The week before the 2018 ANZAC Day commemoration, newspapers reported that the Turnbull Government had decided against posthumously promoting the Australian World War I commander General Sir John Monash to the rank of field marshal.
Mr Shorten's claim doesn't check out. In support of his argument, Mr Shorten cited three examples of men whose promotions, he claimed, had broken with protocol: Sir Thomas Blamey, Prince Philip, and General George Washington. Fact Check consulted two Australian military historians and a British expert in the history of field marshals, all of whom said there was no precedent for posthumous promotion to field marshal in Australia or Britain. The Australian experts also said the precedents cited by Mr Shorten did not represent a break with protocol.
Fact check: Are there powerful precedents which break with protocol for posthumously promoting John Monash to field marshal?
['John_Monash', 'Anzac_Day']