Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate:

(a) notes that the refusal to release the final report of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force twenty-year review:

(i) undermines the findings of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide,

(ii) perpetuates an environment of secrecy and evasion, and

(iii) represents a failure of the government to uphold the principles of accountability and transparency which are essential for maintaining public trust and ensuring the well-being of our defence community; and

(b) calls on the Minister for Defence to immediately release the final report of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force twenty-year review.

The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force, the IGADF, was set up 20 years ago to promote trust and justice in the Australian Defence Force. I hate to have to break this to the Minister for Defence—wakey, wakey!—and to the head of the IGADF, the inspector-general, Mr Gaynor: you have utterly failed every veteran who has ever served. There is no trust that the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force does anything but drive veterans into an early grave.

The veteran community has zero confidence that the IGADF does the job of oversighting military justice, even with the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force's military justice audits of Australian Defence Force units. Abuse of power, especially at the commanding officer level—as noted in the royal commission report—is absolutely rife. The delay in finalising the inquiry of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force into the military justice cases inflames the moral injury suffered by veterans, because justice delayed is justice denied.

When veterans take Defence to civilian courts, Defence fights tooth and nail, like a dog, and often uses the results of Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force inquiries, even though so many are found to be defective and flawed. The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force is responsible for making sure that inquiry officers are trained in procedural fairness, but we still see breaches of the most fundamental principles of procedural fairness within Defence itself—like not giving people a fair hearing, relying on irrelevant evidence and, on the other hand, ignoring relevant evidence. As far as most veterans are concerned, the loyalties of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force are to Defence, not to the diggers that the body was set up to protect. What a joke!

Regardless of the fact that the head of Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force, the inspector himself, calls himself Mr Gaynor—he uses 'Mr' on all correspondence—let's be quite clear about this: Mr Gaynor was a brigadier, and the perception remains that he is beholden to the chain of command. And, by God, he is—he is! The track record of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force just confirms this perception for most veterans.

It is more than clear to me that the organisation that has the job of providing oversight on military justice has absolutely no oversight of itself—absolutely none. Going to the Federal Court for a review of IGADF decisions made against veterans is expensive and risky, and people know Defence will fight hard and then hit the veteran with the legal costs. That's because they have no shame. Even after a royal commission, they have no shame. One example of Defence's behaviour in the Federal Court is a case in which the judge was about to make an adverse finding against Defence, so Defence settled at the last minute to avoid the finding. It was not because it was morally the right thing to do by the digger—oh no. This was a case in which the member was found not guilty at court martial, but his unit took administrative action against him to kick him out anyway. The inspector-general thought that was okay, though. Of course he would! The federal government was about to think differently, and it would have been on the public record. But, in typical cover-ups, Defence are sneaky little buggers who get you to sign a nondisclosure agreement before you get a payout. They run you into the ground, they wear you out, and then they get you to sign a nondisclosure agreement before they pay you anything, so that you don't get to speak about it. This is the absolute filth that is taking out veterans! And the filth continues three years after a royal commission!

Veterans, once they are worn down, just give up. They give up because there is nothing left to fight with. On so many occasions, if the person does keep fighting, Defence settles before the matter goes to trial. God forbid their performance was out in the public arena—they wouldn't want that—because their performances is about a D-minus.

There is way too much secrecy surrounding the inspector-general's inquiries, and this just adds to the perception that the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force is above the law. And, my God, do they think they are above the law—oh yeah! That's the culture that is taking out veterans. And it's not just the IGADF; it is the whole top chain of command. Yet I haven't seen one sacking—not one sacking. Do you know why, Madam Acting Deputy President Bilyk? Because your minister doesn't have what it takes to get rid of them and clean them out. You'll never get culture change in this area until you clean them out, but Minister Marles is not up to the job—never was, never will be.

It doesn't help, either, that the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force has never been subjected to any sort of proper review or inquiry—in 20 years, not ever. Adding insult to moral injury is Minister Marles's stubborn refusal to publicly release Justice Duncan Kerr's review into the military justice system. A lengthy review is a way to avoid taking action. That's right: the government of the day is sitting on that review because it doesn't want to deal with the crap that's in it. It must be bad. Three months to write it, six months to sit on it, three years at a royal commission, and the government doesn't have the courage to release the review. What an unbelievable slap in the face to these veterans out there retelling their stories, showing courage to come forward, and your government won't release the review. Why not? Why not? They gave it their best for three years. They all came forward. They all came forward and continued to show the courage that they showed on the battlefield, but you don't want to show the courage to tackle this.

The inspector-general's inquiry into the military justice arrangements for dealing with sexual misconduct—it gets better. This report was initiated in July 2021 and finalised in December 2021—five months—yet, more than three years later, the report and its recommendations remain under review by the Department of Defence. Didn't we just put a new general in? Didn't you just pay for another position—more top officers at the top? What is she doing? Abuse and sexual abuse were highlighted; yet Defence has nothing to say about it? Three years later, it doesn't want to make a remark on its filth? There are countless stories of cover-up. We've heard them for three years—cover-up after cover-up after cover-up—yet Minister Marles seems committed to kicking our veterans to the kerb while he continues this toxic cover-up of culture.

Justice Kerr's review was meant to give those veterans some trust in the government that sent them to war to put their lives on the line. Instil trust back into them. Release that report and take action. Make people pay for this. I don't want to see another robodebt, where nothing is going to happen to those people up the top. Veterans want actions. They want compensation. And they're not talking about money; they want people to be held responsible. It is not that difficult. I am begging you: please, release that report. No more hiding, because it is killing veterans. Did you not hear the last three years? That report must be released. 'There's nothing to fix here'—just release the report.

And get ready, Inspector-General, because he's failed to do the job. Don't go and do what you do with the rest of them and give him a medal. Get rid of him and put someone in there that can do the job, because your changing culture starts with him. If you want to change culture, you have to start there and you have to show by example you are not putting up with this brutality that is happening to veterans anymore. It has gone far enough, so I'm asking the government to show some courage. I'm asking you to be brave. Release that report. Release it today.