Lowy Institute Military Fellow to give evidence at Parliamentary Defence Sub Committee

The Lowy Institute’s Military Fellow James Brown is today giving evidence to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade’s Review of the Defence Annual Report 2011-2012.

The Sub Committee have invited James Brown to discuss his recent submission,  in which he argued for greater parliamentary oversight of defence. His submission detailed the limited ability of Parliament to get information from the Department of Defence, and outlined the means by which transparency could be improved.

‘It is unclear whether parliament is able to effectively measure and judge the performance of the Australian Defence Organisation (ADO), or indeed whether the parliament can effectively determine the current state of the Australian Defence Force (ADF)’, wrote James in his submission.

‘Considering that Defence policy is extraordinarily complex, vitally important, and that mistakes can have far-reaching consequences, parliamentary oversight is crucial’, he wrote.

The public hearing, at which James will give evidence, will be held from 11.15am – 12.30pm in the Committee Room 2R1 at Parliament House, Canberra on Thursday 16 May. The hearing will be webcast live on www.aph.go.au/live. Click for more information.  

James Brown is available for media comment. See contact details below.