Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—The government is committed to providing regular reports and updates on Afghanistan, including to the parliament. I last reported to the parliament on 12 May, which followed my visit to Afghanistan with the then Chief of the Defence Force to commemorate Anzac Day with our troops deployed in Oruzgan Province and to speak to Afghan and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) partners in Kabul. My report on this occasion follows my attendance at the meeting of NATO and ISAF Defence Ministers in Brussels on 8 and 9 June, the beginning of the northern summer fighting season and United States President Obama’s statement on Afghanistan on 23 June.

This report comes at a difficult time for Australia with the tragic deaths of five Australian soldiers in recent weeks and a further three wounded. This week’s death of Sergeant Todd Langley reminds us again that this has been a tough period for our Army, a tough period for the Australian Defence Force and a tough period for our nation. We pay tribute to his sacrifice, and the other 27 Australian soldiers we have lost and to the 182 wounded in Afghanistan. We offer our condolences to the families, friends, collea­gues and loved ones of our fallen soldiers. Our thoughts are with them. Our thoughts are also with our wounded and injured soldiers and their families. We wish them a speedy recovery.

The terrible loss of our soldiers always sees a focus on Australia’s mission in Afghanistan. It is essential that Australians understand why we are there and why it is important for us to continue to play our part.

Why we are there

The government’s strong view is that it is in our national interest to be in Afghanistan, not just with our alliance partner the United States, but also with 46 other members of an international community assistance force acting under a United Nations mandate. Australia’s fundamental goal is to prevent Afghanistan, especially the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, from again being used by terrorists to plan and train for attacks on innocent civilians, including Australians in our own region and beyond. To achieve that goal we must help prepare the Afghan government to take lead responsibility for providing security for the Afghan people. To do so we must stabilise the security situation and mentor and train the Afghan security forces. To leave now would be to put at risk the recent gains so hard fought for. To leave now would be to risk opening a vacuum which international terrorism could move into and again flourish.

Progress

The international community now has both the military and political strategy in place, the resources to match it and the people on the ground to deliver it. It has taken the international community too many years to get to this point, but the surge, and our special forces operations, are working. There is no doubt that additional ISAF and Afghan resources have enabled combat and enforcement operations to occur with more confidence and to greater effect. Partnered Special Forces operations have killed or captured insurgent leaders, taking them off the battlefield and disrupting insurgent activity across Afghanistan.

Partnering, training and mentoring—replicated as it is across the country—is building Afghan security forces. The US/NATO/ISAF surge has been more than matched over the same period by a surge of 100,000 in the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), which now number some 300,000. There are more Afghan soldiers and police officers and they are more capable. Australia remains confident that between now and the end of 2014, we will effect a transition to Afghan-led responsibility for security in Oruzgan. As Afghan forces take on more frontline roles, this allows us to perform other tasks, including institutional or niche higher level training.

But while the nature of Australia’s commitment will evolve, it will not diminish. The recent gains, so hard fought for, cannot be put at risk. Our objectives in Afghanistan will not be achieved by a military solution alone, but these military gains are essential in building the pressure on the Taliban to open up possibilities for reintegration, reconciliation and political settlement. Only by keeping the military pressure on will Taliban insurgents concede they cannot win militarily, that time is not on their side and they cannot wait out the international community.

United States drawdown

In 2010, some 33,000 additional United States troops were put into the fight in Afghanistan, along with an additional 7,500 troops from other NATO/ISAF partners. On 23 June, President Obama announced that the United States would commence a drawdown of this surge force. The President announced that 10,000 United States troops will leave Afghanistan by the end of this year. The remaining 23,000 surge troops will be drawn down by the end of the northern summer next year. When the drawdown of the United States surge troops is complete, the United States will still have 68,000 troops in Afghanistan.

The surge has already achieved its intended goals. It has degraded the al-Qaeda network, which President Obama described as now being 'under more pressure than at any time since 9/11'. This has, of course, been reinforced by the death of Osama Bin Laden. It has reversed Taliban momentum. It has also assisted in building Afghan capacity, which will allow responsibility for security to fully transition to Afghan-led security.

