Military excluded from conscientious objection
By Monique Choy
A bill now before parliament, to amend the 1903 Conscription Act, has been presented as liberalising rules for conscientious objection. But according to at least two parliamentarians, there is a major flaw in the bill.
Independent MP Ted Mack and WA Greens Senator Christabel Chamarette point out that the bill, introduced on March 30, specifically excludes serving members of the armed forces from obtaining conscientious objector status.
Military personnel could thus be required to serve in a war to which they have moral objections. This situation arose during the Gulf War, when several sailors — the best known being Terry Jones — sought to object to serving on the Australian frigates sent to the Gulf.
"I would have thought that individual rights extended to certain parts of the population should be extended to all", Chamarette's electorate officer, Theo Mackaay, told Â鶹´«Ã½.
The amendments will also allow women, Aborigines and non-citizens resident in Australia for more than six months to be conscripted.
Mackaay pointed out that Australian troops are being sent to Cambodia as part of the United Nations peacekeeping operation. "If that situation were to degenerate, people who happen to be Cambodians who are members of the Australian armed forces ... would not be able to object on conscientious grounds."