Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to be associated with this condolence motion on the deaths of Private Nathan Bewes, Trooper Jason Thomas Brown, Private Grant Walter Kirby, Private Tomas James Dale and Lance Corporal Jared McKinney. The reason I particularly wanted to speak to this motion was that it related to a family in my own electorate whom I have had the opportunity to know over a long period of time because of their very significant level of engagement within the Westleigh community in particular.

I had only in July spent some time in Tarin Kowt as a parliamentary observer of our mission and I had the opportunity of visiting and speaking with many of our troops, particularly our troops of the special services. Trooper Jason Brown was the son of Graham and Ann Brown and the brother of Stephanie, his 25-year-old sister. I do not know whether, on that day when I had afternoon tea with the troops, Jason was there, but I know from speaking to many of his colleagues that they were very proud of the mission in which they were engaged and what they were doing for Australia. They were young people who recognised that there was a very significant risk but, I think, were conscious that our engagement in Afghanistan was for the very proper reason of ensuring that Australia and Australians are protected.

There is no doubt that what was happening in Afghanistan, and I will say this in another debate, was that people who were prepared to engage in terrorism operations abroad were being trained, and trained in very large numbers. That operation of Al-Qaeda needed to be brought to an end. Certainly, when you look at the tragedy that happened in New York, when you look at the tragedy of the bombings in Indonesia, where Australians tragically lost their lives, and when you look at the situation that occurred with people trained by Al-Qaeda coming back to Australia—some of them Australians through migration and some Australian-born but nevertheless training with that organisation—this is a situation in which the risk to Australians is either incurred there or here.

These young troops are the people who have taken up the task of defending their fellow Australians through their work in these operations that are designed to ensure that the Taliban do not re-establish themselves in Afghanistan. For all Australians, I think it is important to recognise that these people are undertaking a very, very dangerous task in our collective interests and we very much owe them not only a condolence motion but a continuing debt for the willingness with which they undertake actions which put their lives at risk and, tragically in many cases, lead to them losing their lives.

Jason Brown became the 18th soldier to lose his life during these operations in Afghanistan. He was 29 years of age. He was based in Perth with the Special Air Service Regiment and he died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds sustained during an engagement with Taliban insurgents on Saturday, 14 August. Members of his patrol gave him first aid. He was evacuated, but unfortunately he did not survive. His parents, whom I have met and whom I must say I greatly admire for their stoicism, reflected on the life of Jason:

Jason was a career soldier who dreamed from a young age of being nothing else.

Everyone who knew him knew his dream. He strived to be the best he could be at his job and was successfully accepted into the elite Special Air Service Regiment.

He was born to be a soldier, and believed in what he was doing. He died doing what he loved. We are all very proud of him.

We miss him dearly, as will his army mates, who were his second family.

Jason’s father was an Australian who served in Vietnam. The funeral, which took place in my electorate at one of our very well-known Catholic churches, was conducted by his uncle, Father Paul Fitzpatrick, who came especially from Ireland to conduct the service. It was a celebration of his life and a recognition of all that he had done for his fellow Australians. He was a young man very significantly awarded during his lifetime. He had the Australian Active Service Medal with clasp East Timor and with clasp International Coalition against Terrorism; the Afghanistan Campaign Medal; the Australian Service Medal with clasp Timor-Leste; the United Nations Medal with ribbon United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor; and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Medal for the International Security Assistance Force. He had the Australian Defence Medal, the Timor-Leste Solidarity Medal, the Infantry Combat Badge and the Returned from Active Service Badge. He was a young man of whom we can all be very proud. He was deployed in operation Tanager in East Timor, Operation Citadel in East Timor, Operation Astute in East Timor and Operation Slipper in Afghanistan. I am very proud that, as a constituent of mine, he was able to serve Australia in this way.

As I said in my remarks earlier, these sacrifices have not been in vain. This is not an operation about which any of us should be ashamed. All too often, in my judgment, if we are not prepared to deal with these issues further afield we will inevitably have to deal with them here, with even far greater consequences for the Australian community. We owe each of these young men a significant debt of obligation. They have served Australia well and their families can be very proud of them.

See this speech in context