A group of active-service Defence members, veterans and their families who have won campaigns to open up the military's doors for LGBTI personnel have a new challenge - continuing that work under a new minister who opposes "quasi-political agendas".
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Their new Stand Proud campaign is launching on Saturday to shine a spotlight on the role that visibility of diverse communities has in recruiting talented warfighters, national security professionals and strategists.
Dr Joe Monteith, a spokesperson for the DEFGLIS group, says they recognise that inclusion and visibility of the diverse workforce strengthens Defence capability.
"Limiting visibility and inclusion creates stigma and prejudice that leads to sub-optimal culture and discrimination," Dr Monteith, an air force veteran, told The Canberra Times.
"The visibility of diverse communities strengthens defence capability by building stronger and more cohesive teams. When it comes to protecting Australia's national security interests, the most talented warfighters are stronger together."
In the competition for the most talented future leaders and personnel with advanced technology, cyber and strategic skills, Defence has been driven to match the private sector in inclusive workplace cultural reforms.
Some departmental activities that supported that objective have been put on ice since last week, when Defence chief Angus Campbell and department secretary Greg Moriarty released instructions to the military and public servants telling them "not to be distracted" from their primary mission.
The instruction followed criticism by Defence Minister Peter Dutton of a voluntary morning tea to promote the organisation's LGBTI anti-discrimination policies. He dismissed inclusion activities as part of a "quasi-political agenda", saying that the ADF does not have the time or capacity to pursue them.
A spokesperson for Mr Dutton said he had given no directive to cancel Reconciliation Week activities on Defence sites, however some officials have interpreted that intent from the directive from General Campbell and Mr Moriarty.
One technology leader in Defence told The Canberra Times she could not have recruited or retained her best personnel if not for the workplace culture and inclusion initiatives of recent years.
The department and its employees are gagged from defending those initiatives publicly, with Mr Dutton insisting that all of the department's official online communication, including tweets and Facebook posts, must now be cleared by his office.
Dr Monteith said DEFGLIS, a charity established to support the Defence LGBTI community and a successor to those who overturned the gay ban in 1992, will continue to work with Defence to seek all possible opportunities that promote visibility, maximise cohesion and educate the workforce about diversity to enhance warfighting capability.
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Its call to action seeks to garner support from the wider Australian community and allow Defence to reflect the community that it serves.
Military historian Dr Noah Riseman says having examined the history of Defence's policies since World War II, he could not think of another example when the ADF went backwards in its approach to inclusion rather than forwards.
"While Australia's marriage equality outcome showed the majority of the country supports LGBTQ inclusion, that campaign unleashed a wave of bigotry and hate that has never gone away," Dr Riseman said.
"It's that wave of bigotry which has actually gotten louder since then and is pushing the sort of agenda that led to last week's decision."
Defence was named as a Bronze Employer in last year's annual Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards, based on the results of the Australian Workplace Equality Index calculated by ACON. Defence chose not to have its result in this year's awards made public.
Dawn Emsen-Hough, director of ACON's pride inclusion programs, said the past year had seen incredible advancements in workplace diversity and inclusion despite turmoil experienced on a global scale.
"It's incredibly encouraging to see workplaces in Australia continue to remain dedicated and stride towards greater inclusion of our LGBTQ communities," Emsen-Hough said.
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