Chapter 36

Things were hotting up in Canberra despite the air being quite chilly. In Parliament and the media, all hell was breaking loose as a rebranded Labor Party was asserting itself far more vigorously than in the past. It was seizing the middle ground and leaving the incumbent conservative government sidelined on so many issues. Despite the government initiating the withdrawal from Vietnam it was Labor promising to ‘bring the boys home’. They were also appealing to environmentalists with policies designed to woo these groups. Women, who forever had been paid less than men in the workforce, were promised equal pay. A universal health care package was touted, as was free tertiary education. No-one seriously questioned how it was all to be paid for, except for the conservatives; but they were being shunned by the community sick of a government that was literally tearing itself apart. Labor was promising a new forward-thinking vision for the seventies and the conservatives were harking back to the fifties. The baby boomer generation was nearly all eligible to vote and the liberal government were about to be confronted with a reality that they should have expected, but had turned a blind eye to. They offered a born to rule option compared to a modern “It’s Time” jingle that was aligned with policies that would seduce a nation.

Things started happening at the JIO as well. I was given other tasks to complete and there were constant interviews with all staff by outsiders. Colonel Atkinson soon lost his toy and Jenkins was removed from his position. He went in a flurry of tears. His latest call log and visitor diary was seized before my very eyes by someone who knew just what he was looking for. My friend down in the dungeon confirmed later that all of Jenkins diaries were seized. My interview was pretty brief and, to my mind, not very thorough. My notebook of racing records was placed down in front of me and I was congratulated on my meticulous record keeping. My financial records were checked and it showed that any gambling I had done had been far from successful. I was admonished for wasting my time, but when I explained how boring Canberra was for a single man after working hours; there were nods of agreement and an understanding of my predicament, my desire to fill the lonely hours and try to buy my way out of the army.

Atkinson was removed from his position, although the explanation his underlings were given was that he was being seconded to an important task-force. In most government and defence departments this was a euphemism for involuntary redundancy. His replacement called the staff, who normally worked for Atkinson, together and assured us that all changes that had had to be made had been made already. I picked up on the usage of the words ‘had to be made’ but said nothing. Everyone else, I believe, were just relieved that they were still in their positions. I don’t know what Atkinson had said but I figured he probably would have tried to throw me under a bus in order to save himself. If he did that it certainly didn’t work. I was never told the status of those who did the interviews but by their demeanour I was pretty confident that they weren’t military. That in itself was very strange as the military has its own judicial system, but in this case had called in outsiders or the outsiders had been forced upon it. I longed to ask for details but didn’t want to draw attention to myself.

I finally found out what the JIO was really about and what my role in it should have been as my work requirements and reporting changed almost overnight. Yes, I was still transcribing recordings and providing some commentary to my new boss. However, the clarity of the recordings was much better. Most were phone taps rather than from planted microphones. Most were pretty banal. It seemed that the defence force wanted to ensure that people were doing what they should, when they should and that security was kept as tight as a drum. It was all in-house and non-political. My new colonel was straight down the line, had no sense of humour and required strict military protocol to be observed at all times. In the first two weeks of his reign I had saluted more times than I had in the past fifteen or so months.

I probably should have reported my concerns to him and paid a heavy price later on because I didn’t. Three weeks post-Atkinson, I found myself armed with documents, tapes and a lot of trepidation, outside the door of the second in charge of the JIO. I had rung through expressing a need to speak to someone much higher up the food chain. He was a group captain in the RAAF which was equivalent to a colonel in the army. I felt suddenly more out of place. I was suffering the same unease that permeated the whole defence structure where each sector was akin to another species. I nearly apologised and turned and left, but something struck me about his assuredness as he spoke.

“You’re one of Atkinson’s staff, aren’t you?” he began. I noticed the lack of acknowledgement of Colonel Atkinson’s rank. “You have had quite a bit of a shake-up down there haven’t you?” I merely nodded as he continued. “I was part of the investigation that took place.” He seemed to be fishing for something but I wasn’t biting. “You’ve got a box of things there. Would you like to show me what’s there? After all you did say it was quite important.”

I lowered the box onto a nearby sideboard and turned to face him and waited. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to say and what I was prepared to divulge because I wasn’t sure what level of trust I could place in the man standing before me. As I stood at attention, he must have seen the discomfort and unease on my face.

“There are three things I want you to know. Firstly, I work for, and have loyalty to the defence department not just to the airforce. Secondly, the leaders of the conspiracy to blackmail politicians and cut deals with defence industry suppliers, that was headed by two colonels and a major has been dealt with and those three men will be dishonourably discharged once their incarceration is over. Thirdly, I am aware that an informant within the JIO, possibly seeing it as the only option available, notified someone in ASIO that something was severely wrong in the JIO. I wish that informant however had trusted those higher up enough to deal with the issue, but understand that the informant may not have known how widespread the conspiracy was.”

His eyes had never left mine during these statements. I met those steely blue eyes with a quiet defiance in my own and a lack of facial expression. He was getting nothing from me and he knew it. He walked over to the box and began rifling through the contents. In it were my notes, the names of the defence personnel who may have been blackmailed by, or at least were involved with, Colonel Atkinson, and a large number of tapes including the ones of the colonel ringing the morning after his safe was ‘broken into’. He noticed I was still standing at attention and asked me to sit down. I thanked him but chose to stand at ease. He read my notes and occasionally lifted a tape and idly played with the case as he concentrated on what I had written.

“You realise of course that this must not and will not ever see the light of day. I was aware as was ASIO and the chiefs of all the defence forces that such information existed. It cannot be made public and certainly no politicians will ever be told of its existence. They would be having seizures if they knew we had recorded their private conversations. On the other hand, it might make them be far more discreet about what they say and to whom they say it. I understand Lieutenant Downs that your tenure is soon to be up in the defence force. You realise that you can never speak of this to anyone. Personally, I think that you would be a terrible loss to the JIO if you didn’t reenlist. From what I have read of your file and the people I have talked to, even those whom you first trained under and with, you are a remarkably talented and extremely honest young man. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree it seems. You father’s file, the complete one, not just the redacted one in the dungeon, shows that he was a man of similar morality and courage. They wanted him to be paraded around as a war hero after the Second World War with the express aim of recruiting more men for the army. I hope you won’t use the same words to me that he used to his superiors back then as I think it is still a physical impossibility to go and fuck yourself.”

My countenance broke for a millisecond as I felt a smile begin on my lips. The Group Captain didn’t miss it either.