Alan Griffin (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to acknowledge and to applaud the excellent efforts of the Royal Australian Navy as part of the international coalition in the Middle East—a coalition that has performed excellent services around opposition to the smuggling of arms, drugs and other contraband, counter-piracy operations and maritime protection. It is a presence that we can all be proud of. It is a presence which has been in place now since 2001 as part of Operation Slipper. I had the honour and privilege recently of going to the Middle East as part of the ADF parliamentary program on the HMAS Melbourne, which was on its third deployment as part of the 28th rotation of the Royal Australian Navy fleet unit since 2001. We were certainly treated well and with great respect by Commander Rick Boulton, the commanding officerof theMelbourne, and all of his ship's crew. They certainly honoured us with the support they gave us so that we were able to gain a good understanding in a short period of time of the excellent work being done as part of that multinational force.

I will just use a couple of examples to highlight the excellent work that has been done by the Australian Navy in recent years at that place. I will read from a release at the time of the return of HMAS Parramatta. It quotes the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, Warren Snowden:

Parramatta was the seventh Royal Australian Navy warship to participate in counter-terrorism operations in the Gulf of Oman, north Arabian Sea and the strategically important Bab Al Mandeb and Straits of Hormuz.

The crew also conducted important counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and in the waters off the Horn of Africa and the Somali Basin.

While deployed Parramatta successfully seized and destroyed more than 240 kilograms of illegal narcotics in the Arabian Sea. The drugs had an estimated street value of US $5 million and their disposal denied insurgents and terrorists access to vital funds.

Parramatta also provided life saving assistance to the crew of an Iranian dhow set adrift on the high seas after being pirated on Christmas Eve 2011.

In addition, HMAS Stuart in 2001 rescued three crew members who were being held hostage by pirates off the Horn of Africa. Some 15 Somali pirates surrendered to HMAS Stuart's boarding party as they approached the dhow, the Al Shahar 75. During a search of the dhow, the boarding party located 11 AK-47 assault rifles with 16 magazines, a large quantity of small-arms ammunition and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher with grenade. The weapons were catalogued and then disposed of overboard. As you can see by these examples, the work that is being done by Australian naval forces as part of the Combined Maritime Forces is of exceptionally high quality and is making a real difference in the Middle East. We do not hear as much about what occurs in the Middle East, given what has been going on in Afghanistan.

The Melbourne's motto, 'Vires acquirit eundo', we gather strength as we go, was certainly exhibited by the crew in their range of activities during our time on board. The professionalism, the skill and the training on display showed us we can be exceptionally proud of the men and women of the Australian Navy. We saw a crew of exceptional quality and a crew in line with the proud traditions of the Australian Navy over many decades. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the chief petty officers, who I spent a good deal of time with in their mess. I will allow others to speak later with respect to other aspects of the crew. By spending time with those guys, in particular, I got a real understanding of the great camaraderie and the very important role they play in ensuring that the spirit on board ship is kept up.

I admit, I may never be able to dismiss from my mind the image of certain chief petty officers around Easter. I have to say they were some of the ugliest Easter bunnies I have ever seen, but there is no doubt they were not crossing the line on that occasion. With respect to crossing the line, as a ceremony, it did not happen while I was there. I did see some photos. It was all about good fun. It was all done in fine style. King Neptune, the Royal Doctor, the Royal Baby, the lovely Queen, Davey Jones and all those involved, it was an honour and a privilege to spend some time with you fine men and women. The work that you do is acknowledged. Your family sacrifice the time you are away and that should always be remembered. Good on you. You are great Australians. We are all very proud you and you should be very proud of the great traditions you follow and the great work you do.

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