Andrew Bartlett (Queensland, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

This report is the first progress report from the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade regarding reforms to Australia’s military justice system. I was a member of the references committee when it first did its I think very influential inquiry into Australia’s military justice system. It was a unanimous report. It was a good example of the committee process working very well and a good mechanism that allowed a lot of Australians with a lot of frustration, anger and hurt to have their voices heard.

To the credit of the government and former Minister Hill it was one of those, unfortunately rather rare, occasions where the government responded quite quickly. Its response was not as positive in terms of agreeing with all of the recommendations as the committee would have liked, I think, but it was good to see that at least there was a considered and prompt response that led to change.

This report following on from that is a progress report on those reforms. I did not participate in that. I am afraid my overall workload was too large to be able to follow it as closely as I would have liked. But that should not in any way reflect on my interest in this issue or indeed my belief about its importance. I do think it is an issue that merits continuing attention and I am very pleased to see the committee continuing to provide that attention.

One problem, a very big one, with our Senate committee system is that many times governments do not respond very promptly or adequately. Another one which I think we all have to bear some responsibility for is that oftentimes there will be a lot of work, thought and effort put in by the community as well as us in producing a report and not only will the government forget about it but a lot of times senators as well will forget about it because we are immediately on to the next inquiry and charging around looking at that. Sometimes I feel there is not enough follow-up to see not just what the government has done about a report but where the issue is flowing. That is why it is particularly welcome to see the committee continuing to maintain an active interest in this very important area.

I have said a number of times that I think one of the biggest barriers to our continuing ability to meet recruitment and retention targets in the Australian Defence Force is the way we treat people when they are in it and when they leave, particularly if they leave because of injury or being wounded—I do not just mean wounded in battle but injured in the course of their duty in general, in vehicle accidents and those sorts of things. These things happen, particularly in the Defence Force. It is not just going to war that is dangerous; the training can be dangerous, and people get injured.

All of us, I am sure, would be aware of the significant dissatisfaction of some people who have had negative experiences within the military, whether it is physical injury, mental health issues or other problems, and do not feel they have got a fair deal—or been treated with respect, apart from anything else. That goes more widely than just the military justice system. It goes particularly to the compensation system, which is outside the scope of this particular report.

I recognise that you can never make everybody happy. But I think we are falling well short of where we should be, particularly in the respect with which we treat people. I get continual feedback, not just from the people concerned themselves but in many cases from their families, partners, parents, siblings or children who say that their loved one feels like they were just discarded as soon as they were causing any trouble—as soon as they were injured or there was a problem and they were out of the military, they were just discarded.

I am sure that is not the intent. I certainly have a lot of respect for the current head of the Defence Force, but I do think that it is still a very real perception, and it is very damaging when you have not just the person involved but their family and friends going around saying: ‘The Defence Force are a pack of mongrels. Don’t go near them. The last thing you should do is join them; you’d be crazy.’ That is what I hear time and time again. That is a problem, and it is a problem for all of us, not just the people who have bad experiences.

The military justice system is one component of some of the bad experiences people have. It is not just the experience itself but the sense of injustice and unresolved grievance, the lack of recognition of the grievance and the sense basically of the deck being stacked against them when it comes to military justice that continues to suggest that, whilst reforms have been made, they do not go far enough. I think this first progress report reflects that concern I express.

I think it is appropriate to continually draw attention to this because it is a running sore. I appreciate that genuine efforts are being made to address this and make things better but I also think that objective, non-partisan assessments would say that there is still a way to go, not just in the military justice system but elsewhere. We have to be looking at treating people more as individuals. I think there is an understandable mindset occasionally in the military where people’s individuality is subsumed into the needs of the collective. I can understand that, given the nature of military life, but people are still individuals and they should still in some cases get treated with more respect and dignity when difficulties occur, whether they are with justice issues, health issues, injuries or other matters. I think we have a way to go in regard to that. I do congratulate the committee for its continuing interest in this matter. It is certainly one I will endeavour to maintain some interest in as well, if not as a direct participant on the committee.