P.M. qualifies remark

Press, 7 December 1985, Page 8

P.M. qualifies remark

The Prime Minister, Mr Lange, and the Minister of Defence, Mr O’Flynn, have contradicted each other on whether serving military personnel will be able to present submissions to the Defence Review Committee. Speaking at his post-Cabi-net press conference on Monday, Mr Lange said the committee would be asked to receive and invite submissions from serving military personnel. But on October 22, replying to an oral Parliamentary question by the Opposi-

tion defence spokesman, Mr Doug Kidd, Mr O’Flynn said it would be improper for serving personnel to make individual submissions. “It would be improper for any serving member of the Armed Forces to make an individual submission expressing his or her personal views on defence policy issues to the panel,” Mr O’Flynn said. He said the proper way for serving Armed Forces personnel to express their individual views, individually or collectively, was for.

them to make them known to the Chief of Staff through their commanders.

“The substance of those views will then be passed on, I am sure, to the Government as part of the advice it will receive from its defence advisers,” Mr O’Flynn said.

Mr Lange qualified his remark on Thursday afternoon by saying that when service personnel wanted to make submissions, normal procedures would be followed.