Defence Minister Richard Marles admits to ‘issues of culture’ within senior ranks

Defence Minister Richard Marles admits there are “issues of culture” within his department and military leadership, hinting at problems getting accurate and timely advice.

The opposition said the minister’s dressing down was “deeply disturbing” and amounted to a “public vote of no confidence” in the bureaucrats and army chiefs in charge of the day-to-day running of the nation’s defence forces.

Tensions between Mr Marles and senior ADF and Defence leaders spilled into the public domain earlier this month with reports the minister used a closed-door meeting late last year to demand improvement.

Mr Marles later told Federal Parliament he made no apologies for “demanding excellence” from his senior department and military leaders.

In an interview with Sky News on Sunday, Mr Marles admitted there were “issues of culture” inside the senior ranks that “needs challenging”.

He said Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell and Defence Department secretary Greg Moriarty completely supported his push for improvement, suggesting the tensions were with senior figures beneath them.

Mr Marles would not be drawn on what the specific issues were but hinted at problems with the timeliness and accuracy of advice he was receiving.

“I think what we need to see in terms of the leadership of the Australian Defence Force and the Department of Defence, and I’m not just talking about the two leaders, but the broader leadership, is that all that we do is done with excellence,” he said.

“That advice is timely, that advice is accurate, that we are expecting of ourselves the same amount of excellence that we would expect of somebody who’s in the infantry or somebody who is maintaining an aircraft, where there is excellence and complete competence.”

Mr Marles tried to pin some of the blame on the former Coalition Government, arguing the churn of defence ministers during its near decade in power had eroded morale.

“So, I think there were those issues within the ADF and within the department, and I can understand how that has happened. Going forward, though, we need to address that culture.”

Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson was alarmed at Mr Marles’ public rebuke.

“Well it seems like a public vote of no confidence in his own department and the military leadership of our defence forces, and that’s a deeply disturbing thing,” he told Sky News.

Mr Marles is considering possible replacements for General Campbell, whose six-year term in the military’s top role ends in the middle of the year.