Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. It is unusual to receive a question from the shadow minister given the personal experience that he's had not just in service but in respect of this. I want to say up front that I very much acknowledge his service in Australia's Defence Force. But it's more than that—and he knows my feelings about this: the member opposite, in respect of this issue, is a very brave man. Australia owes him a debt of gratitude for what he has done on this.

What has happened in relation to the allegations that were made under the Brereton inquiry is obviously a matter of national shame. But what we can take encouragement from is that the Brereton inquiry, to the credit of the former government, is Australia dealing with its own issues. It goes to who we are as a people, and it is a fundamentally important report and one which needs to be treated with the upmost respect. I very much know that the honourable member knows that better than anyone in this place.

Our predisposition here is to fully implement, to the extent that we can, the Brereton report. There were 143 recommendations of the Brereton report. The former government dealt with 101 of them. I want to make clear that there is no intention to review any of the decisions that the former government made in relation to those 101 recommendations, particularly in respect to the ones the Leader of the Opposition made when he was the defence minister in respect to the Meritorious Unit Citation. None of that is under review.

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