Combat roles ahead for Australian women

Sep 27, 2011, 4:30 GMT

Sydney - Women in the Australian military will soon serve in frontline combat roles under changes announced Tuesday.

'Into the future your role in the Defence Force will be determined on your ability not on the basis of your sex,' Defence Minister Stephen Smith said.

There will be a five-year phase in of plans to let women serve in the infantry, guard military airports and clear mines.

'This is simply putting into the frontline those people who are best placed to do the job,' he said.

Around 8,000 women serve in the Defence Force, which has 81,000 full-time personnel.

Only 30 of the 537 most senior officers are women and only seven women are among the 167 ranked brigadier or above, latest figures show.

Australia Defence Association executive director Neil James said last year that he was against giving combat roles to women.

'I don't think the people of Australia would like to see their daughters, sisters, wives or female friends killed in disproportionate numbers to male service personnel,' he said. 'On the battlefield, academic gender equity theory doesn't apply.'

Germany was the first country to start opening combat roles to females; later in 2001, New Zealand followed suit.

Australia also joins Israel and Canada, which both have merit as the only consideration in appointments.