Defence has spent almost $12 million on inquiries and ''culture reviews'' ordered in the wake of the Australian Defence Force Academy Skype scandal and the job isn't over yet, a Senate estimates hearing has been told.
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That bill comes on top of $2 million in legal fees for the Gyles inquiry into the 2009 HMAS Success ''ship of shame'' scandal which followed almost a dozen in-house Defence probes, inquiries and reviews.
Vice-Chief of Defence Force, Air Marshal Mark Binskin, said the direct cost of the six culture reviews into Defence and the DLA Piper inquiry into previous allegations of misconduct had already reached $10.51 million. Indirect costs had reached $1.448 million. ''It [the cost] is $11.963 million to date,'' Air Marshal Binskin said.
The ADFA and culture inquiries had been ordered by Defence Minister Stephen Smith in response to the Skype incident last year.
Chief of Defence Force, General David Hurley, said the only report made public to date - the first part of the Broderick review - had effectively exonerated the college, its staff and students. ''I don't think I am in any sort of situation where I'm trying to right a sinking ship [at ADFA],'' General Hurley said.
''If you go through the [Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth] Broderick report [on the treatment of women at ADFA] and its comments, we are a high performing organisation. Its [ADFA's] standards of behaviour are very good. I think we have, frankly, been unfairly characterised.''
Opposition defence spokesman Senator David Johnston said even though top legal talent such as Roger Gyles QC - who conducted the HMAS Success inquiry which was finalised with the release of the third report last week - were paid top dollar they still made mistakes.
''In his third report Gyles makes the erroneous claim the three Petty Officers [who were put ashore from the vessel in Singapore in 2009 and ordered to make their own way home] were found guilty of some sort of sexual misconduct,'' he said.
Senator Johnston said while Gyles had ordered compensation be paid to the sailors and they had received an apology from the Chief of Navy, Vice-Admiral Ray Griggs, for the way they had been named and shamed, the men had also been ordered to show cause why they shouldn't be sacked.
Air Marshal Binskin said the bulk of the money spent on the Defence conduct inquiries and reviews to date had gone to legal firm DLA Piper.
DLA Piper was swamped by letters, emails and phone calls from well over 1000 current and former Defence personnel when it called for submissions last year.
''DLA Piper at the moment [stands to collect] $6.806 million in direct costs,'' Air Marshal Binskin said. ''The indirect costs [in assisting DLA Piper] come to $302,000.''
