Fed: Cosgrove vows action against bastardisation

AAP General News (Australia)
08-28-2000
Fed: Cosgrove vows action against bastardisation

CANBERRA, Aug 28 AAP - Australia's army chief today defended the service's delay in
bringing allegations of brutal bastardisation of soldiers before parliament's defence
sub-committee.

Army chief Lieutenant-General Peter Cosgrove said justice needed to be swift and sure,
but sure had to come before swift.

"I can't actually give you chapter and verse as to why these things take so long in
the legal sense, but I look at the community, the wider legal system and it's pretty slow,"

he told journalists after facing the sub-committee.

"There still is conjecture as to whether the committee would be the natural place for
these things to be taken.

"But on the other hand, you should be assured that the military from the word go -
as soon as we established there was what appeared to be a systemic problem in a small
part of one unit - we were right on it and continue to be on it."

General Cosgrove said the most important concern was ensuring complaints were properly
investigated.

He faced the sub-committee this morning over allegations of violent backroom discipline
in the army's elite 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) for the first time
since the reports emerged a fortnight ago.

The defence committee was angry that General Cosgrove, Defence Minister John Moore
and the defence department did not disclose the information for two years.

General Cosgrove said he reassured the committee the ADF was committed to giving everyone
in the defence force a fair go, while actively investigating internal complaints.

"And where there's substance to these complaints we will certainly take vigorous action,"

he said.

General Cosgrove would not rule out a broad-based investigation, but said an effective
complaints mechanism was the top priority.

"Let's make sure that we have the right ethical arrangements and the right avenues
for people to bring forward their complaints," he said.

"And by our assertions and our actions, (we'll) show that we will not, under any circumstances,
condone the illegal treatment of our people. And if we do that, I think we'll be pretty
right."

General Cosgrove denied that bastardisation was firmly entrenched in army culture,
saying the majority of the force was as shocked by the allegations as the civilian community.

"I think what we had was an area in a narrow part of the defence force where allegations
are there was a bad climate of summary justice. So we'll fix that," he said.

AAP jb/mfh/hu

KEYWORD: REGIMENT (CARRIED EARLIER)

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