Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

During question time we heard about the deaths of two soldiers near Townsville, so I want to send my condolences to those soldiers' families and their mates, because they will obviously be doing it very tough at the moment. This bill, the Defence Legislation Amendment (Discipline Reform) Bill 2021, is about our ADF. Whether it be on operations, as we have seen in the last week or so, or during training, dangerous situations can occur. We try and manage that risk to the best of our abilities, but incidents like this can happen. So we send our condolences.

We also heard honourable members speak earlier today on the centenary of the ANF, the Australian national flag, and it's something that all servicepeople cherish. It's worn on your uniform. Those members of our ADF that have been in harm's way recently proudly wear our Australian national flag. This bill is about discipline, and I can remember, when I was going through training, being disciplined if the Australian national flag hit the ground. You could never do that. It was a big no-no. Even today, as a local federal member, when I go to a school and give the kids a flag, I'm always a bit nervous when they are pulling it out of that bag and trying to teach them the importance of not letting that flag touch the ground.

As an aside, it's been expressed to me by several veterans how disappointed they are that our Prime Minister sees the need to wear an Australian national flag on his face as a COVID mask. I call on all members opposite, particularly those with defence experience, to go and have a chat with the Prime Minister. Why is it that he sees the need to use our Australian national flag as a prop on his face during COVID? Use one of the same ones that we all use, Prime Minister, because it doesn't impress anyone out there, particularly not those who wear that ANF proudly. But I digress.

Police Remembrance Day was spoken about earlier, and I don't think the relationship between the ADF and the police has ever been closer than it is at the moment. They're working together on their various tasks very closely. They both sign up to serve and protect. That is the calibre of these men and women who join our forces. I want to associate myself with a speech by the member for Gorton in relation to a previous bill, where he talked about the service of our ADF members that we're so proud of in the last little while in Afghanistan but also more broadly. I join him in associating myself with those sentiments.

Now to this bill. On 12 August 2021 the Minister for Defence Personnel and Minister for Veterans' Affairs introduced the Defence Legislation Amendment (Discipline Reform) Bill 2021 to progress changes to Defence discipline. There are a number of reasons that that bill was drafted, and now we debate it. I noticed that the last speaker was concerned that those on this side had suggested that perhaps this bill could go off to a committee for further scrutiny, because it had already been considered for eight years. But it's going to be considered and there'll be a report by that Senate committee in October. I think we owe it to our Defence Force members to have that little bit of extra scrutiny to make sure we've got the balance right between rights and streamlining administrative processes. Don't those opposite think that that short period of time, after eight years, is worthwhile? We want to make sure we get it right, don't we?

The shadow minister for veterans' affairs and defence personnel, the member for Blair, set out the reasons behind this bill and how we got to where we are, so I won't repeat his extremely well-articulated position. However, I will make a couple of comments. Currently, about 80 per cent of disciplinary matters in the military involve relatively minor infringements which could in fact be dealt with more quickly, easily and fairly under the changes. We agree that that's the case. For example, being absent from duty could be dealt with in as little as two or three days with a reprimand or a fine of a day's pay. More serious breaches, such as insubordination or insubordinate conduct, would receive a more severe reprimand or a larger fine but could be managed within days.

I've been guilty of both of those charges in my service to our nation. There was one evening I remember right here in Canberra, when I was going through training. I don't like to say that it was totally my fault, but we had a curfew of midnight and, somewhere between the Private Bin and Mooseheads, I lost track of time. A couple of comrades and I were late back to the Australian Defence Force Academy, and I was reprimanded for that. I wouldn't say it was a serious breach. Nevertheless, I think we've got to be realistic about minimising the amount of time that is wasted with these minor breaches whilst we still continue to give serious breaches the time that is required to get a fair and just outcome.

This legislation is mostly good. Get it done, get the disciplinary action over and done with. Don't let it linger. Don't have ADF members overly stressed about this. We want them to know the seriousness, whatever that may be. But we also want to be able to crack on, because there are important operational reasons for us having everyone good to go.

As I said, it's also important to ensure that a balance is struck between those administrative efficiencies and the preservation of ADF members' rights and access to justice. Therefore I do believe it was very prudent to refer the bill to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee for a short inquiry. I would like to think that those opposite, having taken eight years, wouldn't mind a little bit of parliamentary scrutiny. We don't want any unintended consequences at this point, so having a report from that committee by 14 October is in order. It's not too far away at all.

Justice must be fair and effective. We must ensure that the ADF upholds the highest standards of behaviour, because they are ambassadors for our nation. Members of the ADF are incredibly professional as a rule, but previous members have highlighted some instances where behaviour has not met the standard required, and disciplinary action needs to be taken. But members of the ADF, like any Australians, are only human, so when they err, let's treat them fairly. That's the least that we owe them.

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