First Published: The Big Smoke 23 April 2025
Women in combat don’t need permission to serve. What they need is a Defence Force that stands with them, not silently behind them.
Recent comments by figures like Benjamin Britton and Andrew Hastie aren’t just relics of a bygone era, they’re a threat to our national security. When Hastie, the Shadow Defence Minister and former SAS officer, claimed in 2018 that “the fighting DNA of a close combat unit is best preserved when it’s exclusively male,” he didn’t just express a personal opinion. He gave voice to an ideology that sidelines half the population. Britton, echoing this sentiment by suggesting women be removed from combat roles altogether, took it a step further into outright regression.
Let’s be clear: these aren’t just outdated views; they are dangerous. They insult the service of women who’ve already fought and led in combat. They undermine the operational reality of modern defence forces and betray a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes a military effective.
Britton’s language, referring to “your women”, isn’t just paternalistic. It’s dehumanising. It strips women in uniform of their agency, casting them not as defenders of our nation but as objects to be protected, as if they are liabilities rather than assets. It’s not just sexist, it’s strategically ignorant.
Despite the seriousness of these recent remarks, there’s been nothing but silence from our veteran organisations and Defence leadership. The message is clear: when women in uniform are attacked, they are expected to defend themselves, alone.
The idea that the ADF has reached some mythical peak of cohesion, beyond the need for continued evolution, is laughable. The truth is this: inclusion does not erode effectiveness, it enhances it. Forces that fail to adapt fail to win. And those who cling to outdated ideologies are not preserving capability; they are sabotaging it.
Australia cannot afford to turn away talent. Women make up over half our population. To deny them full and equal participation in our Defence Force isn’t just unjust, it’s a catastrophic failure in national security planning. While our strategic competitors invest in AI, cyber, space, and hybrid warfare, we are still debating whether women should be full members of the team.
And yet, despite the seriousness of these recent remarks, there’s been nothing but silence from our veteran organisations and Defence leadership. That silence is not neutral, it is complicit. It empowers the armchair generals and keyboard warriors who flock to undermine women’s service at every opportunity. The message is clear: when women in uniform are attacked, they are expected to defend themselves, alone.
This isn’t just a political issue, it’s cultural, and it’s systemic. On ANZAC Day, women who have served are still too often confronted by members of the public for wearing medals on the left side of their chest, the side that indicates they were earned by the person wearing them. The underlying assumption is that these women couldn’t possibly have earned the medals themselves and must be mistakenly wearing those of a male relative. These moments may seem minor to some, but they are far from trivial. They are everyday microaggressions that reveal a deeper, more insidious belief: that women don’t truly belong in the military, or that their service somehow counts for less.
Britton has rightly been dropped by the Liberal Party but now runs as an Independent. His campaign will be a test on how Australians respond to this kind of rhetoric. But Andrew Hastie? As Shadow Defence Minister, he holds a position with profound influence over our military future. If he truly believes women undermine combat effectiveness, then his own credibility, and his suitability for Defence leadership, must be called into question.
Leadership in Defence requires more than experience. It requires vision. Inclusivity. The courage to challenge outdated norms. Hastie’s remarks reveal a staggering lack of insight and empathy, qualities essential to any serious Defence leader.
If we’re serious about building a modern, effective Defence Force, one that reflects the people it serves, then silence is no longer an option. We must demand better. From our politicians. From our institutions. And from every leader who claims to represent those in uniform.
Women in combat don’t need permission to serve. What they need is respect. Recognition. And a Defence Force and Veteran Community that stands with them, not silently behind them.