Overview
- The Royal Australian Navy located a hidden video recording device in shower facilities used by female sailors aboard HMAS Leeuwin while the ship was docked in Cairns.
- Senator Jacqui Lambie used parliamentary privilege on Wednesday to disclose a tip from a former service member and said she was told footage may have been uploaded online, a claim that remains unverified.
- Defence has referred the matter to the Joint Military Police Unit and is working with civilian authorities, kept the ship alongside to support investigators and is providing welfare support to affected crew.
- Defence has said it takes the incident extremely seriously, has launched an investigation and is limiting public comment to protect privacy while support lines such as SeMPRO remain available.
- The case has intensified calls for wider reform of culture and handling of sexual violence in the defence force and sits alongside the government’s appointment of Natasha Stott Despoja to lead a new inquiry into sexual violence.