Four of our defence service personnel are dead after a MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crashed in the Whitsundays.

While investigations are still ongoing, the Department of Defence has known about multiple serious, catastrophic issues with the helicopter for over a decade. By some accounts, this helicopter should have been pulled from service years ago.

The question many are asking is whether the upper brass and generals of Defence have blood on their hands for allowing this helicopter to continue flying when such huge issues were known.

Transcript

Senator ROBERTS: I understand. My second set of questions goes to the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter. General, the defence minister has decided to replace the Taipan helicopter platform with Black Hawks after the
Whitsundays crash. I want to express my condolences for the loss of those service members, especially to their families and their unit. Defence has known about these issues with the Taipan helicopter for more than a decade. The question many people are asking, and the question I’m asking, is whether this helicopter should have been pulled from service before the Whitsundays crash and four people are dead because Defence or politicians or both kept pushing it.

Gen. Campbell: Firstly, thank you for your expression of condolence and consideration of the families, the friends and the people we’ve lost. I very much appreciate it. As I noted in my opening remarks, in responding to your query, we have to be scrupulously careful not to, in any way, impinge on the independence and the objectivity of the four investigations that are underway: the investigations by the Queensland coroner, by
Comcare, by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force and, most particularly, by the Defence Flight Safety Bureau. With that I’ll pass to the Chief of Army.

Lt Gen. Stuart: I think I can help in regard to your question about the withdrawal of the MRH-90. As you’d recall from our last conversation last estimates, it was always our intention to withdraw the MRH. It was due for withdrawal from the 5th Aviation Regiment on 5 August this year. The tragic accident in the Whitsundays occurred on the evening of 28 July, immediately after which there was a cessation of flying for the aircraft. As the CDF has outlined, there’s an active air safety investigation underway as we speak. The advice from the Defence Flight Safety Bureau is that that investigation is likely to take approximately 12 months, which takes us into the latter half of 2024.

We would have had to have signed an additional sustainment contract this year to continue the option to fly the aircraft, which we were going to withdraw from the 6th Aviation Regiment in quarter 4 of 2024. So the calculus, on a value-for-money basis, in the first instance, was that it was not worth spending the money when, in our assessment, there was no probability or a low probability that we would return to flying. And, if we were able to return to flying, it would be for a fraction of 2024. The other key consideration was with regard to whether we’d be able to further accelerate the introduction of the replacement, the UH-60 Black Hawk. Those two factors were the key factors in consideration for the decision to withdraw the MRH-90 this year, in late 2023, rather than in late 2024.

With regard to the other elements or questions that you framed, I’ll refer to the CDF’s comments about ensuring that we respect the process of the active air safety investigation. It’s very important that we don’t contribute to any sort of speculation so that that air safety investigation and, indeed, the other three inquiries and investigations can continue to do their work.

Senator ROBERTS: Thank you. Before I continue with my questions, I must say that, though I’ve been very critical of this helicopter, nonetheless, I want to compliment Major General Jobson and Major General King for the generous time they’ve spent—twice, now—providing me with information on this. Their hands are tied for similar reasons to what you’ve just given. That’s not something they had to do, but they did it, and it’s appreciated. They did it very well. But it still goes back to the core issue for me: do politicians and Defence senior personnel have blood on their hands for ignoring the issues that have been rife throughout the Taipan’s operational history in Australia? On notice, could you please provide me with a list including the dates and titles of every report or briefing provided to Defence or created internally raising issues with the Taipan platform.

Lt Gen. Stuart: We’ll take that on notice.

Senator ROBERTS: Thank you. In relation to the Whitsundays crash, were there any delays to vessels that were capable of participating in the search and rescue operation being tasked to do so?

Lt Gen. Stuart: Sorry—I want to understand exactly what information you were seeking there.

Senator ROBERTS: I want to know if there were any delays to vessels in the area of the Whitsundays crash that would have been capable of participating in the search and rescue operation. Were there any delays in their ability to do so?

Gen. Campbell: That line of questioning will cut across the Queensland coronial inquiry. So I don’t think we’re in a position to respond to it.

Senator ROBERTS: I can see how it may be part of the coronial inquiry, but I can’t see how it would impact the result of the coronial inquiry, because it’s just fact.

Gen. Campbell: It may be or not, but this is too precarious a place for any of us to be in. So, while these inquiries are underway, we will say as little as possible—preferably nothing at all.

Senator ROBERTS: It’s understood that one of the exercises at Talisman Sabre involved a photoshoot with partner vessels. Is that accurate, and when was this held?

Lt Gen. Stuart: Sorry, I’m not following. What vessel you are referring to?

Senator ROBERTS: We understand that one of the exercises at Talisman Sabre involved a photoshoot with partner vessels. I don’t know whether that’s American or Australian. Is that accurate, and when was this held?

Gen. Campbell: We’ll take it on notice and reply.

Senator ROBERTS: Thank you. The next question—that was the coroner’s inquiry—is: on notice, could you please provide a schedule of all Defence vessels that were in the Talisman Sabre area of operations on 28 July and exactly when each one was tasked to assist with the search and rescue operation?

Gen. Campbell: We’ll take that on notice