Television Interview, Sky News

SUBJECTS: Closure of Afghanistan Inquiry Report, Land Forces, Melbourne protests, AFL finals

HOST, TOM CONNELL: Well the government has released its response to the Brereton Inquiry this week. This was the one that looked at allegations of war crimes carried out by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. There has been particular criticism around the fact that a lot of this inquiry could have looked further, higher up the chain of command. I spoke to Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles a short time ago.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER RICHARD MARLES: Well, I do. And that is discussed in the Brereton Report. But what Major General Brereton does is really look at where that principle applies. In other words, across the chain of command, how that principle applies. And he really does this in a very forensic way. Of course, Major General Brereton is in civilian life or has been a judge. He's now the head of the National Anti-Corruption Commission. When you read the Brereton Report, it really is a judicial piece of work, having engaged in hundreds of interviews, thousands of pages of testimony. And so he's making a judgement about the proximity of command to the incidents that occurred and where that moral responsibility applies in terms of command. And in the decisions that I've made, I've really upheld the principles and the reasoning of Major General Brereton and have seen no reason to disturb that. And so the answer to that question is that, to a degree, in the command, that question is right. There are people who are so far removed from the incidents that it wouldn't be right to ascribe a responsibility.

CONNELL: The inquiry did establish senior commanders repeatedly certified specialist forces fit for multiple tours of duty, despite pretty clear and significant physical and emotional toll. Have they had any sort of consequences for those decisions?

MARLES: Well, there is definitely judgements which are made and observations which are made in the Brereton Report, which talk about the need to make sure that culture is right. And that a lot of that does start with how units have been engaging at home. And indeed, if you go through the 143 recommendations, they are across the board, which look at ways in which we can make sure that we are addressing this going forward. That question, in terms of that responsibility, is really important. It is separate from the question of command accountability in terms of medals that had been awarded. So, it's important that we don't conflate ideas here, which is, again, in the very extensive report that Major General Brereton handed down. He really does go through all of that detail. And again, in the decisions that I've taken, I’ve followed that to the letter.

CONNELL: The one concrete example in terms of a medal we've had was Angus Campbell. He offered to hand back his Distinguished Service Cross that was awarded as commander of Middle East operations. The Coalition rejected that offer. Would you accept the offer if it was made again under this government?

MARLES: Look, General Campbell spent a period of time as a commander of Joint Task Force 633 and, again, Major General Brereton in his report details and is very clear about the responsibility which pertains to commanders, successive commanders of headquarters of Joint Task Force 633. And again, I saw no reason to disturb the line of decisions and reasoning that Justice Brereton made in respect of that particular command post.

CONNELL: But this is separate to that. This was a decision by the previous government. So, if that offer were made again under your essential leadership as the Defence Minister, would you give a different decision? Would you accept it?

MARLES: Well, I'm not about to go down a path of hypotheticals. I mean, again, I think what's important, Tom, is Major General Brereton, Justice Brereton did a detailed report. Having heard hundreds of witnesses, thousands of pages of testimony. It is a very detailed, reasoned, thoughtful document. I have sought to apply it to the letter and not to disturb the judgements which pertain within it. And that includes very specifically to those who were commanders of Joint Task Force 633.

CONNELL: Right. But asking in another way, did you agree with the decision made essentially then by Linda Reynolds and Scott Morrison?

MARLES: What I agree with is the report. I mean, people were awarded medals. The report makes recommendations about the review of some of them and it's really clear in terms of which should be reviewed and which should not. And that's what I've followed.

CONNELL: You're at the Land Forces expo. These protests have been pretty significant. Have they become an embarrassment for Australia and make it more difficult for Australia or particularly Melbourne to host it in the future?

MARLES: No, I don't think so. But I certainly think the protesters stand condemned. I mean, everyone respects the right of peaceful protests in this country, but that's not what we have seen here. We've seen people really engage in violent protests and protests which have utterly disrespected people who wear our nation's uniform, people who serve in a manner which is there to defend Australians, Victorians, Melburnians. I think it's disgraceful that we see Greens senators addressing these protesters and once again we watched the Australian Greens throw their lot in with thuggery, which is essentially what we've witnessed in the violence of these protests. I think it's also important to understand what's going on at Land Forces. I mean, this is a conference, an expo, which is in its sixth iteration. It began in 2014. The Defence Force does support it. The Chief of Army has held his own symposium in conjunction with it where we've had eleven chiefs of army from different armies around the world. And an event of that kind is actually about building understanding between our armies. It's about making our own contribution to peace. So, that's actually what's going on here. Along with looking at those companies using high-tech industry, Australian jobs to help supply the equipment to those who wear our nation's uniform to keep us safe. Now, people are going about their lawful business in doing all of that which is actually noble. And what we've got out there are people who are not peaceful, who have engaged in violence and who do stand condemned. Having said all that, Land Forces has been a real success. We've seen a lot of people come through the doors. It has been a great display of Australian industry and Australian capability and it's been a great thing to be here today.

CONNELL: Now, insider trading is always a big claim to make, but I spoke to you during the AFL pre-season, you'd had contact with Geelong, and you were sure they were certainties for the flag. I thought you'd lost the plot. It turns out you're getting some pretty hot mail. One game away from the grand final. Have you got space saved for the next premiership tattoo?

MARLES: I definitely do. But you will be getting excited as well, Tom, and it's not beyond the realms of possibility that both of our teams will be facing each other in eight days time. So, yeah, look, we're getting pretty excited down in Geelong. Certainly the game against Port Adelaide was probably the best game we’ve played this year and it's just a great time to be in this country in September. It is.

CONNELL: I don't know how Chris Scott keeps doing it, but he does. Richard Marles, appreciate your time today. Thank you.

MARLES: Thanks, Tom.

ENDS