Australia sees no inconsistency between a drawdown of forces starting this year and the strategy agreed to at the Lisbon NATO/ISAF Summit last year to transition security responsibility to an Afghan lead by the end of 2014. As the Prime Minister has said, Australians will want to know what the drawdown means for Australia’s mission in Oruzgan. Australia has around 1,550 troops in Afghanistan. The advice from the new Chief of the Defence Force is that our current troop presence remains appropriate for our mission of training and mentoring the 4th Brigade of the Afghan National Army to take the security lead in Oruzgan by the end of 2014.

As a result of discussions with US counterparts and officials, I do not expect there will be any serious or adverse implications for Australian troops in Oruzgan Province. The detail of the draw­down of US surge forces has yet to be determined and will be decided on by ISAF commander, currently General David Petr­aeus and soon to be General John Allen, with whom I met recently in Brussels. Australian military and civilian officials have already been in close consultation with their US counterparts and will remain in close consultation with them as the detail of the drawdown is worked through.

High p rofile a ttacks

There will of course be setbacks on the way to transition. As recently as last week the Haqqani network launched an attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul. This was a terrible attack. Such attacks are to be expected and we have already seen a num­ber, for example the 21 February suicide attack in Kunduz province, the 15 April killing of the Kandahar police chief, the 18 April attack on the Defence Ministry in Kabul and the 28 May killing of the police chief for northern Afghanistan. These attacks are aimed at achieving a propaganda effect and are aimed at undermining Afghan and international confidence in the progress that is being made on security, governance and development and on transition.

ISAF c ampaign progress

Afghan and ISAF security forces are making progress in Afghanistan. It was clear to me at the recent NATO and ISAF Defence Ministers’ Meeting that my counterparts share this assessment. Together with ISAF, the Afghan security forces are expanding security across the country and forcing the insurgency onto the back foot.

Campaign progress—Oruzgan

Security footprint

Security within Oruzgan itself has improved markedly. This, in part, is due to the successful partnering of the Mentoring Task Force with the 4th Brigade of the Afghan National Army (ANA). It has been instrumental in supporting the expansion of the ANA in Oruzgan. Australian Mentoring Task Force-Two (MTF-2) recently handed over to Mentoring Task Force-Three (MTF-3). During its eight-month deployment, MTF-2 was able to patrol further and supported more ANA elements than any previous Australian task force. It established a strong platform for subsequent Australian forces to concentrate on mentoring and development of the ANA.

Since commencing operations in Oruzgan, ISAF forces have assisted the Afghan forces in expanding the security footprint across Oruzgan with the establishment of over 30 patrol bases and checkpoints across the province. Since 2007, successive Australian Task Forces have continued to support this expansion through the construction of 18 new patrol bases and checkpoints. Of these bases, Australian forces have handed over the control of six patrol bases and checkpoints to the Afghan National Police. Australian forces have also provided 12 bases to the Afghan National Army, of which they are now fully responsible for seven. Australian and Afghan forces jointly man the remaining five bases.

Special Forces o perations

Australia is the third largest contributor of Special Forces in Afghanistan with personnel deployed to the Special Operations Task Group based in Tarin Kowt. Working with their dedicated Afghan partners, the Provin­cial Response Company Oruzgan from the Afghan National Police, the mission of our Special Forces is to target and disrupt insurgent networks in and around Oruzgan Province. The Special Forces mission is also to build the capacity of the Provincial Response Company ahead of the transition to Afghan-led security.

As I have previously advised the House, from time to time our Special Forces are authorised to operate in adjoining provinces on operations that have security benefits in Oruzgan Province. This involves operations to maintain pressure on insurgent leadership in Oruzgan, and its surrounding provinces including Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul and Daykundi. The operations of our Special Forces and their Afghan partners are currently focused on targeting insurgent networks known to be operating in Oruzgan Province and along key access routes into the province and region, to disrupt insurgent fighting preparations in Oruzgan.

