Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in the Main Committee this evening to support the motion of the member for Fairfax particularly as it relates to submariners, and especially those who served in the Oberon class during the Cold War period. I must say, as a former veterans’ affairs minister—and the former minister for defence on our side is also here—we have all had to come to grips with this issue from time to time. We have just heard from the Chairman of the Defence Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade that throughout both sides of the House being in government the issue of recognition for service has sometimes been a very difficult one. I think we would all agree that there have been anomalies from time to time. Issues can be overlooked, but as time goes on the important job that we have to do is to ensure there is fairness and equity and that those have served their country in uniform in the Australian Defence Force are duly recognised for that service.

We have just heard the member for Brisbane say, and I am sure we would all agree, that submariners really are a very special breed of people. I have been inside a submarine but I have never dived in one. I am not quite sure how I would react to being down there for days or weeks on end. They are very special people and it is a very, very special capability. The capacity of submarines, including our new Collins class submarines, to be able to get into positions that can retrieve information undetected is a resource that we should not take lightly. It is not only the submarine itself; it is the skill of the submariners in knowing what to do—how to manoeuvre quietly and secretly, without detection—that plays a vital role in the security of our nation.

I want to touch on the issue of undeclared operations for submariners during the Cold War. When these submariners were recruited I am sure they were aware at the time of the special nature of their operations and I am sure they would have become aware that they were operating in an environment during the Cold War where, had they been detected or picked up, they would have been subject to not only capture but also perhaps execution. If you look at some of the material that has come to light over the past few years, while there is very scant information, some of these submariners were only metres away from what would have been considered a not so friendly ship or other dangerous situations, collecting vital information for our intelligence services.

At the time that they were sent on these missions, the only people who would have been aware of it, as the former defence minister would be aware, would have been the Prime Minister, the defence chief, the defence minister and perhaps the foreign minister. It was only a very few people who would be aware of where these operations were to go. They were at the time a very special operation. Albeit these undeclared operations may not have been considered warlike for the recognition of the Australian Active Service Medal, we should consider them to be a special operation that needs to be recognised. I am sure that is what the personnel are seeking—I commend them for their operations and for the skill that they had—let alone the families that were back home knowing that their loved ones were away on an operation and not even they would know where they were. That was the nature of the operation.

I would support the member for Fairfax. I hope that we are able to find a way to recognise the service of those submariners who were operating in a secret environment during that Cold War period. For without the work that they did, perhaps other circumstances could have arisen against these countries that could have led to an engagement with us. Let us ensure that this little group who did a very special operation for us during that Cold War period are duly recognised. I support the member for Fairfax and commend him for bringing forward this motion to the Committee.

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