Category Archives: Australian military

Defence training pushed recruits beyond their limits with fatal outcomes, ex-soldier tells inquiry

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‘Every year there was a suicide,’ James Geercke says on first day of royal commission hearings in Wagga Wagga

A former soldier says he and fellow Australian Defence Force Academy recruits were so traumatised by their extreme training regime they began hallucinating and some became suicidal.

James Geercke joined the academy in 2008 as an 18-year-old. On Monday, he told the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide that recruits were routinely pushed to their limits.

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In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 or chat for support. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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Australian special forces member allegedly stole and published personal data of intelligence official

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ADF is investigating alleged theft and use of cybertools to hack private accounts of Australian serving with overseas intelligence organisation

An Australian serving within a military intelligence organisation of a Five Eyes ally has allegedly had his personal data stolen from within the Australian Defence Force’s secure personnel system and posted online.

Australia’s joint military police unit is investigating an allegation that a serving member of Australia’s special forces unlawfully accessed the data of the intelligence official and posted personal and sensitive data in an online location accessible to the public.

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News live updates: Medibank, Optus among companies shunning privacy law hearing in ‘collective failure of corporate Australia’

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Greens senator David Shoebridge has criticised notable absences at a Senate committee looking at privacy laws today. Follow the day’s news live

ADF personnel to help in NSW as government works on dedicated disaster workforce

Murray Watt is asked about a permanent disaster workforce to assist during national disasters and their clean-up, given the pressure put on the defence force.

The ADF does certainly play a role, particularly in the recovery phase. And just yesterday we activated more defence forces to go into western New South Wales to assist so over the next couple of days, we expect to see 200 defence force personnel helping there to top up these state-based services. But the reality is all of this is putting a huge amount of pressure, whether it be on those state-based services or the ADF. And that’s why in this budget, we committed over $30m to a volunteer veteran organisation called Disaster Relief Australia to sort of top up the kind of services that are available for communities, particularly in that clean-up phase.

But we’re going to be keeping on doing some work on this about what we need to put in place as a country to supplement the ADF and I’d be hopeful that we might be able to bring that to a conclusion around about the budget next year.

There’s insurance costs so let alone the huge damage bill that individuals are going to be incurring themselves.

So I think everyone is unfortunately going to be having to put their hands in their pockets for for this unfolding event that just won’t go away.

So even if we weren’t to get any more rain, we’re going to be looking at even more damage from the existing flood waters. And, as I say, I think we’re likely to see more. We’ve also got to remember that we haven’t yet seen the cyclone season start whether that be in north Queensland, Western Australia or Northern Territory. So unfortunately I haven’t got a lot of good news for people except for the fact that there is unlikely to be a lot of rain over the next couple of days. So that’s a good thing.

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Anthony Albanese seeks ways to boost Australia’s defence capability as G20 ends

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Flurry of face-to-face talks with the leaders of US, UK and France could lead to more deals for military equipment

Anthony Albanese has confirmed he canvassed interim solutions to boost Australia’s defence capability with Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron in a flurry of private meetings on the sidelines of the G20 and East Asia summits.

After meeting the French president in Bali on Wednesday, Australia’s prime minister flagged he was actively pursuing closer defence and security cooperation with Macron, given France is a significant Pacific and Indian ocean power.

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Australia news live: Medibank hacker demands ‘US$1 per customer’ ransom; ‘rotten egg gas’ problem in navy patrol boats

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Defence officials say there is an issue with hydrogen sulphide in the vessels’ waste systems. Follow the day’s news live

Coalition’s staff cap has fuelled lack of payment integrity, Shorten says

Bill Shorten goes on to criticise the NDIS staff cap implemented by the Coalition government:

When there were 180,000 participants in the scheme, the staff numbers were around 3,500 to 4,000. And the government of the day said, ‘OK, no more staff.’

Now the scheme has half a million people-plus, and what’s happened is that we’ve brought in contractors or labour hire or partners in the community and the scheme hasn’t been well, in my opinion, supervised and well loved.

I don’t blame someone for seeking to get support for the child. What does make me wonder is the state school systems providing the support for kids with developmental and learning delays? Are they doing enough or not? How can you force their hand to do it so that these people aren’t going on the NDIS?

Originally, when the NDIS was created, it was to be a 50/50 split, at the moment the federal government is paying 64% to 66% of the scheme and states are paying in the mid 30s.

