Part one of the report of the HMAS Success Commission of Inquiry has been released by the Minister for Defence.This report concerns alleged incidents of unacceptable behaviour involving members of the Ship’s Company of HMASSuccess between March and May 2009 and subsequent response to incidents.
The outcomes of this inquiry are disturbing and must be taken seriously by us all. It is clear from the report there were a number of members of the Ship’s Company in HMAS Success during its South East Asian deployment in 2009 who behaved in a manner which is clearly contrary to our values and signature behaviours.
It is yet to be clearly established whether some of these behaviours have also crossed into disciplinary or indeed criminal code breaches. We still have work to do in progressing further action as a result of the report. To comment now in detail may prejudice the procedural fairness which should be afforded those people who may be affected.
What is clear is that the response to these incidents across all levels of the Command chain was very poor. The response lacked strength and it lacked rigour. The Ship’s Company was let down and the Ship’s operational capability was placed at risk. That is completely unacceptable.
In the weeks to come all of us will be called to a Navy wide stand down where I will outline proactive measures which tackle the key issues raised in the Gyles Report head-on.
Such measures must be accompanied by more widespread changes to Navy’s culture. The RAN has been working hard for some time on addressing improvement in our culture and working to eradicate those elements of our culture which are inappropriate.
The New Generation Navy (NGN) program is designed to transform our Navy in a way never before attempted. NGNseeks to make all Navy members better leaders. It aims to make Navy into a more forward thinking and streamlined organisation.
NGN seeks to improve Navy’s culture by targeting unacceptable behaviour in any form. It seeks to empower every member of every rank to make them step up to the responsibility which wearing our uniform entails.
The need for firm and swift action is critical. We are already taking steps to identify the lessons we need to learn from this report to build on the fine work being carried out by the NGN program. Further action as a result of the Gyles Report is very likely and this will take some time. What is most important however is that the people of Australia know and understand that their Navy has no tolerance for the types of unacceptable behaviour outlined in this report.
The Royal Australian Navy is not just a collection of ships – it is a family of people. To operate effectively into the future our people need to be cared for and this is a responsibility we must all share.
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