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Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has confirmed a decision will be made about stripping medals from Australian Defence Force personnel before the next election.
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The Ministry for Defence confirmed that a decision regarding those accused of conducting war crimes in Afghanistan would be made “before the election” and “soon”, earlier this week. The date of the next federal election has not been confirmed but is expected before May next year.
The discussion follows the release of findings from the 2020 Brereton inquiry, which investigated alleged war crimes committed by Australian Defence Force during the war in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.
Former chief of the Australian Defence Force Angus Campbell had also reportedly written to current and former ADF members notifying that honours for distinguished and conspicuous service on warlike operations could be withdrawn.
“I will be making the decision before the election, I can tell you that. I’ll be making that decision soon,” Deputy PM Marles said during an interview with Sky News on 28 July.
“Just to be clear, this is a decision not in relation to the person (Ben Roberts-Smith) that you mentioned, but in relation to those who had command authority.
“That is a process that I’ve wanted to go through thoroughly to make sure that we get the answers to this right.
“It is one that has been on my desk and we’ve been going through in an enormous amount of detail, but it won’t be long before we are able to make those decisions and certainly, they’ll be made before the election.”
Earlier this month, the Australian government reportedly unveiled compensation plans for families of victims unlawfully killed or abused by Australian special forces in Afghanistan. A newly established Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Advocate will assess claims referred by the Chief of Defence Force, but final decisions rest with the CDF.
The Deputy PM also encouraged patience as another inquiry continues into the 2023 Lindeman Island MRH-90 Taipan crash, in which four Australian Army aircrew were lost on 28 July 2023.
The crash, in which an Australian Army MRH-90 Taipan helicopter impacted waters near Lindeman Island during a night-time training activity as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023, recently passed its first anniversary this month.
“This is a significant day. It’s a very difficult day for the families of Captain Lyon, Lieutenant Nugent, Warrant Officer Laycock, and Corporal Naggs,” the Deputy PM said.
“These four Australians, who had given great service to our country wearing our nation’s uniform, lost their lives a year ago. I know that this is a really difficult day for their families, for the 6th Aviation Regiment, of which they were a part.
“And it’s a reminder that the work that our men and women who wear our uniform do is dangerous, even when they’re engaging in exercises and their service, and indeed, their sacrifice is as meaningful as that of anyone who has worn our nation’s uniform.
“The inquiry in relation to this proceeds, it needs to take the time that it takes because we need to find out what happened here and we need to learn the lessons.
“It’s really important that those lessons are learnt for future safety. And we don’t do that off the back of speculation, we do it off the back of facts and this is just going to take the time that it takes. But obviously, we work with the families to let them know how the investigations are proceeding and they will continue to go on until we get the answers behind this terrible tragedy.”
