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Learning from the past

By Bruce Haigh - posted Wednesday, 19 March 2008


What is it about the Department of Defence that such high levels of denial are generated on issues requiring open investigation.

The AFP investigation into the Haneef affair was little short of a cover up and both the Australian public and the Indian government await a full and proper investigation. The current review of Homeland and Border security, due on June 30, must not be allowed to fulfill Keelty’s ambition for the creation of an Australian FBI incorporating significant elements of ASIO and ASIS and giving dominance over what remains of them.

The issue of how the so-called war on terror has been used politically for bureaucratic empire building particularly in relation to the AFP and the Department of Immigration needs thorough investigation.

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The Australian people need answers on why it was deemed necessary to break both Australian and International law to detain refugees for long periods under mind shattering conditions and why it was necessary to detain children.

They await answers on the apparent public service stuff ups over “children overboard” and an investigation into the sinking of SIEV X.

Perhaps all of the bungles referred to above were as a result of political decisions. If so we need to know why the public service was so ineffectual in the face of an aggressively ideological government.

Perhaps many of the bungles were as a result of public service initiatives, if so we need to know how they were arrived at in order to avoid the same costly mistakes in the future.

Through all the rampaging of the Howard government, at a time of economic prosperity, why did so many groups of influence sink into their comfort zones and condone the philosophy of “whatever it takes”? In particular I am thinking of the media and the public service.

Many of the senior public servants who either drafted or went along with Howard’s profligacy and unlawfulness are advising the Rudd Government. Is this desirable considering how far Australia went off the track over the past 12 years? Australia needs to rebuild social capital. Rudd is off to a good start with his Sorry Statement, but much remains to be done.

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The old brigade of senior public service managers, with a few notable and honourable exceptions, should be encouraged to go.

There are many good and younger public servants, with ideas and drive which should be given their day. Were they to be, Rudd’s ill conceived 2020 meeting would not be necessary.

Many fundamentals of Australian democracy were undermined by the Howard government. We need to know how this happened and how the federal public service became complicit. Was it complicit or was it forced? Or was the process far more complex and subtle and if so it is all the more reason why we, the Australian people need to know what was going on. What went wrong and why? If we are to avoid worse abuses and wastage in the future we need to know.

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About the Author

Bruce Haigh is a political commentator and retired diplomat who served in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 1972-73 and 1986-88, and in South Africa from 1976-1979

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