National Interdiction Unit

Following a request from the Afghan government, Australian Special Forces have commenced the provision of enabling support—such as cordon security, logistical and medical support—to the Afghan Nation­al Interdiction Unit (NIU) as it conducts counter-narcotics operations to disrupt the Taliban’s revenue stream from narcotics trafficking. Australia’s support to the NIU has reduced the insurgency’s ability to fund itself by targeting the sale of narcotics. This support, commenced at Afghan government request, has subsequently led to a series of successful operations in and around Oruzgan.

Training and mentoring

The ADF remains on track to complete its mission and hand over complete operational responsibility for Oruzgan to Afghan security forces by the end of 2014, as part of the Inteqal, or transition, process. The ADF is making progress in training the 4th Brigade of the Afghan National Army in Oruzgan. There are now almost 5,000 Afghan security forces in Oruzgan, of which over 2,000 are serving in the ANA 4th Brigade. Australia has provided a wide range of training for our ANA partners in core military skills, as well as headquarters planning and combat enabling support. The arrival of 6th and final kandak in February has also improved the 4th Brigade’s operational capability. Australia commenced mentoring this kandak in late June, with a full mentoring team also partnering on lower level tactical operations.

Even more encouraging, the ANA has increasingly assumed the lead for the planning, preparation and execution of tactical operations, allowing Australian forces to concentrate on partnering Afghan command and control and combat support functions. One of the Afghan kandaks that Australian forces partner in Oruzgan is now close to being able to conduct fully independent operations, with the others making steady progress. Australian forces will be in a position to move from their partnering of ANA tactical operations to broader assistance, such as logistics and service support, in the first quarter of next year. This is as Afghan security forces assume further responsibility for the provision of security across Oruzgan.

Transition outlook

The process of transition is a reality and Australia is confident that we are on track for the transition of security responsibility to Afghan security forces in Oruzgan by the end of 2014. We very much welcome President Karzai’s March announcement of the first tranche of seven provinces and districts that would transition to Afghan-led security. The transition in those seven provinces and districts is scheduled to commence this month, and will see Afghan forces lead and conduct security operations in all provinces by the end of 2014. It is anticipated that later this year, a second tranche of provinces and districts will be announced as ready to commence the transition process.

Transition will progress across Afghan­istan as conditions allow. Transition will not be an even process, it will be district by district, province by province. Australia does not expect that Oruzgan will be among the first districts and provinces to transition. Australia stands ready to assist Oruzgan in this process. We will remain closely engaged with our partners involved in the first tranche of transitioning provinces and districts—to learn from them and inform our own transition of lead security responsibility for Oruzgan to Afghan forces by the end of 2014. Patience will be necessary. As the Prime Minister has said, there is no point in transitioning out early, just to transition back in again.

Post- t ransition

Transition does not mean the end of the international community’s support to Afghanistan. At the NATO/ISAF summit in Lisbon in November last year, ISAF partners welcomed the signing of an enduring partnership agreement between Afghanistan and NATO. This provides a framework for NATO-led assistance to Afghanistan beyond the conclusion of the transition process. The recent NATO/ISAF Defence Ministers’ meeting in Brussels reaffirmed this internat­ional community commitment to Afghan­istan in the longer term. Australia expects to remain in Afghanistan following the transition to Afghan-led security. This could be with Special Forces, security overwatch, capacity building, institution building or training roles.

The recent NATO/ISAF Defence Minis­ters’ meeting in Brussels also agreed that it was now timely to start a conversation about our post-transition objectives, mandate and structure. In this context, preliminary work has commenced, studying possible configur­ations of our continuing civilian and military presence in Afghanistan following transition in Oruzgan and beyond 2014.

Reconciliation and reintegration

At the London Conference on Afghanistan in January 2010, the international commun­ity committed itself to the principles of reconciliation and reintegration. At that conference, I said that the conflict in Afghanistan would not be ended by military force alone and that a long-term solution in Afghanistan also required political dialogue and, ultimately, reconciliation between the people of Afghanistan. The Taliban will only come to the negotiating table when they are under military pressure to do so and when they realise that they cannot simply wait out the international community. It is clear that the Taliban is under military pressure. Keeping military pressure on the Taliban will reinforce the need to reconcile and reintegrate.

