Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for External Territories) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion moved by the member for Canning. Firstly, I thank the member for Canning for bringing this matter to our attention, and also say to him, 'Thank you for your service in uniform for this country and for the role you have played'. I also acknowledge my friend, the member for Solomon, who is a former Army officer, and the member for Eden-Monaro for their service to this country of ours.

We can be very proud of our men and women in uniform and should never forget what they do for us. Last week I had the great privilege of attending the launch of Afghanistan: the Australian story at the Australian War Memorial. This documentary comprises two DVDs, produced by Chris Masters in partnership with the Australian War Memorial and Luscious International, that tell the story, through their own eyes and with their own words, of Australian serving personnel—Air Force, Navy, Army—telling what their service entailed, what was involved and what sacrifices they made. The documentary also talks about those who were lost—the 41 Australians whose lives passed so tragically—through interviews with the survivors, their partners, their families. I know one family in particular from the Northern Territory—the family of Scott Palmer. Since his passing, his mum, Pam, and Ray, her husband, have been great advocates for the need to address the concerns of Australian defence personnel once they have come back home.

I commend this documentary. I hope we can have it distributed widely, seen in the parliament and on public television, because it tells us very graphically about the sacrifices that were referred to by the member for Canning. It gives us great clarity about the sacrifices that are made and the contributions that are being made on our behalf by those brave men and women in uniform. It shows women at the front line in a way we have not seen so graphically previously, even though, today—as a result of work which I, in fact, was involved in with the Department of Defence—effectively all jobs in the Defence Force are open to women, should they be able to achieve the physical standards that are required and provided they have the psychological aptitude et cetera.

What I have come to see, over the many years that I have been in this place and over the number of times I have been to the Middle East since the early 2000s, is that we cannot underestimate the role our Defence Force personnel play. The member for Canning referred to the fight against ISIS. I have great faith in the leadership of our defence community. I have great faith not only in the Chief of the Defence Force and the seniors but also in the platoon commanders: those young men and women whose job it is to lead young Australian men and women at war. When you contemplate their bravery—the need for them to be creative, to be decision makers—and see how well they perform, is it any wonder we should have nothing but praise for them?

At the same time, I do not think we have due regard to the trauma that they are witness to and that they are forced to endure: to see mates lost in battle. There is a very graphic illustration of this on the back of the Afghanistan: The Australian Story DVD cover. It shows sappers Darren Smith and Jacob Moreland and their bomb-detection dog, Herbie. All three were killed by an improvised explosive device on 7 June 2010. This is a graphic illustration of what war means. This image—of two vital, brave young men and their dog—says to us that, when we ask our men and women to go away for us, we potentially expect them to make the ultimate sacrifice. What is left behind is not only their heritage—the heritage of all men and women in uniform—but also the suffering of their families, their friends and their comrades. So, when we are thinking today about Australian men and women in uniform, let us also think about those who are left behind when those who pay the ultimate sacrifice do not come back to us. (Time expired)

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