Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the moving words of the Acting Prime Minister because, yet again, Australia has lost some fine soldiers—this time killed by a treacherous ally—in Sapper James Martin, Lance Corporal Rick Milosevic and Private Robert Poate. On behalf of the coalition I extend our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones and send our best wishes to their comrades in arms still serving overseas.

There is a particular sense of anger when our soldiers are killed by those whom they are trying to help. But atrocities like this merely illustrate the ruthlessness of our enemies and the difficulty of the task that our soldiers are embarked upon. Hard tasks are worth pursuing while the outcome is worth the effort, and every day that our soldiers spend with our Afghan allies means that the Afghan army is better trained and more disciplined. Every day that Australians spend in Afghanistan means that there are more women in education and more girls in school and that standards of decency and justice have more chance to grow in what has previously been an almost feudal society. As the Acting Prime Minister has said, we are a nation that stays the course. We are not a nation that cuts and runs. That is why there should be no precipitate withdrawal from Afghanistan despite this latest and most vexing loss.

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