Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Brown would be aware of the reports or the commentary by the CDF of the Australian Defence Force regarding these matters, and I think they are currently pursuing inquiries to make sure they understand exactly what happened in this incident involving the shooting of three Australian soldiers and two Afghans. So I think people do not want to leap to conclusions or generalise, but there is no doubt this incident has caused concern.

It is the case that ANA soldiers are recruited from across all provinces of Afghanistan and it is the case that they are deliberately not employed in areas of the country from which they are recruited. It is designed to dislocate them from existing family, tribal and social associations and aid in the operational effectiveness of the ANA. So there are strong procedures in place to try to guard against this sort of thing. But clearly ADF are going to pursue their inquiries into this matter, and I think it is best that we— (Time expired)