Brian Burston (NSW, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Defence, Senator Payne, representing the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. Today is the 70 anniversary of Australia's involvement in peacekeeping operations around the world, and we thank them for their service. In the case of Lebanon, in 1983-84 the UN observers were at risk of being shelled by artillery or killed by militia on a daily basis. Indeed, the Australian embassy in Beirut was closed down in 1984 because of the security situation in Beirut, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Some UN peacekeepers and observers were evacuated with gunshot wounds and others were subjected to physical harm from hostile forces of the Israeli Defence Force, reacting to UN sanctions and militia opposed to their presence in Lebanon.

Minister, can you please advise the chamber on what basis unarmed ADF members and police deployed into a hostile environment or an environment that becomes hostile might be recognised for war-like service and receive the Australian Active Service Medal and full repatriation benefits?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Burston for some prior notice of his question. I also thank him for a question of this nature on a day when we are honouring our proud Australian peacekeeping tradition that goes back seven decades to our first UN deployment in 1947. Today, a new peacekeeping memorial was unveiled on Anzac Parade to commemorate the courage, the sacrifice and the valour of Australian peacekeepers from the ADF, the police services and the civilian community. The memorial honours the close to 80,000 Australians who have served in more than 60 UN and multinational peacekeeping operations. Senator Burston asks me about nature of service, of which I have several contemporary examples. The ADF is contributing 59 specialist personnel across multinational and UN peacekeeping missions to provide niche capabilities and expertise in areas such as operations and logistics. This currently includes 19 ADF personnel to the UN Mission in South Sudan, 12 ADF personnel to the UN Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East and 28 personnel to the multinational force and observer mission in the Sinai. I acknowledge those men and women and thank them for their service.

However, it is important to note, in relation to Senator Burston's question, that matters of nature of service will differ from deployment to deployment. Over those 60 operations I referred to earlier, they have been very different over the years. War-like classification requires the authorisation to use force to achieve a military objective and the expectation of casualties.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Burston, a supplementary question.

Brian Burston (NSW, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, can you please advise the chamber on what basis those troops who were deployed to Rwanda had their Australian Service Medal upgraded to the Australian Active Service Medal?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Burston. I can. The ADF personnel in Rwanda who took part there took part in armed operations to clear armed militia from internally displaced or IDP camps. While initially deployed without an expectation of a need to use force beyond self-defence, this nature of service was reviewed after deployment. It was found that the use of force beyond self-defence was integral in achieving the objective of the deployment; namely, the clearing of armed militia from the IDP camps. Consequently, the Australian Active Service Medal was awarded in recognition of the war-like service.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Burston, a final supplementary question.

Brian Burston (NSW, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, what does it take for a member of the ADF or police to be recognised for their war-like service in a manner that is appropriate to the environment to which they have been deployed, and will the minister consent to take a fresh look into the matter of the UN military observers who served in Beirut in 1983-84?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The fact that Australian Defence Force members may be deployed to a location in which there are hostile forces in conflict with each other, such as the Middle East in support of the United Nations, doesn't in and of itself meet the criteria for reclassification as qualifying service or war-like service under previous or even extant repatriation legislation.

Defence has recently completed a comprehensive review of ADF service with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, known as UNSTO. It confirmed that there is no period of service with UNSTO from 1956 to 2010 that warrants classification as other than peacekeeping or non-war-like service. Defence, of course, acknowledges that the role of an unarmed observer can at times be hazardous not only during periods of increased conflict but also when carrying out the routine day-to-day tasks in support of the UN mission. This was the case with unarmed military observers who served in Beirut in 1983 and 1984. (Time expired)