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Afghan interpreters, who worked with the Australian Defense Force, waiting on protection visas one year after Taliban seized control

A woman walking past a man with a gun.

Former Afghan interpreters who worked with the Australian military say their family members are still stuck in the region and at risk, almost one year after the Taliban seized control of the country.

More than 200,000 Afghans have sought humanitarian protection in Australia since August last year, with almost half of those still waiting for their applications to be considered.

The lengthy delay has led one Afghan interpreter, who spent two years working alongside Australian Defense Force (ADF) troops based at Tarin Kot, to express regret at working with the ADF.

“We now regret why we have even worked for the Australian government because the impact of that is [inflicted] on our family members,” said the former interpreter, who the ABC has not named to protect his family.

“They have been asked ‘why have your family members worked with the Australian Army and the previous government’ and they’ve been questioned about where we are – they are looking for us.

“I feel hopeless as no help has been given to my extended family and they have not been evacuated to get to a safer place like Australia.”

More than 6,000 Afghans have been granted humanitarian visas since the Taliban retouched control, with priority given to locally engaged staff, women and ethnic minorities.

But many of this group are still in Afghanistan or neighboring countries on temporary visas.

Fears for life of former embassy guard

Glenn Kolomeitz, a former Australian Army officer and lawyer helping Afghans with visa applications, says some have already been harmed.

“In the last 48 hours, we had one of our former embassy guards abducted and we expect that he will be killed,” Mr Kolomeitz told the ABC.

“We expect to find his remains dumped outside his house in coming days. That’s the cold hard facts.”

A portrait of a middle-aged man wearing a suit.
Former Australian Army officer and lawyer Glenn Kolomeitz says some family members of interpreters are at high risk from the Taliban.(Four Corners)

Mr Kolomeitz said the Taliban is still targeting people who assisted foreign forces in Afghanistan.

“The wife of one of our people died recently after moving from safe house to safe house and being hunted,” Mr Kolomeitz said

Mr Kolomeitz said the family of one interpreter who died while serving with Australian troops are still languishing in a Texas refugee camp, 12 months after being evacuated.

“One of their brothers was an interpreter for the Australian Army who was killed by a rogue Afghan Army soldier, alongside three Australian soldiers,” Mr Kolomeitz said.

“If anyone is owed protection by Australia, it is this interpreter’s family.

Enormous backlog of applications causing delay

The ABC contacted Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to discuss these reports, but did not receive a response.

Earlier this week, Mr Giles told SBS News that a taskforce has been established to focus on the resettlement of Afghan nationals.

“We are applying an enormous number of resources to this problem because it is an enormous priority for the government,” he said.

Settlement Council of Australia chief executive, Sandra Elhelw Wright, said visa delays were due to an enormous backlog of applications.

“This is what happens with conflict as demand for resettlement balloons and there are not enough places available for everyone who needs safety,” she told the ABC.

Ms Elhelw Wright said the 6,000 people who have been resettled in the last six months are already contributing to society.

“They are talking about how optimistic they are about their lives in Australia, but the key challenge for them is the concern they have about their family overseas.”

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Australia

Defense to truck PFAS-contaminated soil from Katherine’s RAAF Base Tindal to Melbourne

A faded sign that says "Fire training ground".

In a couple of weeks scores of half-size shipping containers filled with tonnes of toxic soil will begin making the 3,500-kilometre journey from northern Australia to Victoria.

Defense has begun tackling the toxic legacy of the firefighting foam that was used for decades at the Tindal Royal Australian Air Force Base and other sites around Australia.

It has been more than six years since residents in Katherine were told that persistently high levels of toxic compounds, known collectively as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, had been found in their only drinking source.

Every year since, roughly 40 kilograms of the chemical has leaked into the groundwater from the RAAF base, where large areas of contaminated soil have been left to seep.

A woman and a man in high-vis walk side by side through a dusty plot of land.
Amanda Lee says there will be an instant reduction in the amount of PFAS leaching from the area.(ABC Katherine: Roxanne Fitzgerald)

Defense has conceded there is “no silver bullet” that would effectively destroy all traces of the “forever chemical” from the base, but it is committed to solving the problem.

“It’s a complex chemical and it’s a very complex remedial challenge,” Defense’s remediation advisor Amanda Lee said.

“What we’ve done here today is come up with the best solution available to us today with proven technology to try and address this problem.”

Despite explicit warnings dating back to 1987 that the product must not enter the environment, many thousands of liters of the firefighting foam were discarded onto bare earth or washed into stormwater systems and evaporation ponds.

A digger operates on top of a mound of smashed up concrete.
High concentrations of PFAS have been found in the old fire training area.(ABC Katherine: Roxanne Fitzgerald)

‘Big reduction in mass’

Now two large areas at Tindal, where RAAF firefighters would wash their equipment and where firefighting foams were used in practice scenarios, have been identified as high priority for remediation.

This week the massive effort to dig up the estimated 60,000 tonnes of contaminated soil and crushed concrete from the two areas began.

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Australia

Australia’s military structure, preparedness and investments to be reviewed for the first time in a decade

Australia's military structure, preparedness and investments to be reviewed for the first time in a decade

A former Labor Defense Minister and a Chief of Defense who served under him will conduct a strategic review of Australia’s military for the first time in a decade, with recommendations to be made within five months.

The Albanese government has announced Stephen Smith, who was Defense Minister between 2010 and 2013, will join retired Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston in overseeing the comprehensive study of the ADF’s structure, preparedness and investments.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the review will ensure the Australian Defense Force (ADF) is “well positioned to meet the nation’s security challenges over the next decade and beyond”.

“Professor Smith and Sir Angus bring a unique blend of knowledge and experience to their role as independent leads,” Mr Albanese said.

“Their depth of expertise will be invaluable in informing the review.”

Defense Minister Richard Marles said the Morrison government’s Defense Strategic Update of 2020 found changes in Australia’s strategic environment were accelerating more rapidly than predicted in the last Force Posture Review in 2012.

Richard Marles addresses media
Richard Marles says changes to the ADF were happening more rapidly than predicted. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)

“This necessitates an immediate analysis of where and how Defense assets and personnel are best positioned to protect Australia and its national interests,” Mr Marles said.

“It also requires an assessment of Defense’s force structure and Integrated Investment Program.

“Exploring how our capabilities can better integrate and operate with the United States, the United Kingdom and other key partners will also be an important element of the review.”

Inside ADF ranks Stephen Smith’s appointment to lead the Defense Strategic Review is considered controversial given cuts to military spending and project cancellations which occurred when he was Minister.

Air Marshal Sir Angus Houston served as Chief of Defense between 2005 and 2011, and was knighted in 2015 for extraordinary service to Australia, particularly for his role in the aftermath of the MH370 and MH17 disasters.

Formal defense minister Stephen Smith and Retired Air Marshal Sir Angus Houston in composite image.
Stephen Smith (left) and Sir Angus Houston will oversee the review.

According to the Terms of Reference released by the government, the review will be completed for National Security Committee of Cabinet consideration “no later than March 2023”.

It states that the latest review is needed because “military modernisation, technological disruption and the risk of state-on-state conflict are complicating Australia’s strategic circumstances.”

“The review is to be a holistic consideration of Australia’s Defense Force structure and posture by including force disposition, preparedness, strategy and associated investments, including all elements of Defense’s Integrated Investment Program,” it said.

Earlier this year Labor matched the former government’s pledge to increase the number of uniformed personnel to almost 80,000 by 2040, amid strategic risks posed by China and Russia.

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