there. We must make the changes necessary to protect the people who join the defence forces from this kind of horrendous treatment in the future.

Concern that compensation has been capped at the seemingly arbitrary figure of $50,000 per case is something that we share with some of the victims' groups. We urge the government to reconsider that element and we hope that in the course of the inquiry that might be something that is able to be reconsidered. However, we do take on board the fact that at least the government has made a commitment to compensation in this regard.

We want to ensure that broader issues about the Defence justice and complaints system and the Defence culture are able to be pursued, even if that is separately—

Alan Ferguson (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being 4 pm the debate is interrupted pursuant to an order made by the Senate earlier today.