Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of the answer given by Senator Ian Campbell to a question from Senator Bishop in question time in relation to the report of an audit of the Australian Defence Force investigative capability. The audit report into the ADF investigative capability has resulted from the government’s response to a Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee inquiry tabled in 2005 into military justice—a report which has been much discussed in this chamber in very many of its aspects and a report which has had far-reaching ramifications both in the broad of the Australian Defence Force and for many of the Defence Force community. The sixth recommendation of the military justice report was:

… that the ADF conduct a tri-service audit of current military police staffing, equipment, training and resources to determine the current capacity of the criminal investigations services. This audit should be conducted in conjunction with a scoping exercise to examine the benefit of creating a tri-service criminal investigation unit.

What we have before us today, made available publicly by the Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, is the result of the acceptance by the government of that recommendation in full. Even a cursory glance at the report, made public this week by the chief and produced by Adrien Whiddett and Rear Admiral Adams, shows that the government has responded comprehensively to the recommendation of the Senate inquiry. The report in eight or nine chapters is a very forensic examination of the current operations of service investigation processes and makes a raft of recommendations, I understand numbering 99, all of which are accepted by the chief and by government for implementation.

The report goes to the effort of examining the different nature of ADF investigations as compared to civilian investigations in many cases. It contemplates the different environment in which those investigations are conducted and that is a very important aspect of this particular area of Defence Force activity and something which, I believe it is fair to say, came to the Senate committee inquiry’s attention on more than one occasion. But we are not talking about apples and apples when we are talking about civilian investigative approaches and military investigative approaches; we are, in fact, talking in many cases about apples and oranges, to use that tired metaphor.

The report goes on to look at the current service police investigative capability, the legislation, the policy and the doctrine that underlies all of those activities and the powers that are provided to service police. It looks at the training that currently exists within the organisations within the different services and how appropriate the resources devoted to this area are. The report then provides a very comprehensive examination of new service police command, of organisation and conditions of service arrangement and then, very usefully, I think, the eighth chapter of the report looks at an action plan for how this is to be implemented.

One of the most important things to do in the chamber this afternoon is to acknowledge Adrien Whiddett and Rear Admiral Adams for the work they have done on this very comprehensive audit. It is a very valuable tool both for the ADF and for those members of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, chaired by Senator David Johnston, who continue to have an oversight role, as you would be more than well aware, Mr Deputy President, on this particular aspect of military justice. It is one on which the implementation team, headed by Rear Admiral Mark Bonser and colleagues, reports regularly through the CDF to the Senate committee. We have discussed at least one of those reports as well in this chamber. The responsiveness of the ADF to some of the very serious concerns raised through the military justice inquiry, and the preparedness of the ADF to accept all 99 of these recommendations, some of which are very sweeping and some of which canvass the serious issues which we had already identified—in many cases with the service investigative capability—and implement them, is a very good sign. (Time expired)