George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Apart from the last sentence, I concur with the previous speaker. We should never have had lockdowns.

If justice were a meal, it would be better served cold than not served at all, and in a country where belief in a fair go is in our DNA the quest for justice should never fade. That's why, 120 years after the fact, there remains a strong desire amongst many people, some of my parliamentary colleagues included, for one of our national legends to receive long-overdue justice. In February it will be 120 years since the execution of Harry Morant—better known as Breaker Morant—and Peter Handcock, as well as the sentencing of their colleague George Witton to life imprisonment. Their trials and execution have been the subject of great conjecture in Australian history as well as the subject of stories, books, ballads, a screenplay and the 1980 movie titled Breaker Morant.

Harry Morant established himself as quite a character from very early on in life. He was undoubtedly an expert horseman, reportedly a womaniser and perhaps a little loose with the truth about his past and legendary exploits. Depending on which stories you believe, he may even have been a bit of a scoundrel. But being larger than life or, indeed, being a scoundrel does not make justice any less deserved. Even in times of conflict on foreign soil, everyone should be entitled to due process and equality before the law. Morant, Handcock and Witton were not tried in accordance with the military law of the time—1902 we're talking about. Their convictions were likely unlawful and their sentences likely illegal, as the men were not afforded an opportunity to appeal, which was a right enshrined in law in 1902. There was a failure to implement the courts martial recommendations of mercy, and there were denials of a proper opportunity to consult legal counsel before trial, the right to communicate with witnesses and next of kin and the right to communicate with the Australian government of 1902 to seek intervention and support.

Australians have always held in high regard the men and women putting their lives on the line by defending our freedoms on foreign soil. But not all Australians show the same respect today that they once did. There are those in the media and amongst the elites who despise our nation and those who fight to protect it. In 2016 some rumours were enough to launch an investigation conducted by New South Wales Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton to answer questions of unlawful conduct concerning the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan. What followed was a media and antimilitary pile-on besmirching not only the subjects of the rumours but an entire class of people. You might recall that Chinese foreign ministry official Lijian Zhao posted to Twitter a photoshopped image depicting an Australian soldier holding a knife to the neck of an Afghani child. When the Brereton report was released the entire Special Air Service's second squadron was completely disbanded, tarnishing the reputation of every single member, whether they were a subject of that report or not.

When you read the report, it found that the rumours, the allegations and the suspicions around 39 alleged incidents were 'not substantiated'. While the inquiry found 'credible information' about 23 incidents, it said about that credible information:

There can of course be credible information of a matter warranting further investigation, even if there is also credible information to the contrary. A finding that there is credible information of a matter is not a finding that the matter is proved …

But the trial by media and public persecution of our soldiers had already been conducted. A whole squadron was treated as if it were guilty and sentenced to a tarnished reputation, regardless of what outcomes may yet come out of any legal proceedings, so 120 years on we still have Australian soldiers being judged unfairly and not being afforded due process. But, as I said, justice is better served cold than never served at all. We can still afford Breaker Morant, Peter Handcock and George Witton the legal processes they deserved at that time. That's why I'm calling on the government to initiate an independent review into those allegations, the evidence, the trial and the legal processes to determine whether justice was properly served and whether those three Australian soldiers really were just scapegoats. I know many people have spoken about a pardon, and descendants of these men would be extremely happy to have their ancestors exonerated. At the very least we should give them the courtesy of proper due process and properly investigate the circumstances that led to the execution of Morant and Handcock. If an independent review finds grounds for an exoneration, then a pardon from the Australian government for those men who served their country in the Boer War would be the appropriate course of action.