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Australia pays to maintain trouble-plagued Taipan helicopters no longer being used by navy

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Officials defend cost, saying it will ensure parts have resale value once government decides whether to dump the fleet entirely

The Australian government is paying to maintain seven trouble-plagued Taipan helicopters in a Brisbane warehouse after the navy ceased using them.

Officials have defended the cost of this work, saying it would ensure the parts still have resale value once the government decides whether to dump the fleet entirely.

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Two former defence leaders paid almost $800,000 to review Australia’s military capabilities

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Review by Sir Angus Houston and Stephen Smith will respond to increasing challenges in the Pacific and make recommendations ‘for the next decade and beyond’

Two former defence leaders are being paid close to $800,000 combined to carry out a major review for the Albanese government, including a confidential update delivered this week.

Contract records show the former chief of the Australian defence force Sir Angus Houston is being paid $470,000 for his work on the defence strategic review, while the former Labor defence minister Stephen Smith will receive $306,496.

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Indonesian ambassador warns Australia Aukus pact must not fuel a hypersonic arms race

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Siswo Pramono says the two countries remain in close talks on ensuring the safety of Australia’s plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines

Indonesia’s ambassador to Australia has raised new concerns about the sharing of advanced weapons technology under the Aukus security agreement, warning that it must not fuel a hypersonic arms race in the region.

In an interview with Guardian Australia, Siswo Pramono said the two countries were “not in quarrel” and remained in close talks about how to ensure the safety of Australia’s plans to acquire at least eight nuclear-powered submarines.

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US deployment of nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to Australia’s north likely to fuel China tensions

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US-funded upgrade of Tindal airbase in Northern Territory will allow it to house up to six B-52s, as minister says Australia must remain ‘vigilant’

An expanded Royal Australian Air Force base in the Northern Territory will have space for up to six American nuclear-capable B-52 aircraft as part of a US-funded project that is likely to fuel tensions with China.

Officials in Canberra confirmed that the US-funded aircraft parking apron at RAAF Base Tindal, 320km south-east of Darwin, would be capable of accommodating up to six B-52 aircraft, but said it could also house other aircraft types.

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Cyber-attack on Australian defence contractor may have exposed private communications between ADF members

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Dataset from communications platform ForceNet containing up to 40,000 records may be compromised after breach on external provider

A ransomware attack may have resulted in data related to private communications between current and former Australian defence force members being compromised, with as many as 40,000 records at risk.

Defence confirmed on Monday that a dataset from ForceNet, a communications platform, may have been compromised after an attack on an external ICT service provider.

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Australian defence force troops to train Ukrainian soldiers in the UK

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Government emphasised ADF members will not be entering Ukraine, as total Australian aid to Kyiv reaches $655m

Up to 70 Australian defence force personnel will be deployed to the UK to train Ukrainian troops in the latest increase in Australia’s support for Kyiv.

The Albanese government announced the decision late on Wednesday while emphasising that the ADF members would not be entering Ukrainian territory.

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Labor pledges extra $200m in Australian aid for Ukraine and $500m for veterans in budget

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Albanese government unveils big boost to Pacific aid partly offset by axing Coalition’s agriculture visa while sparing defence from major cuts

The Albanese government has earmarked more than $200m for additional help for Ukraine and $500m to support Australian veterans and their families, while largely sparing defence from major funding cuts.

But a massive boost in aid to the Pacific and the expansion of Pacific worker schemes announced in Tuesday’s budget will be partly offset by a $213m cut to the previous Morrison government’s programs in the foreign affairs portfolio.

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Almost half of Australians support sending military to help defend Taiwan, poll suggests

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YouGov survey finds people in Australia more likely to favour sending troops than people in Japan and US

Almost half of Australians believe the country should send troops to help defend Taiwan against China if required, a much higher percentage of the population than in the US or Japan, a new survey suggests.

About a third of the public in the US and Japan agreed with sending military forces to respond to such a crisis, according to polling commissioned by the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

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Australia is considering offering training to Ukraine troops, Anthony Albanese says

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PM conveys condolences for Russia’s ‘horrific’ targeting of civilians in call to Volodymyr Zelenskiy

Anthony Albanese is considering offering training to Ukrainian troops after telling Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a phone call that Australia stands “with the courageous people of Ukraine”.

The Australian defence force would not carry out the training on Ukrainian soil. A number of countries including New Zealand, Sweden and Finland have sent trainers to the UK, where new Ukrainian troops have travelled for training.

