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Minister Andrew Gee announced that the Independent Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal is reconsidering medallic recognition for service in Rifle Company Butterworth (RCB) between 1970 and 1989.
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According to the Minister, the tribunal is scheduled to reconsider providing medallic recognition after feedback from Defence members who served in RCB throughout this time.
“The tribunal will consider whether these Australian veterans should receive the Australian Active Service Medal for their deployment to Malaysia,” Minister Gee said
“The issue was looked at by the tribunal more than a decade ago, and a view was taken at the time not to recognise their service as ‘warlike’.
“The New Zealand government recently broadened eligibility for the New Zealand Operational Service Medal for veterans who served in Malaysia and Singapore between 1959 and 1974. Given this, and the concerns raised directly with me by the veteran community, it is timely that this issue is re-examined.
“The tribunal is an independent statutory body specifically set up to consider honours and awards issues like this.
“I sincerely appreciate the many representations made to me and my office on this matter since I took on the Veterans’ Affairs portfolio last year.
“I also acknowledge that veterans who have served on Rifle Company Butterworth deployments have been fighting for this additional recognition for years, and I don’t want this to drag on. I expect the inquiry to be complete by the end of the year.
“This will be a public inquiry and I encourage all those with an interest to make a submission before 1 July 2022.”
Those who served in RCB throughout this time were deployed to the Royal Malaysian Air Force base during civil unrest in the country stemming from the Malayan Communist Party, with a peace treaty signed with the Communist Party in 1989.
[Related: Rifle Company Butterworth marks 50-year anniversary]
