David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I turn to the matter of public interest I want to raise, I just want to say, having listened to some of the MPIs this afternoon, that I think the Greens need to come into this chamber and tell the Australian people whether they do support the 'truthers'. I think it is of great concern and alarm to all Australians that the Greens appear to be supporting the conspiracy theory behind 9-11 at this time of the anniversary.

I am very pleased to speak today in support of the tabling of the Review into the treatment of women in the Australian Defence Force:phase 2 report, a comprehensive, balanced and common-sense document authored by the Australian Human Rights Commission under the leadership of Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick. In this speech, for convenience, I have attributed the report to her, despite the fact that she is the leader of a very esteemed, five-member team. The phase 1 report was tabled in November 2011 and focused on the treatment of women at the Australian Defence Force Academy, ADFA, and the opposition strongly endorsed the findings and recommendations of that report.

As an independent observer with unfettered access to ADFA and its personnel, Ms Broderick certainly did not mince words in her first wide-ranging cultural review. Part 1 found, first and foremost, that ADFA is an elite academic institution where both male and female students take enormous pride in their work; however, it did find widespread low-level sexual harassment was common. Whilst I was encouraged that the commissioner spoke so highly of ADFA as an elite institution, it is also important to recognise there is absolutely no place for any level of sexual intimidation at the college where we are training our future military leaders.

The review found the quality of recent commandants had been high, and many cadets, staff and parents commented very favourably on Commodore Bruce Kafer's leadership and commitment to ADFA. I pause to remark that I too have had many people contact me personally, tell me of their experiences and affirm that Commodore Kafer is a man held in the highest of esteem and is of great integrity. Upon such factual accounts, and in accord with the finding of the commissioner, I believe him to be a very high-quality commandant and leader.

I firmly believe that ADFA is a first-class institution, but it has of course had its share of bad publicity and bad press over the years. As political leaders we must strive to assure the mums and dads of the nation that they can send their kids to ADFA with confidence that, as an institution of excellence in every respect, it will continue to mould young men and women into great military leaders. Our role is to ensure these reviews are not simply an exercise in tokenism, to be shelved and never see the light of day again. Our role requires eternal vigilance on the implementation of these recommendations. Ms Broderick also directed that within 12 months of the release of part 1 of the review the Vice-Chief of the Defence Force, in association with the service chiefs, report back as to progress on her recommendations. I look forward to seeing this progress report in November this year.

Turning to phase 2 of this review, it was not surprising to read women are underrepresented across most areas of the Australian Defence Force and more so in senior ranks. Overall, women make up 13.8 per cent of all ADF personnel, less than five per cent of star ranks and less than eight per cent of warrant officers. This is one of the largest employers in the nation and it employs women at a rate of a little over one in 10.

The retention rates are also of considerable concern to me. Female personnel that do commit to the ADF leave at an earlier age than their male colleagues. Most women leave at an age when they are starting a family. It is not the sole cause of their retirement from the ADF but it is certainly a significant push factor. The report says that within the ADF there was a widespread belief that women in the services must choose between a career and a family. Look at the statistics in senior ranks: 88.9 per cent of men in star ranks have children, compared to only 22.2 per cent of women in similar ranks. This means that either we lose altogether talented and experienced personnel who happen to be women, or we expect them to sacrifice having children as the only way to move up the ranks. Frankly, this is nonsensical.

From a practical perspective, it now costs $21,000 per enlistment just to recruit a new member to the Australian Defence Force, up from $7,000 per recruitment a decade ago, yet we consistently fail to meet recruitment targets. This says nothing of the value-adding and investment and overall value of a several-year-in experienced employee. Like any employer, the ADF needs to take that into account. Does it rethink its workplace and offer more flexible options for personnel starting a family? I think so, and that applies to men as well as to women—as Ms Broderick points out, most of her recommendations in this report are actually gender neutral. Or does the Defence Force sit back and watch their investment and considerable valuable talent walk out the door on maternity leave, never to return? It is an issue facing all workplaces, with some organisations and industries waking up to it earlier than others.

There is increasing pressure on recruiting men and women into the forces, and the ADF struggles to meet its annual targets, particularly in times of low unemployment. Not only does Defence need to draw on a broader talent pool, but it must look at innovative ways to retain the people they have already trained at great expense. Again, this is not an issue of gender. The report notes the pool from which the ADF traditionally recruits from—that is, people between the ages of 17 and 24—is diminishing. Deloitte has found that over the next five years Australia is projected to see fewer than 125 exiting education for every 100 people retiring. Australia is about to enter a period with the highest ratio of job market retirements to new entrants in its history. Attracting more women into the ADF broadens the talent pool as competition for the best workers across all sectors intensifies. I am very pleased to see recognition in the report of the gap year program which was initiated by the Howard government but recently cancelled by the Gillard government as part of its 'bleed Defence white' budget approach, treating the portfolio as nothing more than an ATM to fund its budgetary shortfalls. The gap year program was essentially a 'try-before-you-buy' 12-month placement in one of the services so young people, mainly school leavers, could get a taste of military training and lifestyle with just a one-year commitment. It was a very successful and positive program.

