Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science, Technology and Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

And two for the price of one, while sounding eloquent, Minister, surely does not cut it.

I am also a little concerned that the parliamentary secretary that has not been replaced is the parliamentary secretary for the Afghanistan withdrawal. If it was important to have a parliamentary secretary for Afghanistan withdrawal last year and we are now at the most crucial stage of withdrawing our combat force, surely the argument holds that we would have a parliamentary secretary for Afghanistan withdrawal now. I accept that that responsibility will now move to the Minister for Defence and, Minister, we will continue to work with you in that space.

Minister, we remain desperately concerned over the impact of budget cuts. I note your commitment, which I accept at face value, that this will not affect current combat operations. I am more concerned in terms of budgetary aspects about future operations—our capacity to mount the next force or our capacity to mount multiple forces in multiple jurisdictions. Notwithstanding your interesting press release yesterday and its attempt to associate the coalition with your cumulative $25 billion in budget cuts, can I say the coalition's position on this could not be clearer. We will not cut the defence budget. It will be quarantined, guaranteed. Any savings identified in the defence budget will be quarantined for use within defence, guaranteed. We will rebuild defence in this country like the last coalition government did.

Minister, I am concerned about the impact of cuts to projects, especially in Minister Mike Kelly's area. I will be speaking to Minister Kelly and putting a formal request to get a brief on why JP154 Phase 2, the counter IED fourth protection ECM and weapons technical intelligence capability, has been slipped by one year in this year's budget due entirely to budget impacts. I would have thought that of all the projects that one should not cut, JP154 Phase 2 counter IED would be one that should have been quarantined.

I remain concerned that the reports for five incidents that resulted unfortunately in eight Australians killed in action from 30 May 2011 to 21 October 2012 are still outstanding. Minister, if 30 May 2011 is correct from your statement, it is up to 20 months. The US takes approximately 60 days to do their incident reporting. You indicated in previous responses that you would address this with more resources. With the greatest of respect, five instances outstanding over 20 months is not addressing the issue; it is unacceptable. Let me clearly put the Department of Defence on notice that, should the Australian people elect a coalition government, we will not accept such a delay. If it is good enough for the US to conclude inquiries within 60 days, it is not good enough for us to take 20 months.

Minister, I am very pleased with the announcement of the resettlement policy. I called for it last year and I am very pleased that in response to the community and other areas that you have announced what seems fair and reasonable and have followed the path that has happened in previous conflicts. I also acknowledge the signing of the MOU yesterday between the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the Department of Defence. We welcome and support that wholeheartedly. The care of our veterans is front and centre in the minds of all Australians and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with you in caring for our veterans and caring for our wounded. I acknowledge the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, which I sit on, is conducting its Inquiry into the Care of ADF Personnel Wounded and Injured on Operations for the parliament to build its body of knowledge in this area, and I think the parliamentary committee is doing a very good job on that.

We are all committed to the care and support of veterans and especially to destigmatising and addressing issues of mental health. It will not come as a surprise to the nation that we ask our soldiers to do some terrible and dreadful things in their service to our country—things that in a world where swords are turned to ploughshares should never be asked but such a world does not yet exist. Swords still exist, so rough men must remain ready to visit violence on those who would do us harm. It is naive at best to think that this does not impact upon soldiers—it does, it will, it has and it will continue to. We ask our soldiers to prosecute violence in the name of our diplomatic and national objectives. It has an impact. The coalition wholeheartedly supports the government and the military with the work they are doing in assisting wounded veterans and those with mental health challenges and problems. We pledge the coalition's continued support in this area. It will be a tough road ahead. We have had over 600 to 700 cases of PTSD recognised by Veterans' Affairs out of East Timor. The number of people presenting with mental health challenges out of Afghanistan will increase. I thank Major General Cantwell for his seminal work in his book Exit Wounds and for his raising the national profile on the issue of mental health and mental scars from combat operations.

Let me conclude as I started by saying this will not be a normal year for combat operations in Afghanistan. By year's end we will know the mettle of the Afghan National Army and whether they have stood up and fought against an enemy that will try and retake the high ground this year. By year's end, we will know what the outcome will be, and I join the minister in expressing confidence. The 4th Brigade of the Afghan National Army has been trained by the finest fighting force in the world, the Australian Army. I have great hope that the Afghan National Army under such training and guided by the assistance of the 7th Battalion task group and its associated forces will rise to the challenge. By year's end, we will have withdrawn much of our assistance force as well as much of our gear and we will be playing a much reduced combat role if anything apart from our kinetic elements within the Special Operations Task Group. The ANA will have to step up. They will have to prove their mettle during the spring and summer fighting season that will literally start in a matter of a week's time. Our enemy will test them. The Afghan National Army is well trained but now is the time for them to own their own security. Now is the time for Afghanistan as a country to realise its hopes and its dreams of maintaining its own integrity in terms of its borders with that first command of any government: the sovereign security of its state. Our path to withdrawal is set. It has bipartisan support. We welcome the advance of the Afghan National Army's performance and we look forward to the coming year ahead.

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