Skye Kakoschke-Moore (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is not my first speech. However, tonight I need to speak out on a matter of great importance. I have the utmost respect and admiration for the men and women that serve, and have served, in our Australian Defence Force. They are prepared to sacrifice their lives for our country, to defend our fundamental liberties and way of life. Sadly, indeed disgracefully, too many men and women who have served in our defence forces have been treated with the utmost disrespect and indeed contempt, when they have been abused by those within their own ranks.

I became involved in this issue through my work with my now colleague Senator Nick Xenophon in 2011, after the so-called Skype sex scandal broke and made national headlines. Following the Skype incident, Senator Xenophon called for an urgent independent review by the federal government of defence abuse. His call to the Minister for Defence for a review was galvanized after meeting with a victim from HMAS Leeuwin who told him of the untold horror he had been subjected to in the 1960s.

In April 2011 the DLA Piper review into defence abuse was announced. The review received around 1,300 submissions, with around 800 being deemed credible and within the terms of reference. In response to this, the government established the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce, known as the DART, to assess allegations of abuse made to the review before 11 April 2011. Through the courageous actions of those people who suffered abuse coming forward and telling their stories, this truth has started to be revealed. We thought—hoped—that our ADF would have somehow been immune from such predatory individuals. We hoped that these 'rotten apples' within Defence would be detected quickly and removed permanently from the organisation. But, in far too many cases, this did not occur.

In the case of HMAS Leeuwin, many who joined were mere children. From the 1950s through to the early 1980s, the Australian Defence Force failed to protect boys aged just 13, 14, 15, 16. They failed to protect them from older predators within the Australian Defence Force. These predatory members within the Navy have left a wretched legacy. However, the abuse went way beyond HMAS Leeuwin and went all the way to the Australian Defence Force Academy, known as ADFA. In November 2014 the then head of the DART, the Hon. Len Roberts-Smith, recommended that the government establish a royal commission to inquire into, report and make recommendations in respect of allegations of abuse and the mismanagement of reports of allegations of abuse at ADFA.

The notorious ADFA 24 case was highlighted by the DLA Piper review as serious allegations involving 24 perpetrators at ADFA being involved in the physical, indecent and sexual assault of at least 26 female victims from 1996 and 1998. DART, under the leadership of Mr Len Roberts-Smith, investigated this issue that was so grave and so serious that it warranted a royal commission. However, when the final report of DART was released quietly on the afternoon of Friday, 2 September, there was a baffling U-turn on the part of the DART. Inexplicably, the new head of the DART, Robert Cornall AO, who took over after the retirement of Mr Len Roberts-Smith, has walked away from this key recommendation for a royal commission, even though he was deputy to Mr Len Roberts-Smith when the recommendation was originally made.

To understand why this change in position is so concerning it is necessary to set out some of the background to the establishment of the DART, particularly the context of ADFA 24. It is very likely that, for some years, there have been in senior ranks of the ADF some individuals who have raped other members of the ADF and have never been called to account for their actions. It is also very likely that, for some years within the senior ranks of the ADF, there have been some individuals who were aware that their mates had raped other members of the ADF and did not intervene to stop the abuse, and never reported what they knew. There are serious questions as to whether rapists and their silent mates are fit to be role models and drivers of cultural change within the ADF. Furthermore, victims who have managed to stay in the ADF have to serve with these men. That must be very destructive for the victims. The longer the nation takes to respond to this situation the more senior the ranks that the rapists and their mates may rise to.

The DART confirmed in its November 2014 report on abuse at ADFA, signed off by Mr Len Roberts-Smith, that:

… a significant cluster of very serious allegations within Defence have never been thoroughly investigated …

and that—

… individuals alleged to have committed or acquiesced in very serious offences have never been called to account.

So what must be done? An appropriately commissioned and resourced permanent Defence Abuse Response Taskforce, as well as a royal commission into Defence abuse, would enable victims to disclose the systemic issues that affected them so deeply, and would give them a voice.

Sadly, it remains the government's view that allegations of abuse by Defence personnel after the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce was established in April 2011 must be dealt with through existing internal Defence mechanisms. This approach is clearly inadequate, given the litany of evidence tendered to the task force. Only a permanent investigative body would have the autonomy, authority and standing to unconditionally explore further allegations of sexual and physical abuse committed throughout Defence facilities across Australia.

Some who experienced this type abuse during their time in the ADF have been able to move forward because of the DART process. However, many others cannot, through no fault of their own. Many have spoken of ongoing impacts, including broken relationships, bouts of serious depression, ruined careers and alcohol and substance abuse. I am deeply moved by the way these brave men and women were able to recount the events that occurred to them.

Just this afternoon, I spoke with one abuse survivor who had served in the Navy in the 1980s. He told me that his time at the ADF was bookmarked by abuse. It started with a sexual assault and it ended in being deliberately electrocuted. He told me it felt like he was being left to wither away. He felt that he could not stay, but he felt that he could not go, either. Thirty six years later, he has had 40 different jobs. He still has trust issues with authority. This survivor was able to make a successful claim with the task force. However, we know that, as of October 2015, there were 425 people who had tried to submit a claim with the task force but were told that they could not because they were out of time. I fear that the 425 people who we know about are only the tip of the iceberg.

The proud history, traditions and sacrifices made by the Australian Defence Force have played a significant role in forging our national identity. These men and women of the Australian Defence Force—past, currently serving and future—are entitled to be, and deserve to be, treated with the highest levels of admiration and respect. The high esteem that members of the Defence forces are held is clearly demonstrated each year when the nation stops and comes together in the pre-dawn light. We come together to hold vigils and honour the sacrifices made by our service men and women, and their contribution to the nation. This reverence of the men and women of the Australian Defence Force is precisely why it is so devastating that such tragedy and pain has been inflicted by members of this respected organisation.

A great deal has been done over the last few years to prevent abuse occurring in the ADF. But I believe there is still much more we can do. I believe that this parliament must maintain a rigorous and ongoing oversight of what the ADF is doing to protect our service personnel from further abuse. To those individuals who had the bravery to tell their stories in the hope that it would make a difference for the better, I thank you for your courage.