Liberal MP accuses Australian Defence Force of using ‘a bit of policy to try and push me around’

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The Liberal MP for Canning, Andrew Hastie, has spoken out after being sacked from the army reserve for using images of himself in uniform in election campaign material.

“It’s just a hint at, ‘Hey, for the past 13 years, I’ve been serving in uniform’ and my formative experiences as a leader were with the Australian Defence Force (ADF),” Hastie told 6PR radio on Thursday.

“I’m proud of that and I think it’s good to let taxpayers know that their money – a lot of it has gone into my professional development – has been well spent.”

Hastie said the ADF had “used a bit of policy to try and push me around, basically”.

“I had to decide whose authority I answered to. It was the people of Canning. As a federal parliamentarian, I don’t take orders from the military.”

The Coalition’s campaign spokesman, Mathias Cormann, also defended Hastie, arguing he was merely telling his constituents about his life story including his military service.

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A defence department spokesperson told Guardian Australia that ADF members were not permitted to participate in any political activity in uniform, unless they were pre-approved to do so, to ensure the organisation remained apolitical.

“Defence contacted [Andrew] Hastie, a member of the standby army reserve, and requested he remove imagery of himself in uniform from election campaign material.

“Regrettably, Hastie did not comply with this request. Accordingly, the army issued Hastie with a notice indicating the intention to terminate his service because he had failed to comply with directions and defence policy.

“Hastie’s service has since been terminated.”

Chris Johnson (@seearjay) #AndrewHastie defies ‘orders’ to take down uniformed campaign photos https://t.co/25UaCXTdZ2 Defies policy ensuring the $ADF is apolitical.

Hastie is pictured wearing his uniform in posters and his campaign material says he is “trained to deliver for us” and is “not another politician”.

Labor’s candidate for Brisbane, Pat O’Neill, is another former soldier whose campaign material features himself in uniform. His signs on Abbotsford Road and Boundary Street which depict him in uniform have not been removed.

The defence department spokesperson said it had also contacted O’Neill and requested any imagery featuring him in Australian army uniform be removed.

The spokesperson said O’Neill removed electronic material featuring him in uniform and had undertaken to remove billboard signage, adding: “O’Neill has not removed the billboard signage and defence is considering further administrative action.”

At a doorstop in Canberra on Thursday, Cormann said: “Andrew Hastie is an outstanding member of parliament, he’s provided distinguished service to Australia as an SAS soldier, including in Afghanistan, before joining the parliament.”

“It is entirely appropriate for Andrew Hastie to present himself to his constituents, in the context of an election campaign, [by] putting forward his life story.

“Obviously his distinguished service as part of the SAS forces is part of his history.

“Andrew Hastie has made the right decision, in my view, I support him 100% in the judgment he has made. Obviously decisions the defence force has made are a matter for them.”

According to reports, Hastie earlier defended material showing himself in uniform by arguing: “The ADF should be proud that they have former ADF personnel on both sides of politics.”

An independent lobby group on defence issues, the Australian Defence Association, has warned former military personnel should not campaign in uniform because the military must appear apolitical.

Its executive director, Neil James, said: “Such highly visible advertising, without any wider context or indeed other knowledge of the candidate, is particularly liable to be easily misconstrued as the ADF somehow endorsing that candidate or their political stance.”

The issue of campaigning in uniform has also impacted Greens candidate for Grayndler, Jim Casey, the state secretary of the Fire Brigade Employees’ Union.

In May, at the request of Fire and Rescue New South Wales, Casey removed a photo from social media which showed him in uniform reading the Daily Telegraph issue endorsing his opponent, Anthony Albanese.