Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

I thank very sincerely the Assistant Minister for Defence for his comments. He is right: serving as the Minister for Defence of this country is a great honour and privilege but it brings with it a very heavy weight of responsibility, none greater than knowing that you have responsibility for those who serve in overseas operations and in such dangerous circumstances. It has been my very deliberate habit always to speak to motions such as this, usually in sadness, immediately following the death of a soldier, but on this occasion in recognition of the bestowal of the Victoria Cross on Corporal Cameron Baird.

I do not intend to go through Corporal Baird's honours and awards, because that has all been done. However, I do associate myself with the words of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, the Minister for Defence, the Assistant Minister for Defence and all those who have spoken to this motion—indeed, the whole parliament, which by resolution has recognised Corporal Baird's bravery and commitment to his country.

I do not know whether I knew Cameron Baird. I may have; I may have met him during my time as defence minister. I have said in this place before that while I am not sure I knew him I knew what he was—in a sense, I knew who he was. There is an amazing common thread that runs through all of our special forces soldiers, but this time I can say it more confidently, because I spoke at length with his parents on the day that it was announced in the parliament that he would be the next recipient of the Victoria Cross. In that discussion it was confirmed that everything I was thinking about who and what Cameron Baird was was absolutely correct. I learnt and had confirmed that he wanted to be doing what he was doing; he absolutely believed in what he was doing—not only the cause but the way in which we are conducting the operations; and of course he understood the risks very well, as you would expect someone who was doing their fifth tour of Afghanistan would.

That is an important point. These young men who serve in our Special Forces do so voluntarily, do so enthusiastically, do so really believing in the cause and their mission, and do so understanding the risks absolutely. Notwithstanding that, they do that work with great dedication, energy and enthusiasm and with the greatest of skill. One cannot help but be superimpressed by the skills and talents of the young men who serve in the Special Forces.

Cameron Baird was on his fifth tour. His parents told me that he had been out of the Army for some time. Many who leave cannot live in that outside world, and he was drawn back into the service. Of course, as we know now, five tours was one too many. I encourage any Australian who might be conscious of this discussion happening today to have a look at the citation of Cameron Baird. As the assistant minister said, what he did was nothing short of amazing. That is true of course of every one of the 100 recipients of the Victoria Cross. I found Mark Donaldson's citation amazing; I found Ben Roberts-Smith's citation amazing. These people really have demonstrated that they have no fear and that there is no limit to their commitment to their country. We salute them all.

I again extend my sympathies to Cameron's parents and his brother Brendan, and to all those he loved and who loved him. I knew him in a sense by knowing what he was, but I think we can all lament the fact we did not know him well. He was obviously a very special Australian, and that is official now that he has been awarded the Victoria Cross. With everyone else who has made a contribution to this debate, I salute him.

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