Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a former major in the Army, and having served for 15 years, the place of the Defence Force in the history of our nation is very special to me—no more so than when I was elected to this place and the outcomes of national policy resulted in 40 deaths and 260 wounded in the war in Afghanistan. But that has always been the way. In this parliament we decide what needs to be done and the Defence Force goes out there and gets the job done. They do as ordered but always with distinction and honour. That is why our highly professional service men and women are so well regarded and indeed sought after when fighting is required.

The traditions of our troops, of course, date back to the war in Sudan and the Boer wars, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Malayan emergency and confrontation and then Vietnam. Our service men and women have been in Cambodia, Somalia, Bougainville, the Solomons and then on to Afghanistan and across the Middle East, where 30,000 of our Defence Force personnel have served with distinction since 2001.

I would like to pay tribute to each of those 40 men that lost their lives in Afghanistan. Andrew Russell was a 33-year-old sergeant in the SAS when he died from his wounds in a vehicle mine in February 2002. David Pearce, 41, was killed when serving on 8 October 2007. Matthew Locke MG was 33 and a sergeant in the SAS when on 25 October 2007 he was injured in a firefight with the Taliban. He was shot in the chest and he died later from his wounds. Luke Worsley, a 26-year-old commando, was shot and killed on 23 November 2007.

Jason Marks, a 27-year-old commando, was killed after an intense firefight with Taliban insurgents on 27 April 2008. Sean McCarthy, 25, was a signalman in the SAS. He died from his wounds after the vehicle he was in was attacked by a roadside bomb on 8 July 2008. Michael Fussell, a 25-year-old lieutenant in the commandos, was killed by an IED whilst on patrol on 27 November 2008.

Greg Sher, a 30-year-old commando, was killed in a rocket attack on 4 January 2009. Matthew Hopkins, 21, an infantry corporal, was fatally injured on 16 March 2009 while on patrol. Brett Till, a 31-year-old sergeant, an EOD tech, was killed on 19 March 2009 while trying to defuse an IED. Benjamin Ranaudo, 22, an infantry private, was killed on 18 July 2009 by an antipersonnel explosive device.

Jacob Moerland, 21, a sapper, was killed on 7 June 2010 by an IED. Darren Smith, 25, in the same unit, subsequently died of wounds after being evacuated. His explosives detection dog, Herbie, was also killed by the blast. Scott Palmer, 27, and Timothy Aplin, 38, were privates and were both killed in the crash of a Blackhawk helicopter on 21 June 2010. Benjamin Chuck, 27, a private, died of his injuries following that crash. Nathan Bewes, 23, an infantry private, was killed by an improvised explosive device on 9 July 2010. Jason Brown, 29, an SAS trooper, was shot and killed on 13 August 2010. Grant Kirby, 35, and Tomas Dale, 21, were infantry privates and were killed by an IED on 20 August 2010. Jared MacKinney, 28, a lance corporal in the 6th Battalion, was shot and killed during the Battle of Derapet on 24 August 2010.

Richard Atkinson, 22, an engineer corporal, was killed by an improvised bomb on 2 February 2011. Jamie Larcombe, 21, a sapper in the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment, was shot on 19 February 2011. Brett Wood, MG, DSM, 32, a commando sergeant, was killed by an improvised explosive device on 23 May 2011. Andrew Jones, 25, a lance corporal, was shot by a member of the Afghan National Army on his way to guard duty on 30 May 2011. Marcus Case, 27, a lieutenant in aviation, was killed when a Chinook helicopter crashed during resupply on 30 May 2011. Rowan Robinson, 23, was killed in action on 6 June 2011. Todd Langley, 35, a commando sergeant, was shot and killed on 4 July 2011. Matthew Lambert, 26, of the infantry, was killed by an IED on 22 August 2011. Bryce Duffy, 26, an artillery captain; Ashley Birt, a 22-year-old engineer; and Luke Gavin, a 27-year-old infantry lance corporal, were shot and killed by a member of the Afghan National Army on 29 October 2011.

Blaine Diddams, MG, 40, a sergeant in the SAS, was shot and killed during an engagement with insurgents on 2 July 2012. Daniel Gallagher, 23, was killed in a helicopter crash in August 2012. Mervyn John McDonald, 30, a lance corporal, was killed in the same crash. Stjepan Milosevic, 40, a lance corporal in the 2nd/14th Light Horse, was shot and killed by a member of the Afghan National Army on 30 August 2012. Robert Poate, 23, a private, was shot and killed in the same incident. James Martin was shot and killed in the same incident. Scott James Smith, an engineer corporal, was killed in an IED explosion in 2012.

They served well. Rest in peace. They served their nation well for a just cause and a better world.

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