‘Deafening silence’: Jacqui Lambie demands answers on accused torturer’s top Army job

The Albanese government has to explain how an alleged foreign torturer and human rights abuser was appointed to one of the Australian Army’s most senior commands, says Jacqui Lambie.

Senator Jacqui Lambie. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Independent senator Jacqui Lambie has demanded the Albanese government and Chief of Defence Force Angus Campbell explain how an alleged foreign torturer was appointed to one of the Australian Army’s most senior commands.

The federal government is under increasing pressure over the appointment of Fijian Colonel Penioni (Ben) Naliva as deputy commander of the Army’s 7th Brigade, following allegations he was involved in human rights abuses under the administration of former Fiji coup leader and prime minister Frank Bainimarama.

On Monday, The Australian revealed that Colonel Naliva was alleged to have been involved in several violent beatings of detainees during the Bainimarama ­regime, with one victim claiming the soldier tried to force an M16 rifle barrel into his anus during an interrogation.

“It is very worrying that a person who is alleged to have committed human rights abuses, has been appointed to command Australian troops,” Senator Lambie said on Thursday.

“I would like to know who approved this and what process, if any, did they follow?”

Senator Lambie, who served in the army for 10 years before entering politics, said the government had an obligation to tell Australians how the appointment was made.

Defence Minister Richard Marles has declined to answer questions on whether he was aware of what vetting took place and whether Colonel Naliva was still deputy commander of the Brisbane-based 7th Brigade.

“The Chief of the Defence Force, and the Minister of Defence’s silence on this is deafening and very disturbing,” Senator Lambie said. “Why are they turning a blind eye to such serious allegations? On the face of it, it seems that, as per usual, this CDF is all too happy to throw ­Australian soldiers under the bus, but he has a different set of rules when it comes to answering ­questions about his senior command mates.”

The Tasmanian senator has clashed with General Campbell in the past, alleging last year “a culture of cover-up at the highest levels of the ADF” that protected senior officers over wrongdoing in Afghanistan but hung more junior officers out to dry.

It is understood Defence relied chiefly on assurances from the Fiji government that Colonel Naliva had passed all the required Fiji police and national security clearances prior to being appointed, which puts him second in command of more than 3000 Australian soldiers.

Defence this week issued a brief statement saying Australia was “currently engaged with the Fijian government on this matter” but that it would be inappropriate to comment further.

Lieutenant Colonel Penioni Naliva with Australian Army Lieutenant Colonel John Eccleston Picture: ADF

Fijian human rights groups and alleged former victims of Colonel Naliva have called for the appointment to be rescinded and an investigation into how it was made. One alleged victim, Suva businessman and former politician Benjamin Padarath, said this week he found it difficult to believe that Colonel Naliva had been appointed deputy commander of the 7th Brigade.

In 2011, the UN Special Rapporteur named then-major Naliva in a report to the Human Rights Council of the UN general assembly over his alleged role in beating Mr Padarath so savagely his captors became concerned he might die while in their custody.

Fiji Trades Union Congress chief Felix Anthony, who was badly beaten by soldiers in 2010, said he was shocked that the Australian government did not appear to have done background checks on Colonel Naliva.

Colonel Naliva has not been charged over any of the alle­gations and The Australian is not suggesting they are true, only that they have been made and are now the subject of inquiry by the Australian government.