Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee, , 9:30:16 to 9:35:34
The Chief of Army provides evidence on training fatalities and vehicle safety incidents within the ADF. The testimony focuses on rollover and layover statistics, specifically detailing four incidents involving the Supercat high mobility vehicle.
Topics: ADF, Public safety
Speakers: Speaker 21, David Shoebridge, Raff Ciccone, Hon Murray Watt, Unknown Speaker
>> Yeah. And maybe even less.
>> Or even less. Well, let's hope so. and then we'll be able to release the department.
>> The first is with the chief of army.
>> Yep. Just sit down there, Susan. Not quite yet. Yeah.
>> Um I saw I saw that but actually chief army is about a a very sensitive matter and I just um I I note with the tragedy about Corporal Brendan Hannam um and his death earlier, but my my question is about um training fatalities. Um, in the last 5 years, um, are you aware how many training fatalities have been in the ADF and how many of them have been from rollover incidents?
Uh, Senator, yes, I am. If you just give me a moment, I'll grab the relevant
Now, while you do that, I just for the benefit of just everyone who's watching too, um the committee has agreed that we're going to release um uh the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Repatriation Commission, Veteran Family Commission, Repatriation Medical Authority. Hang on, just Australian War Memorial, and we're going to hold a spillover at a future time given that we are not going to get to them uh by 10:00 this evening quite frankly, and it's not fair to hold uh onto those people. But just so they also know, we will still uh hold an additional spill over uh at a future time.
>> And did we do the commission as well? >> the commission the defense.
>> No. So all DVA veteran related or defense ones will still remain.
>> Did you say defense and veteran services
commission? >> No. >> So from DVA onwards.
>> Okay.
>> All right.
>> So sorry just to be clear, chair. >> So from
>> from the Department of Veterans Affairs onwards >> onwards. Okay. We will hold a spillover for those agencies and departments.
>> Uh, Senator, Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, Chief of Army. Um, can I start please by acknowledging the loss of Corporal Brendan Henham. Um, and acknowledge uh the deep impact that's been felt not only across his family and his mates, but across the wider army and community. Uh, and also acknowledge the five soldiers who were wounded as a result of the Supercat rollover. Indeed. In terms of vehicle accidents, in terms of vehicle safety, we have one of the largest and most diverse vehicle fleets. We have approximately 15,820 vehicles in the Australian Army across a wide range and broad range of platforms. Uh in the last 5 years, we recorded 2,536 vehicle incidents with 57 of them that met the threshold for notifiable incidents. Um and as a result of that uh four incidents where we had fatalities.
>> All right. Um and how many of those um have been rollover incidents? And I think I might I I know I said five years, but if we could go back to 1 July 2021. So that would include the incidents in I think in August of 2021.
>> That That's right. Senator, in terms of the um delineation in terms of rollover, can I just say we I'll have to do more work and come back to you on that, but >> the delineation that I will um provide is uh the difference between a layover and a rollover. A layover is where a vehicle will tip onto its side. >> Indeed. Um whereas a rollover is where it's had a multiple roll across the vehicle.
>> By all means, articulate um where they're layovers and where they're rollovers. Um could I also ask you to if you're doing that review to look at um and I'm not asking you to time limit this I'm just asking it in relation to the supercat high mobility vehicle. Can you identify well are you aware of previous incidents where there have been layovers in relation to the supercat?
>> Yes I am senator and I can provide that information now. >> Yes please. So um there have been four reported incidents involving variants of the Supercat vehicle in Australia. Uh the first was in 2014 and it was a um a um a nari variant of the vehicle which was involved in a rollover. It occurred in special operations command in a testing u activity in 2014. There was no reported injury or fatality with that rollover. The second one occurred on the 29th of June 2020. It was a HMT extender. So the similar one that was um as a result of the fatality in Mount Bundy. Uh it was involved in a layover during a training serial at Hollesworthy. Um the third one occurred on the 28th of July this year. Uh it was actually a vehicle. It was a an extender vehicle that was towing a M7 howitzer. The vehicle didn't lay over or roll over. It was actually the the um H uh sorry the M7 that actually had a a mechanism fail with the vehicle that was attached. Um it jack knifed under the towing which was caused by the towing element. Um but the supercat itself did not roll and the suspension remained in place. And then the fourth one you were aware of on the 5th of October which was a rollover.