Mark Bishop (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Industry, Procurement and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for the Environment and Heritage (Senator Ian Campbell) to a question without notice asked by Senator Bishop today, relating to Private Jacob (Jake) Kovco.

I want to take note of the answer of Senator Ian Campbell to the question about the leaking of the report by the board of inquiry into the death of Private Kovco. It must be said at the outset that this is another embarrassing leak for the government—on top of the admitted scandal plaguing the government arising out of the inquiry into AWB. In respect of the inquiry into AWB, it is fair to say that that whole sorry saga was a debacle motivated solely by greed. That is not the case in respect of the matter I am addressing: the leaking of the report of the board of inquiry into the death of Private Kovco—that, I say with regret, was a debacle occasioned by incompetence. The question necessarily arises of where the blame for that incompetence lies. The answer can be found in one place: the office of the Minister for Defence, Dr Nelson.

It seems that the leaking of that report has given rise to a number of issues that Minister Campbell refused to address in his response today but which the government needs to answer to give some degree of solace and comfort to the loved ones of that dead soldier. Firstly, the issue that needs immediate resolution and proper investigation is how that material was leaked and where from. Secondly, we need resolution of the confusion about who has responsibility for the carriage and release of the eventual report. Is it the Chief of the Australian Defence Force, Air Vice Marshal Houston, as Dr Nelson’s office informed the media yesterday? Or is it the responsibility of Dr Nelson, as was suggested at estimates some weeks ago? Thirdly, we need to get on top of why there are so many inquiries going on into various elements relating to the death of Private Kovco and why none of them are coming to any firm conclusions. There is increasing concern in the public domain about the different answers coming from different arms of government, yet there is no final, proper response to the matter.

That leads to a fourth point. In this area of military justice, with the Australian military forces having sole responsibility for investigations into deaths and suicides and allegations of improper practice, it really is time for the government to grasp the nettle and say it is no longer good enough for Caesar to be appealing to Caesar in Caesar’s courts on matters that Caesar has engaged in. Those days are past, and it is appropriate for there to be an independent, civil role that is remote, one step away, from the role of the military in these terrible matters that need some to take responsibility.

Finally, some nine or 10 months after Dr Nelson has been appointed Minister for Defence, he needs to take responsibility for the growth in the number of mess-ups that are occurring in his office and his department on the procurement side and on the personnel side. Increasingly, in areas of public concern the public needs to be satisfied and family members need to be assured that their government has their interests as its primary concern. Unfortunately, Minister Nelson is not prepared to take that ministerial responsibility for the proper functioning of his department and his office.

We all remember some two or three years ago when Minister Vale was the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs that there was a leakage of some material relating to her portfolio. The government was aggrieved by that and immediately commissioned an investigation by the Australian Federal Police arising out of that leaking of material from the minister’s office. A public servant was sacked, later reinstated, and two journalists were charged. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.