Independent senator Jacqui Lambie has accused Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove of "covering up" or "turning a blind eye" to rape and abuse in the defence force.
The former military police officer told the Senate on Monday Sir Peter and now NSW Governor David Hurley had done nothing to bring justice to victims of "gross abuse" during their stints as chiefs of the ADF.
Senator Lambie renewed her calls for a royal commission into defence abuse, while accusing senior military figures and governments of fighting against a proper investigation out of self-interest.
Governments wanted to avoid shining a light on the "wicked crimes" committed by rapists, some of whom were still serving in senior ranks.
"And those crimes were covered up or turned a blind eye to by those in the highest leadership positions in Australia including our national governor-general and our NSW governor," she said.
Because Sir Peter would likely be a key witness at a commission, he wasn't inclined to approve one, Senator Lambie claimed.
The government established a taskforce in 2012 to investigate abuse allegations and produce its final report by the end of 2015.
General Hurley has publicly apologised to defence force personnel who suffered abuse.
Senator Lambie made the accusations during debate on veterans affairs amendments that scrap an avenue for appealing compensation claim decisions.
She spent years battling the Department of Veterans Affairs for compensation after she was injured while serving in the army and says the department is a "bloody joke".
While opposing the bill, the senator said she would have been "screwed" and "down in the ditch" if she did not have dual avenues for appeal during her compensation case.
Her office was dealing with 300 cases of mistreatment that had piled up over one year, claiming the department made veterans' lives "a living bloody hell".
"The common feedback I receive from veterans ... is that they would rather face the Taliban than face the department," she said.
Veterans Affairs Minister Michael Ronaldson dismissed Senator Lambie's claims as "water off a duck's back", saying she had not come to him with one productive suggestion since taking her place in the Senate last year.
Labor previously backed the draft laws but withdrew support on Monday forcing the bill to a committee for investigation and delaying a vote by a month.
Slater and Gordon lawyer Brian Briggs believes the changes to the appeals process could strip vulnerable injured veterans of their rights and add two years to their search for compensation.
But the government maintains the changes streamline the appeals and eliminate unnecessary dual appeal processes - which are in place by default.
The bill contains several other provisions about vocational rehabilitation and repatriation of Vietnam war dead buried in Malaysia.
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