Quote:
Originally Posted by
biggin
Bob Hawk pulled you out of Vietnam?
Here are some facts, as told by Tim Fischer, ex Deputy PM.
Termination Act
During the 1972 election campaign the Australian Labor Party promised that 'all men imprisoned under the National Service Act will be released, pending prosecutions discontinued and existing convictions expunged'.
Within a few days of winning office in early December the new Minister for Labour and National Service, Lance Barnard, suspended the operation of the scheme by administrative action, cancelling the call-up of approximately 2200 men who had been medically examined and deferring the liability of all men who had enlisted for service. National servicemen already in the Army who did not wish to continue their service were released as quickly as possible. Prosecutions and pending prosecutions were dropped. Young men who had taken up the option of part-time military service in the Citizen Military Forces were able to be discharged at their own request. National servicemen who opted to complete their term of service were entitled to the same benefits as before.
In June 1973 the Whitlam Government passed the National Service Termination Act, giving legislative effect to Barnard's administrative action. The Government also intended to repeal the National Service Act itself as soon as possible, but felt constrained to wait until national servicemen who continued to serve under the Act had completed their service and received all the benefits to which they were entitled under the Act. This state of affairs did not come about before the dismissal of the Whitlam Government on 11 November 1975.
The National Service Act 1951 and its subsequent amendments were repealed by the Defence Legislation Amendment Act of 1992. Following this legislation, the Government retained the power to introduce conscription under the Defence Act, but only in a time of war and only with prior parliamentary approval. The Act also revised provisions concerning conscientious objection, providing for special tribunals to determine claims and making it possible for an individual to be recognised as a conscientious objector to a particular war. In introducing the legislation the Parliamentary Secretary to the Attorney-General, Peter Duncan, said that the Keating Government's aim was 'to preserve the capacity to introduce conscription for the protection of Australia, but to ensure that those claiming exemption would receive a rapid and fair hearing'. The Government clearly wished to remove many of the anomalies in the operation of compulsory military service that had become evident during the Vietnam War. Duncan expressed the hope that repeal of the National Service Act would 'remove this last vestige of an unhappy and divisive episode in our history'
