Nelson, chiefs may front Kovco inquest

[Collo]

Nelson, chiefs may front Kovco inquest


Dan Box | November 22, 2007

DEFENCE Minister Brendan Nelson, the Chief of the Defence Force and the Chief of Army all face being called as witnesses at the coronial inquest into the death of Private Jake Kovco.

Dr Nelson's name, along with that of Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston and Lieutenant General Peter Leahy, is included on a list of 40 proposed military witnesses drawn up by counsel assisting the inquest, John Agius SC.

If the Coalition wins the election and Dr Nelson retains his position, it could be the first time that arguably the three most powerful men inthe nation's military undergo cross-examination at an inquest.

The reason why Mr Agius has sought to cross-examine the men is not known, but Air Chief Marshal Houston has previously contradicted the account given by Dr Nelson of the aftermath of Kovco's death.

None of the three men appeared in person at last year's military inquiry, which heard Kovco died as a result of a single gunshot wound to the head while in the barracks at the Australian embassy in Baghdad.

Each made a statement to the inquiry, which released its report last December, describing how they were first informed of the soldier's death and their actions in the days that followed.

In a statement to NSW homicide detectives, Dr Nelson said Air Chief Marshal Houston telephoned him within hours of the shooting and told him Kovco had been "handling his weapon in some way and it discharged".

In his own statement, signed a day after the minister's was made public, Air Chief Marshal Houston denied he had said this and claimed to have warned Dr Nelson three times during the telephone conversation that the facts of the shooting were not known.

"I concluded my part of the discussion by repeating that the incident had the appearance of a tragic accident but until the board of inquiry had concluded its investigation, the circumstances of the death would not be clear," the statement read.

The two men have received sustained criticism, not least from Kovco's family, for the military's mishandling of events after the soldier's death.

Kovco was 25 years old when he was killed by a shot fired no more than 5cm from his head by his own Browning pistol in April last year.

His body was subsequently confused with that of a 47-year-old Bosnian carpenter, Juso Sinanovic, which was mistakenly returned to Australia by a subcontractor working for the ADF.

The finding of the military inquiry, that Kovco died while "skylarking" with his pistol, was severely criticised in an independent report for the NSW police, which found there was "no concrete evidence" to support this conclusion.

The list of witnesses, which also includes Kovco's former commanding officer in Baghdad, Major Kyle Tyrrell and the commander of the Military Police Special Investigation Branch, Major Michael Pemberton, was distributed to lawyers appearing at the inquest last week.

These lawyers, who among them represent the commonwealth, Kovco's wife and parents and a number of soldiers who were with him when he died, have been invited to respond to the proposals before meeting with the NSW Coroner, Mary Jerram, on December 14.

Dr Nelson and the ADF declined to comment yesterday.

This is going to drag on isn't it!