Wednesday 28 October 2020
Australian Greens Peace and Disarmament spokesperson Jordon Steele-John has called for Defence to make both the Crompvoets report, and the Department's response, public amid disturbing and shameful allegations of murder and torture were reported today in the nine newspapers.
"These are war crimes and there must be full disclosure by the Department of Defence about the veracity of these incredibly disturbing allegations," Steele-John said.
"It does not matter whether Defence thinks the full story should be kept a secret or not - Australians deserve to know what our defence forces are doing in foreign conflict zones in our name.
"As evidenced by the rolling allegations that have leaked from this inquiry into Australia's engagement in Afghanistan, this abhorrent behaviour does not happen in isolation.
"What is becoming increasingly clear is that Australia's Special Air Service Regiment has very serious structural and cultural problems that run much deeper than just a handful of individual commandos, or a rogue unit.
"These shameful allegations are in the public interest and must be uncovered so that Australians can once again trust that our defence force personnel are acting respectfully and lawfully in our name."
