Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Since the conclusion of the 42nd Parliament, there has been no clearer reminder to our nation that the world goes on than the deaths of five more of our soldiers. While we think we struggled with the election campaign, more importantly our soldiers were out there struggling in the war and in a fight for their lives that five of them did not win. It is best that we keep in our minds that, as we pursue the national interest by having our soldiers fight in Afghanistan, the pursuit of our objectives is sometimes paid for in more than money, equipment and expended ammunition. It is the nature of war that some will end up paying with their lives, and so it was for Private Nathan Bewes, Trooper Jason Brown, Private Tomas Dale, Private Grant Kirby and Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney.

I am taking this opportunity to honour these five men and give thanks to their families for their sacrifice and dedication to their nation’s service. Before I speak specifically of them and pay a tribute, I will speak of the war in Afghanistan. I say that because I believe in this war and I am happy to have that on the record. I believe that the Taliban and their supporters must be stopped, and that if they are not stopped in Afghanistan they will take the fight even more into Pakistan, using Afghanistan as a base. They will then also take the fight to the Western world, just as they did on 9-11 in New York and Washington. They will use their home base of Afghanistan not only to destabilise and radicalise moderate Islamic nations but also to foster home-grown terrorism wherever they can. I believe in this war because we must attack their home bases to stop these murderous and evil people.

We should remember that the Taliban and these sorts of terrorists have no standards of human decency. Remorseless killers who think nothing of hiding behind civilians as they engage our soldiers, there is literally nothing good that can be said of them. They are not reasonable. They cannot be reasoned with. They are driven on by a belief that their religion justifies their actions and they are the haters of democracy. They do not believe in the equality of women. They believe in sending Afghanistan, and whatever other places they can control, back to the Dark Ages. They are not misunderstood. Turn the other cheek and it will be slapped. Offer the hand of friendship and it will be cut off. Take a step back and they will take two steps forward. There is only one way to deal with them, and that is this war. Some people talk about the war by saying that Afghanistan has never been conquered and we should not try. They say that Alexander failed, the British failed, the Russians failed—everyone has failed and it will never be achieved. What I say is that this is not a war of conquest. This is not a takeover. This is about securing a reasonable, effective and democratic government. This is about having a system of government where women have the same rights as men, a system of government where you are not persecuted because of personal decisions about religion and freedom of speech, or, if you are female, seeking an education or even deciding who you associate with.

I am in favour of this war but not an endless commitment. I expect that the Afghan government will be doing everything in its power to establish an effective government, supported by the people and a military that can protect the population to allow the withdrawal of allied forces. I believe in strong expectations and the strong delivery of outcomes in the quickest possible time frames. Clearly there is a long way to go in winning the hearts and minds of local people. I say that because I understand that there have been situations where our soldiers have been blamed for the deaths of civilians. I recall there is a certain military rule that says women and children should not be used as cover when shooting at other combatants. That is a basic rule of warfare that the Australian Army abides by because we value life.

The Taliban do not value human life. They do not care about the safety of women and children, in the same way that they did not care about the defenceless women, children and civilians who died in the 9-11 attacks. While we would not use women and children as human shields, the Taliban would. As a result of the Taliban specifically using women and children to protect their own cowardly hides, those women and children end up being killed or wounded. In those circumstances, some Afghan people blame our soldiers and not the Taliban. Clearly there is a way to go in winning the hearts and minds of local people. I really wonder why more has not been done in the pursuit via warrants and orders of every known Taliban in Afghanistan or elsewhere. I think we are sometimes too willing to judge those willing to submit to international laws while forgetting about those who live by no laws apart from the brutality of certain religious beliefs.

I would now like to turn to the main reason I join with my colleagues and pay tribute to the ultimate sacrifice of Private Nathan Bewes, Trooper Jason Brown, Private Tomas Dale, Private Grant Kirby and Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney. Private Nathan Bewes was with the 6th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment. Unfortunately that battalion has taken more casualties than most in recent times. Private Bewes was killed by a roadside bomb on 9 July. He was originally from New South Wales. He was born in 1986 and joined the Army in 2005. That was the same year he completed his recruit and infantry basic training before he got posted to the battalion at Enoggera. Private Bewes was no stranger to Afghanistan. He was on his second deployment there when he lost his life. He had also been deployed to East Timor. He is survived by his parents, a sister and his partner, Alice. My condolences go to all his family, especially his partner, who is now alone.

Trooper Jason Brown of the SAS was killed during sustained gunfire with the Taliban on 13 August. The member for Hunter made an interesting point when he said that there is a certain extra tragedy involved when a soldier is killed by improvised explosive devices rather than by direct fire with combatants, where the fight may be considered a little more honourable. Certainly in the case of Trooper Brown at least he had that, although it does not diminish from the tragedy and the loss that his family and his colleagues have suffered a result of his death. He leaves behind his parents and a sister.

Private Tomas Dale was just 21 when he was killed on 20 August, by an improvised explosive device. He was another member of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment. His circumstances are interesting. He was born in the United Kingdom in 1989 and it was just in 2003 that he and his family moved to Australia. He joined the Australian Army in 2007. Unfortunately, Afghanistan was his first operational deployment. He leaves behind his parents and two brothers. Having joined the Army in his adopted nation, he certainly made the greatest sacrifice for Australia.

Private Grant Kirby was 35 when he died. He was also from the 6th Battalion. He was a native-born Queenslander. Having joined the Army in 2006, he was posted to the 6th Battalion. Although he was on his first deployment to Afghanistan, he had previously been deployed to East Timor and Iraq. He leaves behind his parents, brothers, a sister, his former wife and two daughters. It does not get much worse when you see the children directly impacted by this situation.

Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney was 28 when he was killed on 24 August in a firefight with the Taliban. Again, he was from the 6th Battalion. He was born in Canberra in 1982 and joined the Army in 2002. Lance Corporal MacKinney is survived by his wife and his daughter Annabell. We have heard the fact that his second child was born just after his funeral.

The loss of every soldier is a great tragedy for this country. The loss of those who have been willing to get out there and put their lives on the line for the nation is a terrible tragedy. But, when you see the children of deceased soldiers directly impacted, it really brings home the consequences of decisions we make in this place for the best possible reasons. It had better be for the best possible reasons, because the decisions we make could result in people being killed and families being devastated. I often wonder whether we should, every time we walk into the House of Representatives chamber, walk past some sort of board that reminds us of the names of those people who have lost their lives in the current war, so that every time we endorse the war or make decisions about the war we are reminded that there is a consequence that goes beyond budget costs and considerations, and that is the devastating impact on families.

As I said before, I believe in the war. We have to stop these people getting a hold again in Afghanistan so that they do not then take the war beyond Afghanistan and into Pakistan, with the implications of the weapons arsenals in Pakistan, and have the opportunity to operate from that base to take their terrorism to our shores. But we should remember always that when we make these decisions, as right as they are—and, as I said, I believe absolutely that they are right; that we should be involved in this war—we do not do it lightly. We should remind ourselves that ultimately soldiers will die and families will be devastated.

We should never forget those soldiers. Today I honour them for the important work they did and the supreme sacrifice they made. It was not in vain. It was and is to make the world a safer place. I hope their families know that this nation is grateful. I honour those soldiers, and their families, for their great service to our nation.

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