V.K.
April 14th, 2011, 05:49 PM
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION:
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie says he has no recollection of allegedly ordering teenage Army cadets to salute the anniversary of Adolf Hitler's rise to power during his time at Duntroon Military College.
The claim, in News Limited newspapers today, comes after Mr Wilkie claimed he was the victim of a dirty tricks campaign because of his calls for more regulations on Australia's gaming industry.
Today's Herald Sun says Mr Wilkie was part of a group which allegedly ordered teenage army cadets to salute the 50th anniversary of Hitler's 1933 rise to power in Germany.
The paper says that when one junior cadet refused to stand at attention, Mr Wilkie allegedly allowed other senior cadets to abuse and punish him.
Mr Wilkie says he has no recollection of the alleged incident but he has made no secret of being involved in a bastardisation scandal at Duntroon in 1983, the year of the alleged incident.
He says the fresh allegations are part of a deliberate smear campaign over his push to crack down on poker machines.
"It's disappointing that on the day the poker machine industry launched its public campaign against me and the Government, within hours I had a death threat to report to Federal Police," he said.
"I've had correspondence warning me of the existence of compromising photos, and now we have the media trawling over my history as a cadet 30 years ago."
The Herald Sun quotes former cadet Brendan Etches as saying he was shocked by the order to salute the Nazi regime in 1983.
"He [Mr Wilkie] was drilling us before breakfast," Mr Etches told the paper.
"I have a memory of him in a dressing gown, watching as the other senior guys were running around giving us a hard time.
"I refused to come to attention when they ordered the general salute."
Mr Etches says he and several other cadets left Duntroon after several weeks of bastardisation.
Mr Wilkie went on to attain the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Army.
Clubs Australia, one of the main groups involved in the poker machine industry, said Mr Wilkie's claim of a smear campaign against him was "outrageous" and urged him to take any evidence he had to police.
The alleged culture of bastardisation at ADF training facilities has also been under scrutiny after a female cadet alleged she was broadcast having sex with a male cadet over the internet without her knowledge.
The case, at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, led to Defence Minister Stephen Smith ordering a series of reviews and inquiries into the Defence culture.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/15/3192083.htm
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie says he has no recollection of allegedly ordering teenage Army cadets to salute the anniversary of Adolf Hitler's rise to power during his time at Duntroon Military College.
The claim, in News Limited newspapers today, comes after Mr Wilkie claimed he was the victim of a dirty tricks campaign because of his calls for more regulations on Australia's gaming industry.
Today's Herald Sun says Mr Wilkie was part of a group which allegedly ordered teenage army cadets to salute the 50th anniversary of Hitler's 1933 rise to power in Germany.
The paper says that when one junior cadet refused to stand at attention, Mr Wilkie allegedly allowed other senior cadets to abuse and punish him.
Mr Wilkie says he has no recollection of the alleged incident but he has made no secret of being involved in a bastardisation scandal at Duntroon in 1983, the year of the alleged incident.
He says the fresh allegations are part of a deliberate smear campaign over his push to crack down on poker machines.
"It's disappointing that on the day the poker machine industry launched its public campaign against me and the Government, within hours I had a death threat to report to Federal Police," he said.
"I've had correspondence warning me of the existence of compromising photos, and now we have the media trawling over my history as a cadet 30 years ago."
The Herald Sun quotes former cadet Brendan Etches as saying he was shocked by the order to salute the Nazi regime in 1983.
"He [Mr Wilkie] was drilling us before breakfast," Mr Etches told the paper.
"I have a memory of him in a dressing gown, watching as the other senior guys were running around giving us a hard time.
"I refused to come to attention when they ordered the general salute."
Mr Etches says he and several other cadets left Duntroon after several weeks of bastardisation.
Mr Wilkie went on to attain the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Army.
Clubs Australia, one of the main groups involved in the poker machine industry, said Mr Wilkie's claim of a smear campaign against him was "outrageous" and urged him to take any evidence he had to police.
The alleged culture of bastardisation at ADF training facilities has also been under scrutiny after a female cadet alleged she was broadcast having sex with a male cadet over the internet without her knowledge.
The case, at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, led to Defence Minister Stephen Smith ordering a series of reviews and inquiries into the Defence culture.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/15/3192083.htm