Good grief. Gillard is accusing the ABC of ‘hyperbowl’after she was asked why she trusts Kevin Rudd after he detailed cabinet discussions over his doomed ETS. I gather Gillard means hyperbole, or hī-ˈpər-bə-(ˌ)lē. Well if you want hyperbole look no further than meddling Defence Minister Stephen Smith.
When he discovered a couple of weeks ago that soldiers in Afghanistan described the locals and Taliban as ‘sand coons’ and the like, he claimed that he couldn’t think of anything worse. Smith has clearly never been shot at, wounded or seen someone die in battle. Would Smith make the same claim about calling Japanese ‘nips’ during WWII, or what about our own soldiers being called ‘rats’ during the Tobrouk siege? Soft…..Oh, and the soldiers also called the PM a ranga (a little bit of ‘hyperbowl’).
This week we have a case where a female cadet was secretly filmed having sex, so sent to the media about it. Stephen Smith endorses her decision to ignore internal disciplinary processes and chain of command and just vent on national TV. Is this how Defence disciplinary matters will be dealt with in the future, on the TV?
It now appears that the cadet in question has a poor disciplinary record and was due to face court proceedings. However:
Mr Smith called for her conviction to be quashed, saying it was ”inappropriate, insensitive or completely stupid” to proceed with the hearing yesterday and casting doubt on her capacity to plead guilty under the circumstances.
Presumably people join the ADF to learn how to fight and kill through discipline, or is that an optional extra these days due to sensitivity concerns? It seems increasingly that the ADF is becoming a micro welfare and nanny state.
It also begs the question what Stephen Smith is doing involving himself in day to day military discipline. All of the above three incidents should be resolved without the Defence Minister going on national TV wailing about how must sympathy and concern he has. One might assume he has bigger things to worry about, like our dilapidated naval amphibious capability and the current war in Afghanistan. You know, things of national importance that can only be managed with national leadership. Smith clearly needs to toughen up and prioritise and cut the ‘hyperbowl’.
UPDATE
This story does not add up, although further details could clarify the issue. An aunt rang up ABC radio today to report a past rape of her niece.
Jennifer’s niece did leave the army, but she was not the only one who was allegedly assaulted.
“It’s absolutely disgraceful and it’s such a waste of taxpayer money and I can tell you she was not the only one,” Jennifer said.
“When she was in hospital she met a young girl who had been raped twice and she was still continuing because her life’s dream was to be in the Army.”
If someone is admitted to hospital for rape medical staff are obligated to report it to the police. Wonder which hospital it was? Furthermore, if you were the aunt of a niece that had been raped, I would imagine most relatives would report it to the police.
BTW, I will not publish abusive comments. If you don’t think the ADF is becoming a micro welfare state, then walk around Canberra and look at all the glorified public servants dressed up in uniform or talk to anyone in DVA about all the claims that are paid out for basic acts of stupidity. DoD is now even paying for breast plastic ’augmentation’ and transgender surgery. My taxes at work!
UPDATE II
Looks like Stephen Smith is fast out of his depth.
Australia Defence Association executive director Neil James, who is close to military service chiefs, said Mr Smith should have backed Defence’s handling of the matter with an assurance that “there was no evidence to suggest that any one in the ADF chain of command had acted inappropriately”.
He also accused Mr Smith of overstepping his authority in calling for unrelated charges against the female air force cadet to be dropped.
“It is surely constitutionally inappropriate – at least – for the Minister for Defence to be perceived as interfering in defence force disciplinary proceedings,” Mr James said.
Stephen Smith should have bigger issues to deal with than cadets running a muck. The more cynical person might say that Smith’s over reaction was designed to take the headlines away from Rudd’s moves to take down Gillard, and the collapse of the biggest tender process in Commonwealth history, the NBN’s $14bn ‘network construction’ project.
UPDATE III
Things are getting worse for Stephen Smith after he refused to give the ADF the benefit of the doubt. He should have stayed out of it from the beginning and reserved judgement until all the facts were in.
“It’s not up for the minister to express the confidence in a subordinate officer in the Defence Force.
“The minister rightly controls the Defence Force but it’s legally commanded by the Chief of Defence Force and the chain of command.
“And the idea that a minister should be commenting on command matters further down in that chain of command is reasonably unprecedented in our Westminster system.
“It’s sad that we’ve reached this stage.”
This and past events seem to indicate that Smith is losing control of his portfolio.
The World Today also spoke to several recently retired members of the military’s top brass.
While some were reluctant to enter the debate publicly, there was a deal of anger privately expressed over criticism of the culture of the institutions and a reluctance by Mr Smith to back key officers in command.
