Fed: Collins - from model soldier to outspoken critic

AAP General News (Australia)
04-16-2004
Fed: Collins - from model soldier to outspoken critic

By Maria Hawthorne

CANBERRA, April 16 AAP - Lance Collins was the model Army officer. So why did he become
so disappointed with his career that he turned to Prime Minister John Howard for help?

A brilliant mind coupled with a stubborn personality clearly made the former Victorian
farm boy a difficult proposition for the regimented lines of defence intelligence.

But his outspoken opinions on the quality of work being done by the Defence Intelligence
Organisation seem to have brought his career to a halt.

"Look, I'd have to say, having known Lance for 25 odd years, he can be an exceptionally
prickly character at times, but no one ever questions his integrity, and among professional
intelligence officers, their respect for his professionalism would be profound," Neil
James, a former serving officer and head of lobby group the Australian Defence Association,
said this week.

Collins was handpicked by then Army chief Peter Cosgrove in 1999 to be his eyes and
ears in East Timor.

But following a run-in with the DIO the year before, Collins suspected that Australian
troops in East Timor were being cut off from top-secret information.

On his return, he had an acrimonious meeting with DIO director Frank Lewincamp and
then found himself wrongly and publicly accused of leaking confidential information.

He was overlooked for promotions, ignored for honours and whispered about in corridors.

Two years ago, he lodged a formal complaint with the defence department and an investigation
found he had been treated disgracefully.

But until the report of the investigation was published in The Bulletin magazine this
week, Collins was not told of the outcome, nor that he had been cleared of the intelligence
leak.

Last month, he channelled his frustrations into a letter to Mr Howard, appealing for
a royal commission into intelligence.

"When you're treated disgracefully, and the system's rigged against you, I suppose
he felt that he had to take it higher," James said.

"He didn't go outside the system - he's just taken his ministerial representations
to the highest level."

Collins seemed an unlikely defence force recruit at La Trobe University, where he studied
sociology, anthropology and history before mustering cattle in Queensland and eventually
signing up at the age of 25.

He graduated from the Army's officer corps at Portsea in 1980 as a lieutenant with
a prize in regional studies, and began work in the counter-intelligence unit in Brisbane
two years later.

He was promoted to major in 1987 after working with the forerunner of the DIO, the
Joint Intelligence Organisation, on the Indonesian desk.

By the mid-1990s, he was deputy director of military intelligence, one of the most
sensitive intelligence positions.

But his rise through the ranks stopped in 1998 after he produced an intelligence estimate
warning that a referendum on independence in East Timor was likely to lead to widespread
violence.

That contradicted the official view that the Indonesian military would maintain peace,
but Collins also warned that a "pro-Jakarta lobby" in Canberra had the potential to distort
Australia's policy towards Indonesia.

Soon afterwards, he was cautioned by two DIO officers against taking a similar line
in future estimates and was warned about using the departmental communications system
to spread his concerns.

While in East Timor, he impressed the then Australian Consul Jim Dunn with his ability
to work in an environment foreign to Australian intelligence.

"It seemed to me he had the qualities of a good intelligence officer - an open mind,
a searching mind, and in those circumstances that's what was really necessary because
the Timor experience was very new to the military in terms of the situation itself," Dunn
said.

Yet Collins was overlooked for any honour or commendation arising from East Timor.

Naval barrister Martin Toohey, who investigated his case, said witnesses told him that
Collins' criticisms of the intelligence community had caused resentment at higher levels.

Captain Toohey said he did not find Lewincamp to be a credible witness because of his
strong dislike for Collins, and recommended that Collins receive a commendation and financial
compensation for three years of mental anguish.

Mr Howard said this week that he was disappointed Collins's case had taken so long
to go through the military justice system.

"I appreciate what he's done for the country," Mr Howard said.

"I appreciate that he holds strong views. I've sought information and I am treating
the man in a courteous, respectful way."

AAP mfh/cjh/bwl

KEYWORD: INTELLIGENCE (AAP BACKGROUNDER)

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