Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Last week, 25-year-old Lieutenant Michael Fussell became the seventh Australian soldier to lose his life in Afghanistan. He was also the first Australian officer to give his life in that country. Yesterday Lieutenant Fussell began his long journey home when Australian, Afghan and Dutch troops farewelled him at a solemn ramp ceremony in Tarin Kowt. Lieutenant Fussell enlisted in January 2002 and was appointed as an officer cadet at the Australian Defence Force Academy. His first officer posting was to ‘A’ Field Battery, 4th Field Regiment. In January 2008, he was posted to 4RAR (Commando) as a Joint Offensive Support Team commander. On 27 November, Lieutenant Fussell was serving with the Special Operations Task Group when he was killed by an improvised explosive device detonation. Lieutenant Fussell had dismounted to approach a target compound on foot and stood on what was undoubtedly a booby trap. He and his mates were only too aware of the risks they took in those situations. Two members of his team were also wounded in the incident.

The tragic incident is a reminder that Afghanistan remains a dangerous place. It also reminds us of the courage and dedication our troops bring to the task of protecting us and promoting freedom and liberty. Lieutenant Fussell died serving his country and is owed a special debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid. He was an outstanding soldier, showing courage and professionalism in the most demanding of environments. Lieutenant Fussell’s military decorations include the Australian Active Service Medal with clasp, International Campaign Against Terrorism; the Afghanistan Campaign Medal; the Australian Service Medal with clasp, Timor-Leste; and the Australian Defence Medal. His fatal wounding follows the loss of six other brave and selfless Australian soldiers: Sergeant Andrew Russell, Trooper David Pearce, Sergeant Matthew Locke, Private Luke Worsley, Lance Corporal Jason Marks and Signaller Sean McCarthy. This huge loss of so many of our finest should make all of us in this place more determined than ever to prevail in our quest to deny terrorists a safe haven and training ground in Afghanistan.

Over the course of the past two weeks, I have travelled to Canada, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom for discussions on Afghanistan. I also met with our ambassador to the United Nations in New York to discuss what Australia might be able to do to secure more resources for the UN special representative in Afghanistan. In Canada, I attended a meeting of Regional Command South—that is, a meeting of the eight defence ministers representing countries that participate in that part of the world. We spent a whole day discussing how we can secure better progress in Afghanistan. By the time I got to Leeds, I was meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith at the annual AUKMIN talks—that is, the meeting between Australia’s defence and foreign ministers and the defence and foreign ministers of the United Kingdom. Again, we spent much of our day talking about Afghanistan. In Spain and Portugal, I met with the defence and foreign ministers of both of those countries and again spent most of my time talking about how we might secure better progress in Afghanistan.

I left Regional Command South somewhat encouraged by a number of things. The first was the reaffirmation by Secretary of Defense Gates that in the new year the United States will significantly enhance their troop contribution in the war-torn country. The enhancement is likely to be well beyond that which President-elect Obama had promised during the election campaign—up to five brigade combat teams, which is up to 30,000 additional troops. Secretary Gates also spoke of progress he was making on the establishment of a special trust fund, which will be used to fund a significant expansion of the capacity of the Afghan national army and the Afghan national police. The US will put a significant amount of money into that trust fund to kick it off. It is some billions of dollars—I will not name the exact figure, because I am not sure that has been made public. It will be expecting other partner nations and nations not participating in Afghanistan to make a contribution to that trust fund. The trust fund, again, is being used to expand the Afghan national army well beyond the aspirational 80,000 we spoke about at Bucharest in April of this year, up to 130,000. It will also expand and provide more training for the Afghan national police. Both of those organisations will be crucial to improving the security arrangements in Afghanistan in both the immediate and longer term.

Those were both encouraging signs. We spent a long time talking about Pakistan in recognition of the fact that we will not secure better progress in Afghanistan until and unless we address the very significant challenges we face in Pakistan. It is well known that many of the insurgents are now finding safe haven in the tribal regions of Pakistan and are freely making their way in and out of Afghanistan. We need to work more closely with the Pakistan government to address those issues. Australia stands ready, by invitation, to do all we can to assist the Pakistan government. The eight ministers attending Regional Command South stand ready to do the same on behalf of their nation-states as well.

There are some signs of hope for better progress in Afghanistan. We have elections there next year—probably in September 2009. It will be a watershed. The proper conduct of those elections will be absolutely critical, and I suspect that Secretary Gates and NATO more generally will be looking at partner nations to provide extra security to ensure that those elections are free and fair. Afghanistan obviously remains a very challenging place. The security environment is not good despite the very good work being done by the partner nations, including and in particular Australians in Oruzgan province. We have a long way to go before we have security at a level which we would think acceptable, a level which provides a pathway of ensuring that we do more in economic and institutional capacity terms. We will not do better in Afghanistan until we get a coherent strategy, one which properly marries the military, civil and political efforts in Afghanistan. It is going to take a big effort from the partner nations, working very closely with the Afghan government in securing those changes.

I want to recognise that the ambassador of Afghanistan is with us this evening for this very solemn and important debate. I will continue, as I am sure all partner nations will continue, to do all I can to further progress success in Afghanistan. I have said publicly this week that the loss of Lieutenant Michael Fussell, and of course his six mates before him, only makes me more determined to secure our objectives in Afghanistan. I am determined that he and his six mates shall not have given their lives in vain. We owe it to them to press on and to secure those objectives we have been looking for in Pakistan and in Afghanistan.

I close by extending my very sincere sympathies to Michael’s father, Ken, his mother, Madeline, and his brother, Daniel—who, as the member for Paterson pointed out, is also a lieutenant in the Australian Army. The Fussells have made a very significant contribution to their country, and I thank them for that. My sympathies also go to his foster sisters Nikki and Nyah, and I also remember today all of his mates, whether they be part of SOTG, the Special Operations Task Group, or part of the mentoring and reconstruction task force, who are still in Afghanistan mourning their mates. It is a very difficult time for them, and I thank them collectively for the very significant contribution they continue to make to the effort in Afghanistan and for what they are doing for their country.

See this speech in context