Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The date of 22 June 2013 will forever be etched in our nation's military history. It was the day Corporal Cameron Baird MG became the 40th Australian casualty to fall in Afghanistan. But it was his brave and noble actions on that fateful day that would see Corporal Baird posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, our nation's highest award for gallantry, which was presented to his parents on Tuesday last week. By fate, Corporal Baird has been elevated as our 100 recipient of this most prestigious honour. But elevation was not something this soldier sought.

In 2007 Corporal Baird was awarded the Medal for Gallantry for displaying complete disregard for his own safety when he led his team forward under heavy enemy fire to recover a mortally wounded team member. Corporal Baird, of Holsworthy's own 2nd Commando Regiment, was a Special Forces commando in every sense. He was disciplined, he was physically and mentally tough, he was a man dedicated to those around him. He was a real team man, a man who lived life free, fearless always. He was a warrior. He was not someone who sought the highest honour. He cared more for his comrades, his brothers on the front line. That is perhaps the reason, more than any other, that he deserves to be recognised in this way. His brother has said that he was a very humble person who shunned the limelight and would have seen this not as a reward for himself but as a recognition for his fellow soldiers. If somehow he could have seen into the future and known that one day he would be awarded the Victoria Cross, with his unit having been awarded the first battle honour in over 40 years, it would have meant a lot to him. The 2nd Commando Regiment was awarded the Eastern Shah Wali Kot Battle Honour, the first battle honour awarded since 1969, on 19 June, just three days before the tragic loss of Corporal Baird. I know that this would have been a great source of pride for a man like Corporal Baird, someone who gave himself to all those around him.

At this time I think of all those who served alongside Corporal Baird and who had the privilege of knowing him—his mates. They are the men and women who live today to tell the story of his life and of his service to his nation. For them, and for all of those who have known and served alongside him, the awarding of this honour may be tinged with sadness, but there is also pride for the man who made the ultimate sacrifice heroically defending his mates from danger. This feeling of pride, tinged with sadness, reverberates across my local community, which surrounds the Holsworthy Army base. Addressing parliament following Corporal Baird's passing last June, I discussed the hurt and shock felt across our region when the news comes of the loss of one of our local soldiers, because the defence community is so tightly intertwined with the local community. Now I can say that the pride generated from the awarding of the Victoria Cross to one of our own reverberates just as strongly.

Corporal Baird enlisted in 2000 and, following basic training, was posted to the Holsworthy Army base in the electorate of Hughes, which I represent, serving with the 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Commando), which became the 2nd Commando Regiment. The men of the 2nd Commando Regiment live by the motto 'Without warning'. Their motto acutely describes the field battle in which the 2nd Commando Regiment is utilised as a modern, highly trained forward unit and it describes the strategies used by the commandos on the ground. It also describes the individuals themselves. The men of the 2nd Commando Regiment have no fear. They are always ready and will strike and take the initiative without warning.

In the run-up to the previous election campaign I had the great honour of visiting, with the Prime Minister, the 2nd Commando Regiment at Holsworthy. I remember walking around. To this day, the thing that struck me was the fitness, strength and even the height of these men. These are our best Australians. I could not help thinking that day, 'Thank goodness that they are on our side!'

Corporal Baird was the personification of this powerful motto. His colleagues described him as an iconic figure in the regiment. For him, his service was not a vocation; it was a calling. At this time I think it is important to recognise and remember the reasons that Corporal Baird was in Afghanistan. We must never forget the evil of the Taliban. This is a group that uses children as suicide bombers. Perhaps the true evil of the Taliban, which Corporal Baird fought against, is best exemplified by their attacks on a 14-year-old school girl, whose crime, in their eyes, was to advocate for the education of girls. The Taliban actually sent their hit men, armed with guns, onto a school bus to shoot that young girl in the head. That is the evil that we were up against.

It is education—especially the education of girls—that is the silver bullet in many countries they can counteract poverty, instability and general inequality. Those are the three things that allow groups like the Taliban to prosper and thrive. That is why they are so opposed to these things. That shows the absolute evil of this group, and that is what Corporal Baird was fighting against. That is why he was in Afghanistan, and we should never, ever forget that.

There is a quotation commonly attributed to Winston Churchill:

We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.

This is something that we should be thankful for. This is why men like Corporal Baird, and those he served alongside, have our eternal gratitude and our deepest respect. Lest we forget.

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