Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome this opportunity to make some comments, following those of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition yesterday, about Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan. After nine years of war, it is quite remarkable that this is the first time that this parliament has had a comprehensive debate on our commitment in Afghanistan. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that the Australian people do not have a good understanding of why we are in this fight, what it means for Australia, why it is vitally important for our national interests and why this is a commitment that we must see through to its conclusion.

Firstly, I acknowledge those Australian soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in our name. These brave men died doing what the Australian military has always done—that is, standing up for the weak against the strong and standing up for the very best of Australian values. All our men and women do us proud, and our troops in Afghanistan join a long honour roll of Anzacs, who have always done what has been asked of them by the Australian people. Because the government and the parliament are asking our soldiers and policemen to take these risks and, of course, to pay such a significant price, we as a parliament owe it to them to display a clear understanding of why they have been asked to undertake this mission and to fully explain it to the nation. I hope this debate today will go some way towards accomplishing that.

I also want to acknowledge the more than 100 Australians who have died in terrorist attacks in the past decade: those who died in the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, in the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005 and in the Jakarta bombings in 2004 and 2009. These people had done nothing to warrant being murdered in such a callous and evil way, and we must remember that the perpetrators of these crimes had been trained by and received funding from terrorist elements in Afghanistan. I believe that most members of this House support our commitment of troops and policemen to Afghanistan, although I know that this is not a unanimous view, and of course every member is entitled to form their own conclusions. However, I want to outline why I think it is vital that we define what an end point in this conflict is, that we commit to it wholeheartedly and that we see our commitment through to a conclusion. Australia first committed to fight the war in Afghanistan in 2001 after the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York. The former Prime Minister, John Howard, happened to be in Washington at that time, and the Australian government was quick to denounce and respond to the attacks with the Prime Minister’s offer of condolences to the American people on behalf of Australia. On 14 September 2001, he stated:

The Australian people have been shocked and outraged at the enormity of the terrorist attacks on the United States. These heinous crimes have caused catastrophic loss of life, injury and destruction. We anticipate that a significant number of Australian nationals are included among those who lost their lives.

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The Government has decided, in consultation with the United States, that Article IV of the ANZUS Treaty applies to the terrorist attacks on the United States.

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This action has been taken to underline the gravity of the situation and to demonstrate our steadfast commitment to work with the United States in combating international terrorism.

The Australian parliament supported this decision on 17 September 2001. At that time, Afghanistan hosted significant terrorist training infrastructure, including camps and the leadership of the al-Qaeda terrorist network. The majority of that country had been ruled for the previous five years by the Muslim fundamentalist Taliban regime. The terrorist camps and infrastructure there had been targeted previously by the United States, during the Clinton administration in the late 1990s, in response to proof that they had been used to make terrorist attacks on United States interests. But, sadly, the missile attacks never actually eradicated this infrastructure. The existence of these camps made Afghanistan terror central. It became a hub of terrorist activity that spread its tentacles globally. Hambali, the terrorist who is now in Guantanamo Bay but who masterminded the murder of 202 civilians in Bali and planned the attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta, was trained in Afghanistan during this time.

The Taliban regime unleashed a wave of terror on the Afghan people during their five-year rule. According to Human Rights Watch, the abuses include summary executions, the deliberate destruction of homes and the confiscation of farmland. The Taliban massacred noncombatants when they made military advances, often in the most brutal ways. They subjected women to barbaric totalitarian laws that banned them from education and work and even from appearing in public alone. Ethnic minorities were subject to systematic abuse by the Taliban regime. The regime allied itself with the al-Qaeda terrorist network, and this alliance remains in force to this day.

