Liberal Party Senator Linda Reynolds, who is a member of the Defence Subcommittee handling the recently announced inquiry into international armed conflict decision making, is strongly opposed to war powers reform. She provided the following statement to MWM:
“There is no greater responsibility for any elected national government than to make the decision to utilise defence personnel both domestically and overseas, in order to keep Australians safe. In my nearly 30 years of military service, I understood and accepted that the executive, regardless of party affiliations, was responsible for making the decisions of when and how I served. I had every confidence, as I believe all personnel do, that the executive would consider all possible avenues before making that serious decision.
As a member of the Defence Sub-Committee, a former Defence Minister and a former Army Officer, it is my strong opinion that parliament should play no role in declaring war and in the engagement and deployment of defence personnel. I would be seriously concerned about the implications that reform would have in not only risking the lives of Australian personnel, but compromising the safety and security of any proposed operation.”
Staff writers who have worked on one or more of our special investigative projects include Zacharias Zsumer (War Powers), Stephanie Tran, Tasha May and Luke Stacey.