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Clare O’Neil suggests Labor may legislate fines after Optus data breach – as it happened

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The Nationals want to get back to their roots – the regions.

The country party are launching a “regional listening tour” to find out what is affecting people in the country.

Migration is not the only solution to the challenges our regions are up against,” Littleproud said.

We need to look at what can be done now to help those Australians that are already in town.

We know distance is one of the greatest barriers to opportunity. So we’re coming to your town to create this opportunity to share your concerns and help us come up with the solutions.

For example, would a Regional University Centre stop our children from leaving town? Or could paying their HELP debts be the incentive they need to stay where we need them?

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Australian soldier alleges torture survival course involved simulated child rape and left him with PTSD

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Exclusive: The defence force’s alleged handling of the training course prompted a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission

A secretive torture training program has caused debilitating and unnecessary trauma to some Australian soldiers by forcing them into shocking acts of humiliation, including the simulated rape of child dolls and masturbating sex toys over bibles, a whistleblower has alleged.

The Australian Defence Force’s alleged handling of the controversial training course, known as Conduct After Capture Level C, has prompted one traumatised ex-soldier to complain to the Australian Human Rights Commission and prepare a federal court case challenging its legality, the Guardian can reveal.

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ACT urges Tanya Plibersek to quash defence housing plan that would destroy critically endangered grasslands

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Defence Housing Australia wants to clear nearly 16 hectares of natural temperate grassland in Canberra’s north-west

The ACT government has urged the federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, to reject a defence housing development that would destroy critically endangered grasslands in Canberra’s north-west.

Defence Housing Australia (DHA) has proposed building hundreds of houses on an old naval transmission site in the suburb of Lawson.

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Australia hails ‘new chapter’ in Timor-Leste relationship as leaders sign defence pact

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Albanese government looks forward to military cooperation as Jose Ramos-Horta calls for help to develop Greater Sunrise gas fields

Australia has signed a new defence agreement with Timor-Leste, one of its closest neighbours in the Indo-Pacific, allowing increased military cooperation, particularly in the waters between the two nations.

The deal was announced as the Timor-Leste president, Jose Ramos-Horta, prepared to address the National Press Club on Wednesday, where he called on Australia to do more to help Timor-Leste’s economy develop.

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Australia news live updates: Albanese says government will ‘stand by’ stage three tax cuts at press club speech

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The PM says his government made the decision in 2019 ‘that we would stand by that legislation rather than re-litigate it’. Follow all the day’s news

Pocock pushes for scrapping of stage-three tax cuts

Independent senator David Pocock was on RN speaking about the stage-three tax cuts, which he says should be “resisted” – no matter what was promised before the election.

What I’ve said is that they should be revisited … [Anthony Albanese] has a really strong case to relook at these these tax cuts and see what what else that could actually be spent on, given the you know the huge amount of money that they represent.

Things have changed a lot since these were where they decided. We’ve had bushfires, a global pandemic. We’ve had flooding and stagnant wages, and now people are in a cost-of-living crisis across the country. And so I just don’t think that we can justify handing out $240bn over the next 10 years to the wealthiest Australians.

Ultimately, when we hit the budget in October – which is where these issues get reviewed every year – when you look at the budget, there will be things that we want to do that we can’t do. And that’s the reality of a trillion dollars of Liberal debt, particularly as inflation goes up. That debt now costs a lot more than it costs even a year ago.

So there will be things that that we would want to do that people would like us to do that aren’t going to be possible as an example. It’s basically saying, ‘Yeah, this is just too too expensive.’

We’re only in the second month of that new system. A lot of it was designed before we came to office and the contracts had all been signed before we came into office. So I’m still very mindful of what we can do. But the the challenges of the people who are in the system right now are exactly as you’ve described.

I think to live on $46 a day is incredibly difficult if not impossible.

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Man pleads guilty to harassing ABC’s Mark Willacy over reporting on alleged Afghanistan war crimes

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Thomas Mark Rickard, who served in ADF, avoids conviction but is ordered to pay $1,000 good behaviour bond for leaving reporter abusive and threatening voicemail

A Victorian man who served with the Australian Defence Force has pleaded guilty to harassing the ABC journalist Mark Willacy after he reported on alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan.

Thomas Mark Rickard, from Lara, near Geelong, was arrested late last year after phoning Willacy and leaving an abusive and threatening voicemail.

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