The Australian War Memorial has dismissed calls to stop taking money from the world’s largest weapons manufacturers, despite outrage from critics and historians that it defiles the commemoration of the nation’s war dead.
A Four Corners investigation has also found that the memorial’s chairman, and former politician, Kim Beazley has paid roles with two multinational arms companies.
Those links are not disclosed on the war memorial’s website.
The war memorial has accepted funding and support from international weapons makers for years, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Thales, BAE Systems and Northrup Grumman.
The war memorial’s chairman has defended the practice of taking money and support from weapons companies. (Four Corners: Billy Draper)
These companies have funded galleries, a theatre, memorial projects, an art prize and exhibits. Some of the funding deals have run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Over the last three years the defence and aerospace giant Boeing gave $US300,000 ($474,000) to the memorial to fund an Indigenous art project called “Defending Country”.
Since 2021, the memorial also took $376,000 from US defence company Leidos to help build a transcription tool.
Offending the memory of the fallen
Former war memorial principal historian Peter Stanley and president of the Medical Association for Prevention of War Sue Wareham have labelled it as an affront to the memorial.
“I think that’s dirty money … of all places, it should not be accepting money from merchants of death,” Mr Stanley said.
“We wouldn’t have the alcohol industry commemorating or having anything to do with those who die in traffic accidents,” Dr Wareham said.
“The weapons companies … make huge profits when nations go to war, and it’s inappropriate that they’re commemorated in the same institution.”
Critics say it’s inappropriate for a war memorial to accept donations from weapons manufacturers. (Four Corners: Nick Wiggins)
Former deputy director of the memorial Michael McKernan said it was offensive to the memory of Australia’s war dead.
“I’m uncomfortable with it, to be honest. I think to myself, what if [German weapons manufacturer] Krupp came along and offered to build a gallery at the memorial?” he said.
“I’d think that’s not appropriate. And the First World War diggers would be horrified because Krupp industries probably killed more Australians than any other source.”
War memorial chairman Kim Beazley and long-standing member of its council Greg Melick have both defended the practice of taking money and support from weapons companies.
“As long as it’s done discreetly, and it’s done by reputable weapons manufacturers, I don’t have a problem,” Mr Melick said.
Mr Beazley told Four Corners: “I don’t feel the slightest embarrassment with weapons manufacturers contributing.”
Australian War Memorial chair Kim Beazley. (Four Corners: Kim Beazley)
That sentiment was echoed by war memorial director, Matt Anderson, who said he will continue to accept donations and funding from multinational arms companies.
“So long as we decide what we spend that money on and how we spend it,” he said.
Board member of the Centre for Public Integrity, Geoffrey Watson, said accepting money from the world’s largest weapons makers undermined the commemoration function of the memorial.
“I cannot believe that good governance would enable the war memorial to take that money. And I don’t care how much it is,” he said.
“I think that is disgusting.”
Mr Beazley disagreed.
“It’s not disgusting … We have to defend ourselves,” he said.
Mr Anderson, the memorial director, said the companies support the Australian Defence Force, in the “defence of our freedoms and our values”.
But links between weapons makers and the memorial extend beyond the institution itself and into its council.
Disclosure of roles
Four Corners found Mr Beazley is a board member of the naval shipbuilder Luerssen Australia and is on the advisory board of one of the largest weapons manufacturers in the world, US arms company Lockheed Martin.
When asked if it was appropriate for him to have paid roles with those companies while holding the role of chairman, Mr Beazley said it was.
“What would not be appropriate is that if I didn’t declare it,” he said.
But neither his role with Lockheed Martin or with Luersson has been declared in his detailed profile on the Australian War Memorial website.
“I’m very happy if they put them on the website,” Mr Beazley said when Four Corners pointed out the omission.
At the time of publication, the website had not been updated to disclose these roles.
It is not only online that the connection failed to be disclosed.
Four Corners obtained annual disclosure forms for council members, which revealed Mr Beazley did not list his roles with Luersson or Lockheed Martin.
All he wrote in his 2023 form was, “as a consultant I work for a number of organisations which have dealings with the commonwealth [sic] but I have no shareholder interests in any of them.”
In the same section the following year he simply wrote, “N/A”.
Greens senator David Shoebridge said the connection between the manufacturers and the chairman was not appropriate.
“The chair of the war memorial should not … run a sacred memorial about the sacrifice and horrors of war on the one hand, and then have multiple paid roles in the defence industry,” he said.
“It’s an appalling conflict of interest.”
But Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said it did not cause “any concern”.
“I don’t think the other roles that he’s undertaking conflict with what he is doing,” he said.
Another member of the War Memorial council, former soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, Daniel Keighran, is employed by the French arms maker Thales.
Across five annual disclosure forms, Mr Keighran does not once mention his role with Thales.
Daniel Keighran at the Australian War Memorial. (Four Corners: Nick Wiggins)
While director of the memorial, the former defence minister Brendan Nelson, took on a paid role with Thales, which makes the Bushmaster armoured vehicle and a range of weapons and munitions for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
Dr Nelson’s role with Thales, which began in 2015, wasn’t disclosed for four years, and then only because he was forced to register on the government’s foreign influence register, introduced in 2019.
“It’s totally f***ed,” Centre for Public Integrity director Geoffrey Watson said.
“That’s just wrong.”
Thales’s display at a weapons expo in Melbourne in 2024. (Four Corners: Billy Draper)
Matt Anderson defended the arrangement, saying his predecessor obtained the minister’s permission to take the Thales role.
“Of course, any fees that he was paid were donated straight to the war memorial,” Mr Anderson said.
A Freedom of Information response received by Four Corners reveals that Mr Nelson earned nearly $200,000 from Thales during his time with the weapons maker.
“The idea that that [conflict of interest] can be resolved by donating the money you get from the French arms manufacturer to [the memorial], I think is bizarre. Who does that?” Mr Shoebridge said.
Brendan Nelson declined repeated requests for an interview and did not respond to written questions.
Tonight Four Corners investigates the memorial’s $550 million redevelopment and asks whether the expansion ensures its future or undermines its fundamental purpose. Watch from 8:30pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
