The Travels of the Techno-Freedom-Fighter

The article ‘British pull-out triggers Iraq row’ in the Canberra Times 4/9/07, and ‘Dutch withdrawal to leave our troops exposed and job undone’ in todays Canberra times have struck me deeply. A good friend will be deployed to Iraq this week. With the majority of the Australian contingent in Iraq under 30, as I am, the short-sighted, petty squabbling by aged men like Rudd and Nelson upsets me.

Australia obviously has a long term commitment to the people of Iraq following our involvement there over the past 5 years. However, I’m deeply concerned that there seems to be no long tern strategy for the future of Iraq. Let’s move beyond talking about when we will eventually withdraw our forces. What will the cost be over the next 5 years, and the next 20 years? Our generation of Australians and Iraqis will still be dealing with the mess started by people that will be out of office, Prime Minister Howard.

Australia’s strategic planning is badly stretched. The current ‘operational tempo’ of our defence force is at an all time high and the majority of our forces are deployed overseas. Recruitment is down to a historic low and personnel retention is slipping. As we saw in the Canberra Times article ‘A too ambitious defence strategy ‘ on 7/7/07, it is unlikely that the Australian Defence Force will be able to maintain the levels of personnel needed. I want to know how the ALP and the Coalition expect to secure Australia sustainably in the future.

I would maintain the pressure for a timetable for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq to be developed and implemented as a matter of urgency. I believe that the best way to assist Iraq is with economic and ongoing infrastructure assistance to be provided to the Iraqis as soon as possible. This is best done through non military means such as multilateral aid to appropriate organisations in Iraq. Basically the situation in Iraq must be brought back fully within the framework of international law and the broader international community through the United Nations.

I agree that recruiting and retention issues need to be addressed with better pay and conditions, something that I am on the record for while I was on the DRSC. I think that the troops that we have deployed as part of Overwatch Battle Group (West) and are helping provide security to the Al Muthanna and Dhi Qar provinces should be withdrawn after the next rotation. I believe that the alliance with the USA is an important one but there are better ways to support the USA. I really do think that we have our work cut out for us here in the Asia Pacific and that regional security concerns should be higher on the agenda.

I believe that in order to meet our domestic and international defence obligations the Australian Defence Force must be stable, robust and highly skilled. Like many nations around the world, Australia is struggling to meet its defence force recruitment targets and to retain its most valuable asset – people.

To counter declining recruitment rates, the Government has embarked on flashy, targeted advertising campaigns, costing millions of dollars that does not work. The Government is relying on slick marketing, not real changes that will make a career in the ADF an attractive option for young Australians. The Australian Democrats believe that to make an ADF career a more attractive option, the Government must start looking after its Defence Force personnel properly.

After several Parliamentary and Government commissioned inquiries held over many years, Australia’s military justice system has been revealed to be unable to respond quickly and appropriately to serious incidents or to treat the people it was meant to protect fairly and in line with the principles of natural justice.

I would work to eliminate all forms of bullying including sexual harassment and the deliberate targeting of injured or ill personnel continue to lobby the Government and to support changes to the military justice system in line with the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee’s report The Effectiveness of Australia’s Military Justice System.