Jacqui Lambie says she’s prepared to explore “every avenue possible” to hold senior military brass to account for alleged war crimes.
The firebrand Tasmanian senator, who served in the army for 11 years, on Tuesday referred senior Australian Defence Force command to the International Criminal Court.
She said the Brereton report gave senior commanders a “free pass”, Diggers had been “thrown under the bus” by senior officials and she also accused the top brass of being complicit in a “culture of cover up”.
“Let’s be quite clear here. The senior commanders have not been examined through the hardcore legal lens,” she said.
She said the government – past and present – had forced her hand.
“If Australia – and both governments, we’ve seen it from the Liberal Party and now from the Labor Party – if they’re not prepared to go in and look at senior command … I’m going to force them to,” she told ABC Radio.
“Because you are not going to chuck all these Diggers under the bus and not (front) up.”
Senator Lambie said she was going to use “every mechanism possible” to hold senior command to account.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles sought to downplay Senator Lambie’s allegations that military leaders were getting a “free pass” on war crimes allegations on Tuesday – but Senator Lambie was quick to rebuff on Wednesday.
“You can’t tell me … none of us believe out here, and even a normal Australian does not believe that the top did not know that there was something going on,” she said.
“I have served in that uniform, and everybody at the top knows what’s going on I can assure you.”
The 2020 Brereton report found credible information that 39 Afghan civilians were killed by members of the Australian special forces but did not find the commanders responsible.
Mr Marles said he was receiving advice on whether the ICC would take up the case but would meet with Senator Lambie on Wednesday to discuss the matter.
Mr Marles said the government was committed to Australia “holding itself to account” for the allegations identified in Brereton.
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said while she respected Senator Lambie, the Coalition didn’t support the ICC referral.
“I absolutely respect Jacqui, but the Opposition does not agree – we think we have the right processes in place as it is,” she said.
As for whether she agreed with Senator Lambie that Diggers had been “thrown under the bus” by those in higher ranks, Ms Ley said she wanted to recognise and reflect on Senator Lambie’s “heart for veterans and for our servicemen and women”.
Senator Lambie also backed calls for the leaders of the “Coalition of the willing” – the UK, US and Australia – referred to the ICC for their decision to invade Iraq.
She said Australia had never really examined its role in that decision.
“When you go into Iraq, and you say you have a reason to do that, and that reason, when you work out three years later, that that reason that they were using was not there at all, then we have a massive problem here and you continue to stay in a war that you probably should never have been involved in in the first place because you didn’t have that information correct,” she said.
“Quite frankly, politicians when they send us into war, they should be accountable as well. They absolutely should be accountable.”