Senator Jacqui Lambie informed the Senate that she has lodged a request with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate senior commanders of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) for their alleged involvement in war crimes.
Lambie expressed her concern that the Brereton report, released in 2020, gave the senior commanders a “free pass” while individual soldiers were “thrown under the bus”.
According to the Brereton report, there was credible evidence indicating that 39 Afghan civilians were unlawfully killed by Australian special forces, but it did not establish criminal responsibility on the part of senior commanders.
The Defence Minister, Richard Marles, mentioned that he was seeking guidance on whether the International Criminal Court (ICC) would consider investigating the case. He also emphasized that the government had made a commitment to ensure that Australia is held “accountable” for the allegations outlined in the Brereton report.
Lambie expressed her disappointment that the federal government did not support her request to acknowledge “that we have a massive problem”. She mentioned that she had been attempting to arrange a meeting with the Defence Minister “for months”.
She remarked, “Like the chief of the defence force and the top brass, the government is no doubt hoping this will just go away. They’re hoping Australians will forget that when alleged war crimes in Afghanistan were investigated, our senior commanders got a free pass, while the diggers were thrown under the bus.”
“Well, we don’t forget. I won’t forget. Lest we forget. There was a culture of cover-up at the highest levels of the ADF. It is the ultimate boys’ club. Well, today I say enough is enough.”
Lambie made an attempt to present documents requesting the ICC to prosecute the chain of command, but the Greens, government, and opposition voted against it, explaining that they had not yet had the opportunity to review the documents.
However, they indicated that they might allow the documents to be tabled once they had a chance to read them, potentially on Tuesday afternoon.
In an afternoon press conference, Marles announced that he would meet with Lambie the following day to discuss her concerns and commended her significant advocacy for the veterans’ community. He reiterated that the allegations of war crimes highlighted in the Brereton report were deeply “appalling” and affirmed the government’s commitment to fully implementing its recommendations.
Marles emphasized that the government was dedicated to ensuring the accountability of senior military figures and would seek advice on whether the ICC would pursue the case. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to implementing the report’s recommendations “fully and thoroughly”.
Senator Nick McKim of the Greens stated that they typically took a “very generous view” to tabling documents and would support Lambie’s motion if it served the public interest.
Senator Simon Birmingham, the Liberal leader in the Senate, expressed his willingness to table the documents but requested time to examine them, a sentiment echoed by Senator Anthony Chisholm of the Labor party.
