Tony Crook (O'Connor, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I was saddened to hear the terrible news that another Australian soldier had been killed in action in Afghanistan this year. Sergeant Todd Langley, a member of the Special Operations Task Group, was shot and killed in a firefight last Monday, 4 July. Sergeant Langley leaves behind a wife, Reigan, four children and his parents, Neville and Val. My great sympathies go out to Sergeant Langley's family. By all accounts Sergeant Langley represented the best in all of us. He was a true Anzac digger—loyal, hardworking and well respected. He was a leader and a larrikin. Sergeant Langley was on his seventh tour of duty. He was not just a soldier but also a family man, and I can only imagine what his family must be going through today.

Sergeant Langley was born at Margaret River and raised in Katanning and Broomehill in my electorate of O'Connor. He attended Katanning Senior High School, and I understand his family still lives in the area. I know the Great Southern community will rally around the Langley family and support them in their time of need. The Great Southern region of WA has a very rich Anzac heritage, a heritage that lives on today in our Australian troops overseas. The Great Southern city of Albany was the gathering place of ships carrying Australian and New Zealand soldiers to war. For many of our diggers, Albany was the last place they ever stepped on Australian soil.

Sergeant Langley exemplified the Anzac spirit. He was a man of honour who served his nation well with distinction and courage. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends and colleagues, and he will be greatly missed by all of us here today. Sergeant Langley has the gratitude of this parliament and this nation.

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