Compared with normal recruitment methods, the gap year program attracted a higher proportion of women into the ADF. Under the different categories of enlistments, in 2010-11 gap year transfers made up one-third of all female recruits, more than twice the amount of women as ab initio entrants at 15.2 per cent. It was reported as being a significant new development through which to address the gender imbalance because women were more likely to sign up knowing it was only a 12-month commitment and that they could leave after that time. But, as I said earlier, once women are in the pipeline, so to speak, then there is the challenge of keeping them in there.

The review acknowledges that, while the challenges of balancing work and family is not unique to the ADF environment, there are distinctive issues in Defence such as posting cycles, operational commitments and overseas deployments. The report states:

This means that, for women especially, the need to combine work with family disproportionately impacts on career progress and hinders leadership opportunities.

There are deeply held beliefs within the Australian Defence Force that many roles cannot accommodate flexible working arrangements, and the review team concedes that flexible work arrangements may be difficult in some circumstances. However, it was found that in the majority of roles there is a lot that can be done to increase flexibility by looking at new or different ways in which work outcomes could be achieved.

Some of the remarks published in the review are telling. There is the case of the woman choosing to discharge from the Royal Australian Navy:

She's one of the cleverest girls in the organisation. She's discharging in a month's time. She's been at sea for the last five years and … the Navy just hasn't come to her aid with regard to saying 'Yes, we'll guarantee you two years in that position so at least you can pop out one child', so that's why she's going.

This is to me one of the most disappointing reports that you could possibly read, and discloses a managerial mindset that must be changed. Then there's the example of a couple both in the service:

I transferred to the [Navy Reserve] as there was no guarantee that with both of us in the [permanent Navy], there would always be one of us posted ashore to care for our children. After nine years of service, I would have remained in the [permanent Navy] if there was a guarantee that my spouse and I would not serve concurrent sea postings so that we could care for our children.

The review outlines a number of issues critical to keeping both men and women in the ADF. These relate to child care; career progression; parental leave; occupational segregation, including combat exclusion; and career management. A different, more innovative approach is the only thing that will protect the Australian Defence Force's employment in the face of industries such as oil and gas and mining, where HR policies are aggressive, flexible and generous.

There is also a chapter in this report on sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse, and it is worth noting that although the levels of abuse are similar to those in other Australian workplaces, the report says underreporting in the ADF is a significant issue. An option that allows personnel to make confidential reports could address this issue and should be investigated by the ADF as a matter of urgency.

This was a truly independent look into Defence, and the issues identified surrounding women in the ADF were kept in perspective. The recommendations are practical, very well balanced and, I believe, very achievable. On the flip side, in this culture of 24-hour news and five-second grabs it is easy to pigeonhole these complex issues into absolutes. Yes, there are women in Defence who find their job incompatible with family life, but there are others, as Ms Broderick found, who have supportive superiors and are able to find a way to do both. In the words of one ADF member quoted in the report:

My friends in the civilian industry are amazed by the flexibility offered by my organisation, the excellent benefits, my ability to attend school swimming carnivals and undertake occasional school drop offs, our maternity benefits and option to work part time, and wish their employers were as magnanimous and trusting.

With regard to women in combat, this issue also lends itself to absolutes. There is quite a lot of resistance to change both from within the military and on the outside, with arguments ranging from the perfectly reasonable to those based on high emotion and sometimes even hysteria. For a start, the debate in recent times in Australia seemed to ignore the fact there are already many women performing roles in Defence that were once the domain of men only. There are women in Defence, such as those I have met in Tarin Kot, at Camp Smitty in Iraq or on a submarine out of Stirling, who must have felt a bit invisible during that recent debate. As the report notes:

… in Navy, women have served on ships and submarines in combat roles on operational (active) service at sea since the Gulf War … In Army, women … can operate unmanned aerial vehicles in artillery, surface-to-air missiles and ground-based air defence systems.

  …   …   …

The myth that soldiers in combat roles face more danger than those … far removed from the theatre of operations must be dispelled because new advances in military technology … have made all areas of duty equally dangerous. In low-intensity conflict there is no 'front' in the conventional sense, or rather the front is everywhere and all soldiers are equally at risk.

The coalition supports the removal of combat restrictions for women in the ADF as long as the current physical and psychological standards are maintained. We have been promised that there will be a specific set of physical employment standards defined by the DSTO for every job in the military. Lieutenant Colonel Peter Conroy, who is in charge of the implementation of the physical employment standards, has said they are not going to be easy tests and they will raise the overall fitness standards of the Army.

This report also points out that aside from the focus of the PES there should also be an effort to address the significant cultural and attitudinal barriers which exist to women taking up these roles, particularly in Army, which has the largest proportion of jobs from which women have previously been excluded. It is widely agreed that without having combat service under her belt a woman will not make it to senior levels or to a service chief or chief of defence position. The most senior woman at present is a two-star rank.

In closing, I quote the commissioner. I hold her in extremely high regard and I place on record my gratitude to her for keeping me updated on the progress via a series of excellent briefings on these issues. In the report she said:

The commitment is there. A path, by way of these recommendations, is laid out. It is now for the ADF to make good on this ambition—to realise an organisation which, in return for their service to Australia, gives all of its members, irrespective of their gender, the opportunity to thrive.

Debate interrupted.