Referral of the bill
1.1
On 7 December 2020, the Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Approval of Overseas Service) Bill 2020, (the bill) a private senator's bill sponsored by Senator Jordon Steele-John, was introduced into the Senate.
1.2
On 2 September 2021, pursuant to the Senate Selection of Bills Report, the bill was referred to the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee (the committee) for inquiry and report by 30 November 2021.
Conduct of the inquiry
1.3
The committee advertised the inquiry on its website, calling for submissions by 15 October 2021. The committee also wrote directly to a range of organisations and individuals to invite them to make written submissions. Submissions received are listed at Appendix 1.
1.4
The committee decided to prepare its report on the basis of submissions received and available information. The committee thanks those who made submissions.
Background to the bill
1.5
The Explanatory Memorandum (EM) notes that this bill is a revised version of the one introduced into the Senate in 1985 by Senator Colin Mason, a Democrat from NSW. The changes in this bill consist mainly of detailed provisions relating to emergency situations which occur when the Parliament is not meeting and the information which is required to be provided to the public and the Parliament.
1.6
The history of the bill is further detailed in the committee's 2010 report (see below).
Purpose of the bill
1.7
The core provision of the proposed legislation remains unaltered from earlier versions. The stated purpose of the bill is to amend the Defence Act 1903 to 'ensure that, as far as is constitutionally and practically possible, Australian Defence Force personnel are not sent overseas to engage in warlike actions without the approval of both Houses of the Parliament'.
1.8
Citing government decisions to deploy the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to Iraq and Afghanistan, Senator Steele-John argued the need for the bill:
It is no longer tenable that the decision to deploy into conflict zones should be left to the executive alone. Currently, the Defence Act 1903 does not allow for any level of transparent decision making, scrutiny and debate, but this is an artefact of legislation, not the natural order of things.
The Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Approval of Overseas Service) Bill 2020 inserts a new section 29A into the Defence Act 1903 to require that decisions to deploy members of the Australian Defence Force beyond the territorial limits be made not by the executive alone but by Parliament as a whole. This means debate in both houses, followed by a vote.
Previous inquires
1.9
The most recent inquiry on an earlier version of the bill was undertaken by the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee which tabled a comprehensive report in 2010. The committee recommended that the bill not proceed.
Financial implications
1.10
The EM states that the bill would have no direct financial impact.
Scrutiny by other committees
1.11
The Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills had no comment on the bill. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights also had no comment on the bill.
Structure of this report
1.12
Chapter 2 of this report provides an overview of issues raised in evidence and contains the committee's views and recommendation.