John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I thank the Senate for its courtesy to enable me to briefly speak on this matter. In the first instance, to be clear to the Senate, the government is not able to support this motion. Of course, any civilian casualty is a tragedy. That is especially so when it involves the deaths of children. I want to assure the Senate that I—as do the government and the ADF—take incidents such as these very seriously indeed. I note for the Senate’s information that the incident occurred on 12 February, not 13 February, for Senator Brown’s assistance as it appears in the Notice Paper. But I certainly understand the incident to which he refers.

All efforts, of course, are made to minimise civilian casualties and it is critical that, where allegations of civilian casualties arise, such incidents are properly and thoroughly investigated. The day after this tragic incident occurred defence commenced an internal inquiry to investigate the incident. This inquiry was conducted over a number of months. It did take some time as the matter is very complex and the facts that needed to be established had to be done so in what is a hostile and dangerous environment. Once the inquiry was concluded I can inform the Senate that the matter was referred to ADFIS—the Australian Defence Force Investigative Service—for investigation. That investigation began immediately on referral. The ADFIS concluded its investigation late last year. The matter is currently with the Director of Military Prosecutions for review and consideration.

Mr President, I say to the Senate and, through you, to Senator Brown, who has moved this motion, that it is important that the necessary time is taken to ensure this matter is investigated thoroughly and comprehensively. In terms of Senator Brown’s call for an independent inquiry, the government cannot support the motion because the issues this inquiry seeks to address are being dealt with through a Defence investigation. I stress: legal processes are not yet complete. There is also a serious concern that any concurrent Senate inquiry could prejudice the ability of personnel involved to receive a fair hearing, and this is critical. It is important that the process is just; it is important that the process is robust. I can assure the Senate that I am committed to being open and transparent about this and all civilian casualty incidents. I can also assure the Senate that at the earliest opportunity, when the legal processes have concluded, I will make the outcomes public.