Defence Magazine

When it comes to military justice and looking after people, new Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston has established a clear priority for his tenure, saying:

"The Service Chiefs and I will not tolerate any form of abuse within the ADF. We are deeply committed to dealing with bullying and harassment wherever we find it."

Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Houston's statement comes in the wake of the tabling in Parliament on 16 June 2005, of the Report of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee's 'Inquiry into the Effectiveness of Australia's Military Justice System'.

Defence is set to provide advice to Government on the report's recommendations, with the Minister to table the Government's response to the Military Justice Inquiry in due course.

Where appropriate, Defence will continue to implement reform while the Report is being considered, as has recently occurred with the improvements to the Military Redress of Grievance process.

The Chief of the Defence Force and the Service Chiefs are united in their commitment to a fair and equitable workplace that includes a transparent and cohesive military justice system. Key to this is maintaining an effective balance between individual rights and the need for the military to enforce effective discipline.

Rear Admiral Mark Bonser, Commander Australian Defence College, has been appointed to lead the Military Justice Inquiry Response Coordination Team. On behalf of the CDF and the Service Chiefs, the team will focus on conducting a careful and considered analysis of the report's recommendations.

The major recommendations of the report state:

The committee recommends that all suspected criminal activity in Australia be referred to the appropriate State/Territory civilian police for investigation and prosecution before the civilian courts; and
The committee recommends that the investigation of all suspected criminal activity committed outside Australia be conducted by the Australian Federal Police.

Additional report recommendations include:

That the ADF increase the capacity of the Service police to perform their investigative function;
Regular reviews of the ADF's program to protect from reprisals members who report wrongdoing;
The language in the Administrative Inquiries Manual be amended so that it is more direct and clear in its advice on the selection of an investigating officer; and
The ADF take steps immediately to draft and make regulations dealing with the Australian Defence Force Cadets to ensure that the rights and responsibilities of Defence and cadet staff are clearly defined.

As part of the initial stages of coordinating Defence's response, all star-ranked Officers were directed to read the report and to subsequently provide comment to the Response Coordination Team. Air Chief Marshal Houston said the release of the report provides an opportunity for a detailed examination into the military justice system, with an opportunity to make changes where necessary.

During the course of July, Unit Commanding Officers have conducted focus groups within their commands to canvass all ranks and provide their feedback on the military justice system to the Response Coordination Team.

More information

Defence's public website contains information about the Military Justice Inquiry, including media releases and information about the Military Justice System and can be accessed at:
http://www.defence.gov.au/mjs/index.cfm

The point of contact in Defence is:
[please refer to the Defence website above for the current point of contact]

Defence

Feature

Military Justice Inquiry: response underway

The major recommendations of the report state:

Additional report recommendations include:

More information