Australia’s allies can remain confident in working with special forces soldiers as the defence minister looks to implement recommendations of a landmark report.
The dismissal of Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation claim by a Federal Court judge made international headlines and put a spotlight on Australia’s military.
Justice Anthony Besanko found a number of articles published in 2018 in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Canberra Times implicating the retired SAS corporal in war crimes between 2009 and 2012 were substantially true.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia is seeking to hold its military forces to the highest standards through the implementation of recommendations from a document known as the Brereton report.
The 2020 report investigated alleged war crimes by Australian troops between 2005 and 2016.
It found credible evidence of 39 murders of Afghan civilians and prisoners committed by or at the instruction of Australian soldiers.
“The Brereton report offers us a way forward and it offers us an opportunity to meet the highest standards as a defence force and as a country,” Mr Marles told Sky News.
“We need to embrace that, certainly from the government’s point of view, through the fullest implementation that we can achieve of the recommendations of the Brereton report.”
Mr Marles said he was not concerned that Australia’s defence allies such as the United States and United Kingdom would be less willing to work with SAS troops after the findings against Mr Roberts-Smith.
“This has never been raised with me as an issue by the United States,” he said.
“I am satisfied that the ability of our defence force to work with the United States defence forces, including the SAS, is absolutely there.”
The defence minister would not be drawn on whether or not a tribute to Mr Roberts-Smith should remain at the Australian War Memorial.
“Whilst there’s been a lot of attention over the course of the last week, and I understand why there has been, it is at the end of the day a civil case between private parties (and) that’s ultimately a question for the war memorial,” he said.
Australian Associated Press