Peter Dutton goes into battle for Diggers

Peter Dutton has accused the government of throwing lower-ranked officers ‘under the bus’ amid a growing political brawl.

Peter Dutton has accused the government of throwing lower-ranked officers ‘under the bus’. Picture: Adam Taylor

Peter Dutton has accused the government of throwing lower-ranked officers “under the bus” amid an escalating political brawl over Labor’s decision to shield senior commanders from the fallout from the Brereton war crimes inquiry.

Richard Marles stripped distinguished service medals from up to nine mid-ranking officers this week for dozens of war crimes by troops under their command in Afghanistan, while allowing top commanders, ­including former defence chief Angus Campbell, to keep their leadership awards.

Amid a growing backlash, the Opposition Leader suggested the penalty should have ­extended to the top of the chain of command. “Why is it OK to throw lower-ranked Diggers under the bus, but those who are higher up the chain avoid any scrutiny?” the former defence minister told the Today Show.

“And the Chief of the Army, the Chief of the Defence Force and people in between those ranks … why is there no accountability there? I think that’s why the average Digger is asking a lot of questions.”

Defence Minister Richard Marles stripped medals from up to nine current and former commanders on Thursday, finalising the governments’ response to the Brereton inquiry. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The Defence Minister hit back, accusing Mr Dutton of failing to hold any commanders to account for the crimes identified in the Brereton report, which the Coalition received 18 months before Labor was returned to office.

“When he was the defence minister, he actively suspended making a decision in relation to command accountability,” Mr Marles said. “Difficult decisions require leadership. That’s what I’ve done as the Minister for ­Defence so that we can close out the Brereton report.”

Mr Marles said the government had followed to the report’s findings “to the letter”.

Greens defence spokesman David Shoebridge said Mr Marles had let the army’s most senior commanders off the hook.

“Of course, it’s a disgrace that the former CDF wrote his own report, which recommended he keep his medal, and then ­Defence Minister Marles left him with his medal,” he said.

Senator Shoebridge said Mr Dutton had “an absolute hide” arguing higher commanders should be accountable for the crimes, claiming incorrectly that “most of these war crimes” ­occurred under the Coalition.

According to the Brereton report, most of the crimes were committed between 2007 and 2013, when Labor was in power.

Earlier, Liberal backbencher Keith Wolahan, a former commando officer in Afghanistan, said “accountability starts at the top”. “We are not talking about whether Angus Campbell or others are directly responsible for this,” he said. “We are saying … ‘Should you wear a medal that says you had distinguished command and leadership, even if things happened that you didn’t know about?’ I think there is an obvious answer to that.”

In his report for the Inspector General of the ADF, Paul Brereton said he had uncovered credible information that 25 SAS personnel unlawfully killed 39 ­Afghan civilians and prisoners.

Former Defence chief Angus Campbell delivering the the landmark Brereton war crimes report in November 2020. Picture: Getty Images