Defence accused of 'lazy cover-up' as it faces watchdog probe over FOI refusal
The information watchdog is investigating claims Defence falsely stated that internal correspondence related to a war crimes allegation did not exist.
The Department of Defence faces a probe by the information watchdog over claims it hid documents relating to war crimes allegations from a freedom of information (FOI) request.
The investigation focuses on Defence’s handling of internal reports on a 2012 incident in Afghanistan, in which Australians are accused of murdering civilians in Sola, Uruzgan Province.
Capital Brief has confirmed that the Office of the Information Commissioner (OAIC) is investigating Defence’s claim that it could not find the documents. The OAIC doesn't comment on the details of investigations while under way but pointed Capital Brief to data showing 78% of its cases were finalised within a year. Defence declined to comment.
In 2017, the ABC published a set of leaked documents — labelled ‘The Afghan Files’ — which outlined allegations of illegal killings carried out by elite Australian forces in Afghanistan. Whistleblower David McBride has since been convicted of passing the information to reporters.
