Australia is a liberal democracy, freedom speech and freedom of media are great many other OECD nations, ABC Australia is funded by taxpayers, Australian government never intervened in editorial matters of ABC News. This is a great strength of Australian democracy.
The men and women who serve in the Australian Defence Forces (ADF) are considered to be the sacred pillar of Australian democracy. From Gallipoli to Afghanistan, Australia takes pride in men and women in the uniform.
Editor of ABC Investigations, Jo Puccini, asked ABC news reporter to look into some Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission files that someone had given to ABC news.
The Australian Government investigated the alleged war crimes and decided to disband SAS’s 2 squadrons and removing the meritorious unit citation from all special forces who served in Afghanistan. At least 10 current members of the elite SAS implicated in the damning Afghanistan war crimes inquiry have received “show cause” notices from the Defence Department.
Those moves were enough to prompt anger and resentment among special forces ranks, who felt as though senior command were escaping punishment and contradicting their own public statements that the majority of special forces were beyond reproach.
The ADF has rightfully investigated and removed unwanted personnel from its rank. Australia has closed a dark chapter of history. The Australian Defence Forces deserve credit for the investigation and prompt action on an Afghan war crime. No other nation did it, I repeat “no other nation ever did it”.
Twerking Dance Is A Poor Judgement
A dance troupe’s performance at an Australian Navy event created a furore on Thursday as initial criticism over apparent twerking at dignitaries turned into a story of inaccurate media coverage and criticism of the national broadcaster by the prime minister.
The launch of a new $2billion naval ship in Sydney on the weekend included some eyebrow-raising entertainment.
A group of scantily-clad female dancers were filmed vigorously “twerking” at the event, which was attended by senior Navy officials, the Governor-General and Federal MPs.
A seven-woman troupe dressed in black shorts, red crop tops and berets performed a dance routine that included twerking in front of the auxiliary vessel, HMAS Supply, on April 10, according to footage shown by the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) on Wednesday.
The ABC report cut between shots showing the dancers and a crowd of dignitaries including Governor-General David Hurley, Queen Elizabeth’s representative in Australia. However, Hurley had not arrived at the time of the routine, a spokesman for the Australian Defence Force said.
The dance troupe, which the ADF said was hired as part of its engagement with the local community, were critical of the ABC, saying the report was “deceptive” and they were hurt and disappointed by their portrayal and resulting controversy.
“The media which purports to support women have been the most virulent,” the troupe said in a statement.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was disappointed over the “misreporting” that had misled people.
“I think that was disrespectful to the performers to suggest the Governor-General or others were in attendance,” he said at a news conference in Perth.
In a statement, the ABC said it had updated its footage to reflect the fact that the Governor-General and Chief of Navy were not in attendance for the dance routine, and apologized to its viewers and both men for the error.
Senator Jacqui Lambie has blasted the decision to have a group of dancers twerking at the commission of HMAS Supply in Sydney at the weekend.
A video posted by the ABC shows a troupe of seven dancers, from Sydney group the 101 Doll Squadron, who were invited by the HMAS Supply crew and the navy to celebrate the commissioning of HMAS Supply on Saturday.
The footage has caused widespread backlash for being “inappropriate” for the occasion.
Senator Lambie said having that style of dance at the commissioning of a naval ship was “a shocker”.
“I thought I was watching the Super Bowl there for a split second, I will be honest with you,” she told 9 News. “Whoever made that call, it’s an absolute shocker for goodness sake. It is not the time and place to have (that).
“Good on those young ladies for getting out there, but I tell you being half-clothed outside a war ship is probably inappropriate.
“You know, if that (the decision was made by) the leadership in our Defense Force, god help our sons and daughters who are serving.”
Governor-General David Hurley was also at the ceremony, but the Australian Defence Force (ADF) denied he was present for the dancers.
ABC footage intersected images of the dancers with Mr Hurley sitting in a seat.
The Australian Defense Force’s leadership needs to think carefully about how their actions are perceived in the public domain. The Dance routine should be the last blander of the ADF leadership.
About HMAS Supply
HMAS Supply (II) is the lead ship of two Supply Class Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment (AOR) ships currently being built for the Royal Australian Navy by Spanish shipbuilder, Navantia. The Australian Supply Class ships are based on the Spanish Navy’s Cantabria Class design.
The ships are intended to carry fuel, dry cargo, water, food, ammunition, equipment and spare parts to provide operational support for the deployed naval or combat forces operating far from the port on the high seas for longer periods.
In addition to replenishment, the vessels can be used to combat environmental pollution at sea, provide logistics support for the armed forces, and support humanitarian and disaster relief (HADR) operations following a natural disaster.
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