Ensuring that the Taliban can never return to power in Afghanistan and allow Afghanistan to once again become a safe haven for terrorists is the primary goal of Western involvement in Afghanistan. It was from these camps that terrorists trained, planned, funded and then launched attacks that killed thousands of innocent civilians in the United States, in Indonesia, in the United Kingdom, in Spain and in other parts of the world. Many of these victims, the people who have been killed, were Australian. The intervention of the West in Afghanistan and the change of regime has closed this terrorist infrastructure down and it has severely limited the ability of al-Qaeda and its affiliates to kill and maim more people. A premature withdrawal would allow these organisations to re-establish their infrastructure and to again threaten our interests, so we need to be very clear that Australian troops who are undertaking operations in Afghanistan are directly protecting Australian lives from terrorist attack. They are doing this specifically by securing Oruzgan province, by defeating and dismantling al-Qaeda and its allies and by training the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police to successfully do the same once Western forces eventually withdraw.

The mission is a hard one. Afghanistan is a very tough country with a very difficult history. As has been widely acknowledged, the Afghan government is far from perfect, but we must remember that in the context of Afghanistan it is far superior to any alternative. We have so far sustained significant casualties and the truth is that we will certainly sustain more if we remain committed to the task. But progress is slowly being made. Terrorists can no longer operate with impunity to threaten Western interests and lives. The capability of the Afghan government and Afghan forces continues to improve. Over time, they must and they will take more responsibility for their own security. General Petraeus, the distinguished commander of the International Security Assistance Force and the general who oversaw the successful surge strategy in Iraq, has confirmed that progress in Afghanistan is slow but is happening. He has compared it to watching paint dry or watching grass grow. Australian commanders on the ground confirmed to the Leader of the Opposition and also, I understand, to the Prime Minister on their recent visits that the West and the Australian forces are making gains. ISAF tactics are constantly evolving and we are learning to be more effective both militarily and politically as time goes by and the commitment continues.

For those who would say that we should end our contribution to this conflict, I would ask them to consider the consequences of leaving without completing this difficult job. Defeat or a perceived defeat would have significant consequences, not all of which could possibly be identified today—firstly for the Afghan people who would be abandoned by their allies to their fate at the hands of the Taliban, who would no doubt continue to brutalise them and no doubt take retribution on those Afghans who had allied themselves with Western forces in the belief that we were committed to helping them to stabilise their country. Terrorist elements would be able to re-establish themselves to again menace our people and our interests. There are wider strategic issues that would come into play. Australia would be seen as an unreliable ally. Fundamentalist Muslim groups across the whole globe would be boosted and the enemies of the West would be emboldened. It is impossible to say what would result from this, but it is a reasonable assumption that the consequences of just upping and leaving could be felt on Australian soil and on the soil of other Western nations.

In the time I have left, I want to turn specifically to the commitment that the Australian Federal Police are making in Afghanistan, and I acknowledge the comprehensive account that was given by the Minister for Defence prior to me of the great work that they are doing there and the fact that he has visited and seen firsthand the contribution that the Australian Federal Police are making to the rebuilding of Afghanistan. Whilst a lot of the attention given to our involvement there has been on the ADF deployment, the AFP are providing vital assistance to our Afghan allies in other crucial areas. The Australian Federal Police’s International Deployment Group manages the deployment of Australian and Pacific Islander police overseas on peacekeeping and capacity-building operations for both the AFP and the United Nations. Since it was established in February 2004 the International Deployment Group has played a vital role in meeting ongoing regional security requirements and has deployed members to Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cyprus, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Sudan, East Timor, Tonga, Vanuatu and the United Nations.

The work the AFP does in Afghanistan is an important element of the overall international effort to build stability and to establish the rule of law in a country that has been torn apart by decades of conflict. They worked alongside a team of professional Australians, including Australian Defence Force personnel, as part of Australia’s contribution to the effort. The AFP have been involved in training over 600 Afghan National Police officers in the Oruzgan province. The additional AFP officers who have recently been deployed will be assisting in the development of the provincial training centre in Tarin Kowt.

