Promotion rejected
GENERAL Sir John Monash (pictured) will not be posthumously promoted to Field Marshal, despite a lengthy campaign to have the highest military rank bestowed upon him, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed to The AJN on Wednesday.
GENERAL Sir John Monash (pictured) will not be posthumously promoted to Field Marshal, despite a lengthy campaign to have the highest military rank bestowed upon him, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to The AJN on Wednesday.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, Federal Minister Josh Frydenberg, former deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) and others have all called for the World War I military leader to be elevated in rank, but Malcolm Turnbull has taken advice from the Chief of the Australian Defence Force Mark Binskin and decided against granting the honour.
“Unlike some overseas nations which award promotions posthumously, Australia has no legal precedent for this action,” Binskin wrote to Turnbull.
“Any change to the Defence legislation and policy to provide for such a posthumous promotion would open the possibility of reviewing all decisions, at all ranks, made by a competent authority.”
Earlier this year, Fischer, who chairs the Saluting Monash Council, said, “It’s never too late to correct a wrong. Monash was discriminated against [as a Jew with German heritage and for emerging as a reservist], and we need to correct this.”
Peter Wertheim, co-chief executive of the ECAJ which last week wrote to Turnbull in support of the posthumous promotion, told The AJN, “It seems that the injustice which blocked Monash’s promotion during his lifetime is to be perpetuated. But Monash’s greatness is too compelling to be ignored indefinitely. However long it takes, I believe the day will come when Monash is at long last awarded the highest military rank, as is his due.”
Expressing his disappointment, Frydenberg told The AJN, “I will continue to promote the memory, achievements and profound legacy of Sir John Monash so that future generations never forget what he did for our country.”
Jewish federal Labor MP and Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said he is personally disappointed with the Prime Minister’s decision, “particularly when Mr Turnbull has previously expressed his support”.
“Sir John was one of our nation’s greatest military commanders, recognised around the world for his strategic brilliance. Bill Shorten and I continue to support the initiative to have his legacy properly honoured.”
Despite the setback, it has been a successful month for those who have urged further recognition for the WWI hero.
Two weeks ago, a federal electorate in Victoria was renamed Monash in honour of the Jewish general. And next week, Turnbull will officially open the Sir John Monash Centre, a new museum honouring Australians who served on the Western Front during WWI, in Villers-Bretonneux.
AJN STAFF
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