New Medal Group Graham Edwards - Parliamentary Secretary (Defence)

Speech

Transcript - New Medal Group - 2 December 2003

Thanks for the invitation to speak here tonight and advise you of the position of the ALP.

Senator Chris Evans, Shadow Minister for Defence, asked me some time ago to do some work in this area and it follows the decision by the Government prior to the last election to issue the National Servicemen's Commemoration Medal.

Inevitably the ‘Nasho' medal was always going to lead to a push by volunteer members of the ADF, including former CMF and current Defence Reserves, for similar recognition.

Chris has indicated that he is strongly supportive of giving consideration to such a medal which recognises volunteer service. My task is to put before him the facts and, as best can be identified, the costs. You will be aware that any commitment we give prior to the next election needs to be costed, and costed accurately.

This however is made difficult by the Government who has refused to answer questions placed on the notice paper which would give us the actual numbers of servicemen and women involved and who would be eligible for such recognition.

Late last year I took out figures for a volunteer medal based on three years full time service and six years part time service. As best I can calculate, based on numbers given to me by the Parliamentary Library following some exhaustive work by them, there are approximately 350,000 full time and 350,000 part time members of the ADF who would be eligible on this criteria.

Based on the cost of the ASM, which cost $49 per medal, and allowing for inflation and current serving members, the cost of that medal would come in at about $37 to $40 million.

However since then we have managed to extract more information on the cost of the ‘Nasho' Medal which came in around $20 to $22 per medal. Please excuse me for being a little unsure here but we simply can't get the accurate costing so we need to approximate. You can see however that the second costing brings the total cost down quite significantly.

I am also aware however that your position is that the medal should be awarded for 2 years service, full or part time. I am also aware of other suggestions that the medal only be awarded after 5 years full and 10 years part time service.

I now need to consult with the Defence community about the most appropriate period of service and to make recommendations based on that consultation, and we will then determine the ALP's position.

I am about to initiate that process of consultation in the next week or so as I am aware that you would like to know what our position will be prior to Anzac Day next year.

I can't give you a commitment on that date except to say we will do our best to have all the information collected and collated as soon as we reasonably can.

You also need to know that what we are talking about here is not an ADF medal but a medal which recognises volunteer service within the ADF.

I am also aware that many of you believe that we should just adopt the position of the RSL and award an ADF medal based on two years full or part time service. We are not prepared to do that. We consider the RSL to be a most important ESO and we greatly value their views but we also want to consult with other ESO's who have a stake in this issue as well.

You would also be aware that there are many strongly held views about medals in Australia and so there should be because the issue of medals is not one that we should take lightly.

For instance the last major revue of Defence medals was conducted in 1994 under the chairmanship of General Peter Gration. The Inquiry Board included Major General ‘Digger' James, former National President of the RSL, and Mr. Noel Tanzer.

They came up with ten principles to help guide them through the diversity of issues they were considering in relation to awards.

The first of these principles is this - and I quote:

Recognition of service medals (other than medals for long service or special occasions such as a coronation) should only occur when that service has been rendered beyond the normal requirements of peacetime. Normal duties such as training and garrison duties should not be recognised by the award of a medal, even though they may be demanding, hazardous and uncomfortable, and may be undertaken in countries other than Australia. As a general rule, medals should be reserved for the recognition of service in military campaigns, peacekeeping or other military activities clearly and markedly more demanding than normal peacetime service. End of quote

But they went on to say this in their footnote:

Normal service in the Defence Force does not in its own right warrant a medal. The conditions of service and salary structure of the Defence Force recognise hazardous duty, relocation and difficulties which arise during the normal course of employment. Medals should be reserved for those who have done something special. The Committee recognises that in certain countries medals are given to mark various stages in the careers of service personnel. This has never been the practice in Australia and the Committee is not persuaded that the Australian approach should change.

Well, you could look at that principle and say that is the end of the story. But it is not - and I say this because since then we have had the issue of the National Service Medal. This is important when you read Principle Three of the same report because they say this:

To maintain the inherent fairness and integrity of the Australian system of honours and awards care must be taken that, in recognising service by some, the comparable service of others is not overlooked or degraded.

And they say in their footnote about Principle Three :

"The Committee is conscious of the need for consistency in its recommendations to Government. The standards of measurement for service that apply must be transparent and fair in the eye of the community."

There must be consistency and there must be fairness and the question must be asked: is it fair to recognise service provided by conscripts but at the same time not recognise service provided by volunteers?

I would say the answer is no.

I believe as a matter of fairness we now need to examine the question in a fair, reasonable and transparent manner and that is what I intend to do on behalf of the ALP.

I believe it is important to put an end to the divisive issue of conscripts having their service recognised but volunteers not. I also believe there is plenty of room to discuss eligibility in terms of length of service and ensuring for instance that those who were discharged because of injuries or illness or pregnancy are recognised.

All of this must be done in a way which does not in any way diminish anyone's service or just claims for fair recognition of service.

My advice to you is to put your arguments forward but listen to the views of others.

The most import principle to be established is the issue of recognition for volunteer service. Discussion about the length of time for eligibility can follow and can be dealt with in an open and mature manner. To do otherwise will be to defeat the purpose and spirit of such recognition and will be to the detriment of all who have served and continue to serve.

I have served as a CMF soldier and have am proud to have done so. I have served as a regular soldier and am proud to have done so. I have also served with National Servicemen and am proud to have done so.

Let us not forget that at the end of the day we all served the one Nation in the one Defence Force.

Once again, thank you for the invitation to be here tonight and I wish you well in your endeavours.