Alleged War Crimes

Question

1. What assessment has the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) made on the likelihood of securing successful prosecutions against Ben Roberts-Smith given the passage of time since the alleged activities occurred, evidentiary difficulties, witness reliability issues and jurisdictional complexities? 2. What steps have been taken to ensure accountability of senior officers and commanders, not just lower-level personnel, in its investigations? 3. How many matters involving senior leadership or higher command responsibility have been referred for prosecution or other accountability outcomes? 4. Has the government considered whether some portion of the $300 million funding for the OSI would deliver greater justice if directed toward restitution, compensation, reconciliation initiatives or direct support for Afghan civilians and families affected by alleged misconduct? 5. Has the Director-General received advice or made any assessment on whether the continuation of current or past investigations could affect current or former ADF personnel? If so, what was that advice or assessment? 6. Can the Director-General provide the following information: a) investigations currently underway; b) investigations that have reached the point of credible evidence of criminal activity; c) investigations that have resulted in there being insufficient evidence to substantiate a war crime and will not be pursued (unless new evidence comes to light); d) the number of briefs referred to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions; e) the number of prosecutions commenced. 7. Has there been any consideration or assessment of whether the current expenditure proportionate to the outcomes achieved? 8. What proportion of OSI expenditure is being spent on legal, consulting and contractor costs? 9. For how much longer does the OSI foresee investigations regarding allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan being required?

Answer

Please see attached answer.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• BE26-342.pdf (opens in a new tab)