Former diplomat and office holder of Australians for War Powers Reform, Dr Alison Broinowski, reviews the release of Cabinet papers from 20 years ago and reminds us that only the Governor-General, delegate of the Australian/British monarch, can authorise participation of Australian forces in war. She comments: “successive governments have silently eroded the role of the Governor-General as Commander in Chief. After Australia signed the 1931 Statute of Westminster, the royal prerogative of war was transferred to the Governor-General who could ask Ministers for advice about a proposed deployment of armed forces and its legality.”
In 2002, Prime Minister Howard committed troops to the US-led invasion of Afghanistan – not UN sanctioned – without involving the Governor-General and told (former Archbishop) Peter Hollingworth this and written justifications for the decision were not necessary based on precedent.
In 2023, a parliamentary committee enquiring into the deployment of Australian forces abroad, “recommended restoring the role of the Governor-General in decisions for war particularly in relation to conflicts that are not supported by a resolution of the UN Security Council or an invitation by a sovereign nation.”
WfaAR comment: in the Australian Republic with a republican constitution, all decisions to go to war should be made by the federal parliament.
[“The four reasons there were no ‘lessons learnt’ from Iraq about futile wars” by Alison Broinowski, The Canberra Times online, 6 January 2024]
