National Media Releases

The tragic case of Karl Andrews - The Hon Bob Baldwin MP

21st January 2010

Karl Andrews, a former Royal Australian Navy sailor, has said that his life has been ruined by Defence’s failure to properly manage his medical records and because of a total lack of support and compassion from the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, Greg Combet.

Mr Andrews recently appealed to Mr Combet for help after losing custody of his daughter, which he said was a direct result of erroneous ADF medical records stating that he had been addicted to narcotics while serving in the Navy.

Mr Baldwin said that while he understood that Mr Andrews’ circumstances may be considered complex, it did not give the Minister the right to simply dismiss his case out of hand.

‘I really feel for this poor fellow, for when he had exhausted all other avenues of appeal and asked for help from Minister Combet, he was simply shown the door,’ Mr Baldwin said.

An internal Defence review of Mr Andrews’ case revealed that continuity of medical care had not been provided during his time in the Navy and that he was over prescribed morphine, which led to his dependence on the substance, by a doctor who later had his contract discontinued because of his actions relating to Mr Andrews’ case.

The Defence Review of Mr Andrews’ case even went so far as to say that ‘state regulations in regards to narcotic prescribing were clearly not followed’ and made several recommendations on how to better manage the prescription of narcotics in the future.

‘Today I am calling on Mr Combet to personally intervene in order to make sure that Mr Andrews’ wrongs are righted and his medical records are adjusted to make sure that any incorrect aspects are expunged,’ Mr Baldwin said.

‘Let’s remember it was Mr Andrews who was training and serving his nation as a member of the Australian Defence Forces and through no fault of his own has suffered all these unjust consequences.’

Mr Baldwin said that what was most disheartening about Mr Andrews’ case was that people simply hadn’t bothered to listen to him.

‘It is unacceptable and deeply saddening that erroneous medical records have led to Mr Andrews’ losing custody of his daughter,’ Mr Baldwin said.

‘I therefore again urge Minister Combet to personally re-examine Mr Andrews’ case as a matter of priority.’