Australia supports an Afghan-led reconciliation and reintegration process. Reconciliation and reintegration are a matter for the Afghan people, and must be led by the Afghan government. The Afghan government has laid down the conditions for reintegration and reconciliation—individuals must renounce violence, sever links with terrorist organisations, and respect the Afghan Constitution. There has been very early movement towards political discus­sions as recently made public by then US Secretary of Defense Bob Gates.

Detainee management update

Australia takes its responsibility for detainee management very seriously. In December last year, I announced the details of Australia’s detainee management frame­work in Afghanistan following the Dutch withdrawal from Oruzgan Province on 1 August 2010. In developing our detainee management framework, Australia has had two priorities in mind: first, the critical need to remove insurgents from the battlefield, where they endanger Australian, ISAF and Afghan lives; and, second, the need to ensure humane treatment of detainees, consistent with Australian values and our domestic and international legal obligations.

The detainee management framework draws on applicable international standards and advice from international humanitarian organisations. Under the framework, detain­ees apprehended by the ADF are transferred either to Afghan custody in Tarin Kowt, or US custody at the detention facility in Parwan, or released if there is insufficient evidence to seek prosecution through the Afghan judicial system. Arrangements are in place with both the Afghan and US governments that include assurances on the humane treatment of detainees and access to those detainees by Australian officials and humanitarian organisations to monitor their ongoing welfare.

During my visit to Afghanistan in April, I again visited the ADF Initial Screening Area and was briefed by the team who run the facility. They remain committed to supp­orting the removal of insurgents from the battlefield while ensuring the humane treatment of detainees. In the period 1 August 2010 to 3 July 2011, Australia apprehended 788 detainees. Of these, 93 have been transferred to Afghan authorities and 46 to US authorities. The remainder have been released following initial screening.

Since 1 August 2010 to 3 July 2011, 23 allegations of mistreatment from 21 detainees have been made against the ADF. Of these allegations, 18 have been thorough­ly investigated. They have been found to have had no substance and were dismissed. Five more recent allegations remain under review. Any allegation of detainee mistreat­ment is promptly investigated and the outcome is reported in full to ISAF. Over the same period, from 1 August 2010 to 3 July 2011, the ADF have captured six people who were subsequently released, then recaptured. Four of the individuals in question were released as there was insufficient evidence to warrant their continued detention. In the case of the fifth and sixth individuals, the second time each was apprehended there was sufficient evidence to provide a link to the insurgency. In accordance with Australia’s detainee management framework, the fifth detainee was transferred to the detention facility in Parwan and the sixth to the National Directorate of Security in Oruzgan.

In my March and May reports I updated the House on a number of detainee matters. In the case of the investigation into allegations that the ADF Initial Screening Area team in Afghanistan did not adhere to administrative procedures, I am advised that I will soon be provided with the investigative team’s report. The outcomes of the investigation will be made public in due course. I am also advised that there have been no further issues with the closed circuit television system at the Initial Screening Area and that the system is functioning and continuous footage is being recorded and archived.

The government has considered and reaffirmed the appropriateness of the require­ment for an initial detainee monitoring visit to occur within 72 hours after a detainee is transferred from the Australian Initial Screening Area to US or Afghan custody. The government continues to consider arrangements on the length of detention in the Australian Initial Screening Area to enable the collection of further information by Australia. The government is also considering the implementation of conting­ency arrangements for the management of detainees captured on operations outside of Oruzgan.

I will continue to provide regular public updates, including to the parliament, on Afghanistan.

I table a paper in conjunction with my ministerial statement. I thank the House and I ask leave of the House to move a motion to enable the member for Fadden to speak for 20 minutes.

Leave granted.

I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Fadden speaking for a period not exceeding 20 minutes.

Question agreed to.

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