As well as police training and mentoring in Oruzgan, the AFP in Afghanistan are involved in activities designed to contribute to the development of the Afghan National Police capacity and in reinforcing the rule of law through placements in Kabul and Kandahar. The Afghan police come in to these training programs for approximately six weeks. They are taught a range of policing skills and also issues around human rights and the way that the rule of law should be enforced.

Since 2007, the AFP have also been involved in Afghan counternarcotics efforts. More than 90 per cent of the world’s opium is cultivated in Afghanistan and, according to United Nations reports, poppy production continues to increase. The large-scale production of opium in Afghanistan continues to fuel the Taliban-led insurgency, threatening regional and international security, and is the cause of human suffering around the world.

The AFP are a world-class police force and they possess policing skills that are proving valuable to the mission, including strong leadership, management, planning and police operational experience. Their contribution will help to provide the foundations of a democratic and civil society for the Afghan people. It takes a well-trained and dedicated police force to protect basic human rights and deliver safety and security to its citizens. The creation and maintenance of peace will allow the Afghan people to establish their homes and families without risk.

As a member of the international community we have an obligation to promote and maintain peace through promoting the rule of law in Afghanistan. The AFP deployment demonstrates the strength of our commitment to Afghanistan and ensures their wealth of knowledge will be passed on to a country that desperately needs it. What the AFP are doing in Afghanistan will have a significant impact on the ability of the Afghan National Police to implement good governance and policing practices now and into the future, once the AFP and other Western elements come home.

The AFP have a wealth of experience and expertise in this field. They have hundreds of members deployed to peacekeeping and capacity-building missions around the globe. The AFP’s previous experience tells us that it is possible to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan. The AFP’s involvement in East Timor, for example, has slowly but surely helped people get on with the business of improving their lives after a period of terrible and destructive violence. Similarly, in the Solomon Islands the experience of the AFP is another example of how a concerted whole-of-government effort can have a positive impact on improving the rule of law and improving peoples lives. Whilst there is still work to do in both of these areas, as a result of the AFP’s efforts, governance practices are improving, jobs are being created and investors and economic activity are starting to return to these locations.

The successes of the AFP in both Timor and the Solomon Islands show that it is possible for them to create tangible benefits for the people of countries that have been affected by devastating conflict. I am confident that those abilities that have been shown on these other international deployments can continue to make a real difference to the lives and the individuals who they meet during their deployment to Afghanistan. On behalf of the opposition, I acknowledge the AFP for their efforts and to wish all the officers who are deployed on that mission a successful mission and a safe return home.

Through the efforts of the Australian Defence Force and the Australian Federal Police, Australia is demonstrating its capacity to play an active role in enhancing international security, both with our allies and with the wider international community. This important and overdue debate that we are having in the House today should also honour the Australian casualties that have occurred so far. We owe it to them to remain confident that the cause for which they have sacrificed is a worthy cause. We must also acknowledge the Australians who died in the September 11 attacks, the 88 who were killed in the first Bali bombing and the eight Australians who have been killed in other acts of terrorism since then. Our soldiers and AFP officers are in Afghanistan because terrorists train there and then from there they target innocent people, including Australians. The premature withdrawal of the mission and the return of the Taliban government would swiftly restore Afghanistan to being a sanctuary for al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremists.

The opposition is committed to helping Afghanistan transition to become a country that has the capability to supply its own security. Our commitment cannot be open-ended. If that were the case it would amount to a Western takeover rather than to helping the Afghan people to create the conditions for security for themselves. At the same time, I believe it would be a mistake to set a withdrawal date in stone as this would allow the Taliban simply to wait it out and wait patiently for the day when Western forces withdraw to a predetermined timetable, rather than withdrawing once they had completed their mission. We must complete the task of training the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police, and we must help to ensure that the central government in Afghanistan is capable of containing and defeating the insurgency. In doing so, we will be able to leave at some time in the future, but we will be able to leave secure in the knowledge that we have made Afghanistan a better place and also, very importantly, that we have secured vital Australian national interests.

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