When asked if she believed that parliamentary approval should be required before Australian soldiers are sent into armed conflict overseas, Nationals Senator Perin Davey declined to comment. A staff member from Senator Davey’s office told MWM that she had “…discussed with Senator Davey and she does not wish to participate on this occasion.”
Senator Perin Davey, who served for over a decade as an army reservist, joins several of her National Party colleagues in maintaining a united front of silence on the issue of war powers reform. As of September 2022, only two National Party parliamentarians—Andrew Gee and Michael McCormack—have offered MWM an opinion. Both stated that they were satisfied with the current arrangements.
Staff writers who have worked on one or more of our special investigative projects include Zacharias Zsumer (War Powers), Stephanie Tran, Tasha May and Luke Stacey.