THE HON. JOEL FITZGIBBON MP
Minister for Defence
Thursday, 22 May 2008
041/2008
INQUIRY INTO ALLEGATIONS OF INAPPROPRIATE
CONDUCT ON FORCES ENTERTAINMENT TOUR
The Minister for Defence, the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP, received a
Department of Defence ‘Hot Issues Brief’ on Thursday 15 May informing him
that Defence is investigating allegations of inappropriate conduct during a
recent Forces Entertainment Tour of the Middle East Area of Operations
contained within that Brief.
The Minister has formally asked Defence for a review of the process which
determines how ‘Hot Issues Briefs’ are generated and how widely they
are distributed. He has also asked what measures are in place to test the
necessity of using names in such briefs. Further, the Minister has directed that
an inquiry be held into how this particular Brief came to be made public.
The Opposition Spokesman for Defence Senator Nick Minchin’s attempts to
play politics with what at this stage is an allegation only has dragged the state
of the Liberal Party to new lows.
Media contacts:
Christian Taubenschlag (Joel Fitzgibbon):
02 6277 7800 or 0438 595 567
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