Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak in condolence of the loss of two brave young Australian men: Lieutenant Marcus Case and Lance Corporal Andrew Jones. The tragedy of 30 May was deeply felt across my electorate of Hughes. Indeed, this sense of loss was felt across our entire country as we joined together in deep sympathy for their friends, family and colleagues, who without a doubt carry the greatest share of the nation's collective sorrow. My local community particularly mourned the loss of the second soldier based out of our local Holsworthy Barracks to fall in Afghanistan in recent weeks following the death of Sergeant Brett Wood, who was then followed by the tragic loss of Sapper Rowan Robinson.

Lieutenant Marcus Case was born in Melbourne in 1984. Marcus grew up in a large and very close family as the youngest of six children. He was a popular young man with many close friends who admired his bravery, loyalty and sense of adventure. Marcus' self-described No. 1 fans—his parents, Lee and Bernard—say their son was born to fly. His all too short life reflects this goal, which he worked towards and successfully achieved. Lieutenant Case first entered the Army Reserve in June 2002 as a student at the University of Melbourne before deferring his studies in 2003 to undertake the commando selection training process with the 1st Commando Regiment. Never forgetting his desire to fly, he commenced flying lessons and then transferred the Regular Army to undertake pilot training. In December 2009 he was posted to the 6th Aviation Regiment based out of Holsworthy.

Lieutenant Case served his country with honour. His schoolmate at Xavier College said of his friend, 'There was no better person you could have wanting to represent this country.' Lieutenant Case served in a number of overseas deployments, including in Malaysia and East Timor, before his final deployment in Afghanistan. But perhaps he will be forever remembered as an angel in the sky, plucking victims to safety during Queensland's flood crisis earlier this year. I echo the words of the Queensland Premier, who said Lieutenant Case was someone who came and gave his all when we needed him. I also wish to express my sincere condolences to the family, friends and girlfriend of Lance Corporal Andrew Jones. Lance Corporal Jones has been described as a loyal, reliable and trustworthy bloke, someone who loved his job and was dedicated to serving his country and who also enjoyed a joke with his mates. His family remember him as a dependable yet cheeky character 'whom we will miss with all our hearts'. He served our nation with great distinction, also, with Lieutenant Case, having served in East Timor and Afghanistan. The noble efforts of these two young men and their lives will not be forgotten.

Before I close my contribution in this solemn debate, I want to reflect for a moment on one of the reasons we are in Afghanistan. I spoke earlier of Lieutenant Case's close family and the important role they played in his positive and happy upbringing, and note that he leaves behind two sisters, Jackie and Liz. Before the intervention in Afghanistan, it should be remembered that, under the Taliban regime, girls were not allowed to go to school. Women spent most of their time indoors and all women were forced to wear burkas, covering their heads, faces and bodies. But today, over 2.5 million Afghan women are receiving an education. Afghan women now serve in the country's parliament, they own their own small businesses and they work as teachers, lawyers, community health workers and even prosecutors. These advances in the lives of millions of Afghan women are thanks to the efforts of brave men like Lieutenant Marcus Case and Lance Corporal Andrew Jones. Our nation will never forget their sacrifices.

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