Questions are being raised about a second Black Hawk helicopter accident last year and why it was kept under wraps by the Howard Government.
The Defence Minister at the time, Brendan Nelson, was told about the incident, but the news was never made public.
It happened as an inquiry into a separate Black Hawk incident on HMAS Kanimbla was taking place, but the now Opposition Leader says there was no need to raise the alarm.
“What was reported to the chief of defence and what was reported to me was that there had been a heavy landing involving a Black Hawk in East Timor, that it was being investigated, that no one had been injured and that the aircraft would be assessed in terms of what damage had been done to it,” he said.
"I was advised that no-one had been injured and that the matter was being investigated."
He said defence officials made the call on whether such incidents were made public.
The Chief of Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, would release the report into the incident when he deemed it appropriate, Dr Nelson said.
Asked if he had been involved in any efforts to conceal the incident, he replied: "That's an outrageous assertion."
