Page 4474 - Week 15 - Tuesday, 19 November 1991
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I would now like to turn to an interesting issue affecting many residents of the ACT, concerning how this Bill relates to a recent initiative by the defence forces. My examination would tend to suggest that the particular program to which I refer could, in fact, infringe clause 7 of this Bill. I am not sure, but I understand that Defence has policies in relation to the employment of women in certain parts of the defence forces. Whether those policies are actually enshrined in legislation is another question. It would seem that this legislation that we see here tonight will, in fact, have a major influence on the employment of women within the defence forces, because it would appear that there is no Federal legislation like this. Because of this, on my advice, it would appear that this legislation would apply.
Let me turn to some of the information that has recently been circulated by the various defence forces on what has been called the Ready Reserve scheme, announced quite appropriately up in Brisbane at the Bulimba army barracks by the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, not that long ago. In fact, it was probably on 2 October 1991, according to the Queensland Courier-Mail, that Mr Hawke announced this scheme to the people of Australia, accompanied by a Defence press release dated 30 September 1991 which spoke about the Ready Reserve campaign.
It is very interesting to look through some of the documentation relating to this scheme. Looking at one document for the Air Force's Defence Force Ready Reserve scheme, it would seem to me, on my reading of it, that all they are really interested in is employing males, because it says:
You'll have to be male aged 17 to 29 for a start.
It also says:
... government policy -
note, "government policy", not government legislation -
does not allow women to fill combat positions.
I understand that similar comments are made in the documentation related to the Navy. However, the Army is a little more enlightened in this area, and in it women are increasingly being employed in combat-related duties.
Mr Kaine: Do you want them up in the front rank in the Army, Norm?
MR JENSEN: Mr Kaine, for your information, women are now being employed within the ranks of the Royal Australian Infantry, provided that they go forward and return pretty sharpish. My understanding is that there has been a change of policy in that area, although there have been some indications that in some of the other combat arms women are not normally employed at the moment.
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