David Feeney (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Again, I will take that interjection, Mr Deputy President: he also made it clear that Kafer had done nothing wrong. Again, in my capacity I have had the opportunity to meet with Commodore Kafer on several occasions. He is a fine and distinguished officer who has indeed been reinstated to his position.

Is it helpful or appropriate to have the partisan opposition—particularly in the defence space, where they struggle to ever say anything of interest or concern—climb into these issues of great sensitivity? Of course it is not, but it is going to happen. That is politics; that is the politics of no, as personified by the opposition. But let us be clear: Stephen Smith, in the conduct of his duties, deserves nothing but our highest acclaim and praise. He has done a fine and outstanding job not only in defending the interests of Defence when that is required but also in making sure that the public of this country have absolute confidence in the ADF and the institutions that sustain the ADF. We on this side are very proud and pleased that not only have we supported our Defence and ADF men and women in their work and in the dangerous things they do on our behalf but we also believe that the values they espouse must be supported and consistently backed. That is what the Minister for Defence has done here.

The Minister for Defence is not going to be railroaded into any kind of apology or any kind of backdown on the back of all of you on the other side suggesting that he owes this country an apology because he has defended the rights of a victim. These matters are complex. We on this side are not interested in finding any senior officer or any other person as a scapegoat. We on this side are not interested in bringing the world of partisan politics into defence. That is a matter for you. But what we on this side are clear about is that we are not going to attack any of the senior officers who have entered this debate. (Time expired)