Assistant Minister for Defence Andrew Hastie declined to comment when asked if Parliament should be consulted before Australian troops are sent into armed conflict abroad.
Minister Hastie served in the Australian Defence Force from 2003 to 2015, including five years in the Special Air Service (SAS) and deployment to Afghanistan as a Troop Commander in 2013 as part of the Special Operations Task Group. Michael West Media told Minister Hastie’s office we were especially interested in the Minister’s views in light of his military and parliamentary experience, but were told in response: “he’ll decline to comment on this issue at this stage.”
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