In 1992 Australia’s defence minister Robert Ray argued that a ban on gay defence force members should remain because homosexual behaviour destroyed the intimate group bonding of heterosexuals and violated their privacy.
In cabinet documents released by the National Archives, Ray emerges as a staunch defender of the ban on homosexuals in the military against the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Attorney General’s Department.
So fierce was the split in cabinet, Ray wrote his own submission to dissent from other departments on the issue. “Bonding and teamwork are the key to survival and success in combat,” he wrote, arguing to defer any policy change until a survey of the Australian defence force was completed.
“Homosexual behaviour or tendencies destroy the intimate bonding of the group because of the fear that the physical and psychological elements of military cohesion may be misrepresented and mistrusted as sexual in nature and therefore intrusive and threatening.”
Ray said shared accommodation for defence personnel meant normal levels of privacy were not available.
“It must therefore be assumed that where communal living, toilet and bathing facilities are provided, that no one using those facilities is homosexual,” he wrote. “Admission of known homosexuals into an all-male or female group would violate the right of heterosexuals of both genders to a minimum level of privacy.”
Ray rejected the argument by those wanting to end the ban that Australian and international law ruled out discrimination. He said the law allowed for discrimination on the “inherent requirements of the job”.
He warned that, as the enlistment age was 15, the ADF was responsible for the moral welfare of younger members and therefore was responsible for “protection from homosexual abuse”.
Other operating defence partners, such as Singapore, viewed “homosexuality as a serious military and civil offence”, which meant ADF members could not be posted for exchange or training.
While the archive release details only the submissions and not the conversations in cabinet, the 1992 debates came as the US engaged in its own fiery debate over its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. That policy stated that gay defence force members could serve only if they hid their sexuality.
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet argued strongly against a survey of ADF members and rejected most of Ray’s main arguments, including the supposed threat to heterosexual members and under-18 ADF members. “A survey such as the one proposed would only hold government hostage to the outcome,” it said.
The department said Ray’s submission failed to demonstrate the adverse effects that homosexual behaviour would have on operations. Ray had failed to show how the 1986 ban was effective in dealing with the acknowledged presence of homosexuals already in the forces, it said.
The Attorney General’s Department also rejected the survey of ADF members because it “suggests that policy on this matter depends on the opinions of ADF members, even if misinformed or prejudiced”.
“Government policy on sexual preference discrimination is clear and its application should not depend on the opinions and attitudes of particular community sectors,” the department wrote.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade argued the ban was contrary to the government’s own domestic human rights policy.
Ray ultimately lost the argument and the ban was lifted in 1992.
• Cabinet records for 1992 and 1993 held by the National Archives of Australia reach the open access period on 1 January 2017. Information about the cabinet records and copies of key cabinet documents, including selected submissions and decisions, are available on the archives’ website
