Defence Force swamped by abuse claims

Photo / Thinkstock

Yet another sex scandal has erupted at the Australian Defence Force Academy, joining a list so long it has forced investigators to extend their review of the mountain of allegations by a month.

Yesterday a 21-year-old international officer cadet was charged with indecency after allegedly using his mobile to film a female cadet in the shower.

The Defence Force Investigative Service called in the police after the 21-year-old woman found the camera hidden in a vent above her shower.

Police seized the phone, a laptop and a memory stick from the male cadet's room and charged him with an act of indecency without consent.

The elite military training academy is already under intense scrutiny following allegations that a male cadet broadcast video footage over Skype of him having sex with an 18-year-old female cadet identified only as "Kate".

The male cadet, Daniel McDonald, and another, Dylan De Blaquiere, who allegedly filmed the incident, have been charged.

The furore that followed the airing of "Kate's" allegations on national television has rocked the entire Defence Force, which over the past two decades has suffered a series of sex scandals despite efforts to clean up and reshape its culture.

The issue has gained greater urgency recently with the planned opening of most combat roles to women, including the decision in June to allow shared accommodation for male and female sailors aboard its submarine fleet.

Facing serious recruitment and retention problems, and increasing pressure for gender equality, the force is trying to attract more women to the three services.

But the scandals keep coming.

Last month yet another complaint was laid by a female sailor aboard the troubled supply ship HMAS Success - dubbed the "ship of shame" by Australian media - who claimed to have been indecently assaulted by a male colleague.

The Success has been plagued by scandal, an inquiry reporting what Defence Minister Stephen Smith described as "very sorry reading about the failure of personal conduct, the failure of discipline, the failure of authority and the inappropriate culture aboard HMAS Success".

This week a navy engineering lieutenant on the ship has become the first person to feel the axe, being served a termination notice for failing to take action on allegations he was aware of.

After the academy's Skype scandal, Smith launched a series of reviews, including its handling of the "Kate" allegations.

Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick is leading a review of the treatment of women in the military, another is investigating cultural barriers to female bureaucrats in the Defence Department, and two others are examining alcohol abuse and the use of social media.

But the most explosive could be the review of more than 1000 allegations of sexual and other abuse being conducted by law firm DLA Piper, which has been given more time by Smith to deal with the sheer volume that has poured in since its inquiry began in April.