Another expansion of military call out powers in Australia : some critical legal, constitutional and political questions

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Abstract

Since the turn of the century, extensive statutory provisions have been introduced, for the first time, specifically empowering Australian government ministers, or if ‘pre-authorised’, the Chief of the Defence Force (‘CDF’), to call out the Australian Defence Force (‘ADF’) to deal with either possible ‘domestic violence’ – including a perceived threat to ‘Commonwealth interests’ – or a likely danger to ‘declared infrastructure’. None of these terms are defined in the legislation, nor are other key phrases, effectively handing vague and potentially far-reaching powers to governments and military commanders. Once deployed, military personnel can exercise extraordinary powers over civilians, overturning basic legal and democratic rights. In late 2018, for the third time since 2000, and again with little public debate or scrutiny, Australia’s Parliament gave several government ministers and/or the CDF new or extended powers to mobilise the armed forces, potentially to put down civil unrest.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages14
JournalUNSW Law Journal Forum
Volume5
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Australia
  • Armed Forces
  • civil functions
  • mobilization
  • politics and government
  • law and legislation
  • constitutional law

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