Senate debates
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Questions without Notice
Australian Defence Force: Medical Officers
2:38 pm
Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source
Certainly this government would absolutely support—and I am sure the previous government would also have supported—the right of any member of the ADF to raise any concerns regarding safety in the workplace or lack of support in that regard. In answer to the suggestion that someone who raised concerns about the number of medical staff would somehow then be discriminated against, I would be very concerned if that happened. I am sure that the Chief of the Defence Force, Angus Houston, would also be concerned, as would the minister. So, if there are particular cases where Senator Fielding thinks a member of the defence forces might have been discriminated against for raising legitimate health and safety concerns and the senator wanted to provide the details, I am sure the minister and the CDF would be very happy to follow those up.
Comments
treena day
Posted on 6 Feb 2011 8:59 pm
The high wages paid to civilian doctors helps to maintain the deleterious culture. Those that do not speak out are rewarded with safety of their positions. Some of these doctors may not cope so well in private practice or the hospital settings for a variety of reasons. In Defence,some have found an extremely well paid job where they are left alone as long as they follow orders. even when it may not be in the patients best interests. In such a culture as Defence, the majority of personnel are too fearful to speak out. Meetings are called to order members to avoid certain people (ie, Dr. Fidge), not speak under certain circumstances and manipulative and deceptive messages that clearly are set up to keep members voiceless and under control. The errors that Dr Fidge may (or may not) have made, should not be used against him, blown out of proportion or used out of context. Indeed, if Defence did have a culture of courage and honesty, it would be looking into the problem rather than a pro forma denying of complaints. Unfortunately, Dr Julian Fidge's observations are real. He is not crazy and his perceptions do not make him the one requiring psychiatric help. On the contrary, it would appear that Defence have either "sold out", naively backed themselves into a corner or, have fallen into "Emperors New Clothes denial. A genuine investigation would require forensic investigators. The difficulty in working around the psychopathic or strongly narcissistic personality types that appear to thrive within this culture requires a different approach. Part of the selling out of those high in the hierarchy may be due to their lack of experience with these manipulatory personality types. In reality however, Defence may be more talk than walk in this modern age. There is simply not enough substance (genuine fear from war, etc) to keep the masses honest. One only has to ask how many members are actually deployed into areas of danger (primarily army) and one sees that the majority are sitting in an office being paid to work on their promotion and status.
Julian Fidge
Posted on 24 Jan 2011 3:49 pm
If it is true this govenment values honest behaviour in the ADF then the Chief of the Defence Force, the Chief of Army and the Chief of Navy should all be sacked, today.
I, personally, have been charged with insubordination for elevating a Redress of Grievance. A kangaroo court was set up, my defending officer was bullied until she quit in fear, and the Director of Military Prosecutions colluded in a malicious prosecution.
Part of the problem is that these senior officers are not accountable for their misbehaviour or lack of action, so they continue to condone unacceptable behaviour.
Dr Julian Fidge