SYDNEY, 23 August 2005 — Women in the Australian Army will now be allowed to serve in front-line units, with some heading for duty in Iraq, the government said yesterday.
But female soldiers will remain barred from direct combat roles under new regulations agreed after a government review, Veterans’ Affairs Minister De-Anne Kelly said.
Up to 15 women will serve in support roles in combat units in the next rotation of troops in Iraq, where Australia has some 900 troops, she said. “Suitably-qualified women can apply to be posted to armored and artillery units as well as infantry battalions in support roles in headquarters and administrative units,” Kelly said.
“Previously these support roles in combat units have only been open to men. “Defense policy regarding the employment of women in direct combat roles will not change.”
Apart from its deployment in Iraq, Australia is sending 190 troops to Afghanistan before elections there next month.
Kelly said the opening up of new roles for women would give them “a better career path” and make the military a more attractive career option.
The opposition Labor Party’s defense spokesman, Robert McClelland, said the decision had been made out of necessity rather than principle as there was “clearly a skills shortage in the defense forces”.
Women make up about 13 percent of Australia’s military of some 52,000 personnel, with some already serving in senior positions as pilots and naval officers.
Meanwhile, Australian authorities launched a new investigation yesterday into the mystery surrounding the disappearance nearly 40 years ago of then-Prime Minister Harold Holt. Holt went missing on Dec. 17, 1967, at the age of 59 after going swimming at a beach near the southeastern city of Melbourne.
Conspiracy theories have abounded over the fate of the conservative politician, with theories ranging from suicide to a CIA assassination, a love triangle or an espionage plot involving China.
Most people, however, accept the official explanation that Holt simply drowned. The new investigation is the result of changed legislation enabling the Victoria state coroner to investigate suspected drownings where no body was found.
Holt’s disappearance is one of 85 cases to be investigated by Coroner Graeme Johnstone as a result of the change.
British author Anthony Grey claimed that the Australian leader was actually a Chinese spy who fled his country aboard a Chinese submarine.
Another conspiracy theory is that he was killed by the CIA for wanting to withdraw Australian troops from Vietnam.
But the inspector who investigated the case at the time, Lawrence Newell, told the Coroner’s Court in Melbourne yesterday that the conspiracy theorists were dreaming.
“I know there have been a number of various solutions put forward by various members of the public but I have no thoughts other than it happened as an accident, as an unfortunate occurrence in the manner of which it was an accidental drowning,” the 85-year-old retired inspector said.
“I think he went for a swim under conditions where he was most unwise and that’s it, and he got swept out to Bass Strait,” Newell later told reporters outside the court, according to the Australian news agency AAP.
Holt was with four friends on the day of his disappearance, including his mistress Marjorie Gillespie.
“I watched Harold continuously and the water became turbulent around him very suddenly and seemed to boil and these conditions seemed to swamp him,” Gillespie told police according to the brief of evidence tendered to the court. Coroner Johnstone is due to hand down his findings on Holt’s death and the other suspected drownings on Sept. 2.
