Vice Admiral David Johnston

Grand final weekend isn’t the time to make policy announcements that will set the national debate on its head. It is, however, the time to put out a press release you hope will get the briefest of mentions in the Saturday or Sunday papers — but only after 16 pages of sport coverage at the front of the paper. So what was supposed to pass unnoticed this weekend?

ADF admits civilian deaths in Iraq

The Australian Defence Force revealed on Friday its troops had been involved in incidents in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul that are believed to have resulted in the deaths of eight civilians, including two children. The first incident was in March this year. An aircraft that was part of the coalition forces (that include Australia, the US, the UK and others) bombed a residential building in Mosul, which resulted in the deaths of seven civilians. Australian aircraft weren’t involved, but a member of the ADF was part of the “decision making chain” that authorised the strike, which was targeting Islamic State forces thought to be 300 metres from Iraqi forces. In an incident in June, Australian hornet aircraft were called to assist Iraqi forces, with a strike on a residential building. 

“They [the Iraqi forces] found themselves within 20 metres of a building in which Daesh fighters were,” Vice Admiral David Johnston told the media.

“They were engaged by small arms fire and were pinned down, unable to move.

“We had a pair of hornets that were airborne at the time … they performed a strike, it was a single precision guided weapon, a low-collateral weapon.”

It is believed a child was killed in that incident.

This was covered on the front page of The Age (after an AFL wrap-around of 20 pages) and the The Australian — we’re not in any way suggesting journos weren’t doing their jobs. But issues like this don’t stick in the minds of the public when there’s footy to watch and barbecues to attend. The report was embargoed until midnight on Saturday. It’s also possible the announcement, while coming months after the actual incidents, was timed to coincide with an announcement from the US’ Combined Joint Task Force, which detailed investigations of civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria.

Brandis announces jobs for the boys and girls (including a plum gig for Michael Danby’s wife)

Attorney-General George Brandis announced a new batch of appointments and reappointments to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on Friday, with former communications adviser to John Howard Simone Burford landing a full-time position on the tribunal. Former Queensland Justice director-general John Sosso, who worked under Jarrod Bleijie, was promoted to part-time deputy president (he was appointed by Brandis to the AAT last year), and 25 part-time members were appointed. Five full-time members were also appointed, including some promotions for part-time members. Former Liberal Senator Helen Kroger got a gig, as did former Labor senator John Black.

Friday’s full-time appointees include Colin Edwardes, former adviser to former WA Premier Colin Barnett and husband to former Liberal MP Cheryl Edwardes. Barrister and wife of Labor MP Michael Danby Amanda Mendes Da Costa was also made a full-time member.

We’ve previously reported on the number of Liberal mates appointed to the AAT under Brandis, with a large swathe of new members appointed right before the caretaker period was enforced before last year’s federal election.

NBN might need oversight

The Joint Standing Committee on the NBN released a report on the beleaguered network on Friday, recommending an independent audit of the business case in NBN Co’s 2018-21 corporate plan. The committee is chaired by Sussan Ley, who penned a dissenting report from government MPs.

Is there anything we also missed in the revelry? Let us know.