Section 68 of the Australian Constitution vests in the Governor-General command in chief of the ADF. In practice, the Governor-General acts on the advice of the Australian Government. That advice is provided by the National Security Committee of Cabinet (NSC), which is chaired by the Prime Minister. The NSC considers all major foreign policy and national security issues of strategic importance to Australia. The members of the NSC are elected politicians with broad Ministerial and Cabinet responsibilities across the key national security areas of government. The NSC considers a broad range of perspectives in making decisions. In Australia, the NSC acts as the legal and ethical authority for the deployment of the ADF.
There are three Tags under The Australian Defence Force’s legal and ethical responsibilities for the use of force banner:
- Legal aspects of ethics
- Just War, and
- Laws of Armed Conflict
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Lead Operating SystemsThe Dead Prussian Podcast – Ep 35: On Soldiers, Squadrons, and EthicistsIn this episode of The Dead Prussian Podcast, Mick Cook chats with Tom McDermott about ethics and war in the modern era. Tom is a military ethicist and serving officer in the Australian Army. His Occasional Paper, Soldiers, Squadrons, and Ethicists, discusses some issues on ethics and strategy as well as possible ways to overcome them.
Read> 30 min27/04/2017 -
Lead CapabilityThe Dead Prussian Podcast – Ep 24: On Strategy EthicsIn this episode of The Dead Prussian Podcast, Mick Cook talks with a panel of distinguished guests about the ethics of managing, waging , and conducting war. The panel topics range from Just War Theory and its application to strategic decision making through to the actions of the soldiers in the coalface. There is even mention of the Bard and how we can learn from the play about Henry V.The panelists included former and current military officers as well as a philosopher on ethics. Guests on the panel are US Army LTGEN James Dubik (retd), Dr Pauline Shanks Kaurin, and Thomas McDermott.
Read> 30 min23/10/2016 -
Lead Operating SystemsTED Talk: The Moral Dangers of Non-Lethal WeaponsPepper spray, Tasers, tear gas, rubber bullets -- these ‘non-lethal’ weapons are being used by more and more local police forces, as well as military forces brought in to control civilian crowds and other situations. Despite their name, non-lethal weapons have been known to cause deaths ... and as Dr Stephen Coleman suggests, there are other, more insidious hazards as well. He explores the complex ethics -- and the unexpected consequences -- of using non-lethal weapons to control civilians.
Read<30 min23/09/2011