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

I thank my friend across the chamber the member for Fisher for moving this motion. I think it's important we do acknowledge the role of our serving men and women, their families and those who have come back as veterans, who are being looked after by the Department of Veterans' Affairs. I do so having had the great privilege of being a Minister for Defence Science and Personnel and also a Minister for Veterans' Affairs in a previous government. I concur with the observations of the previous speaker about the immense importance, value, courage, dedication and commitment—all of those things—of our men and women in uniform. I don't think we can underestimate that value to any of us individually, collectively or nationally.

Such sacrifice was made in the dark days of World War I and before that in the Boer War. Serving people left Australia ostensibly in Australia's interest—although some might argue that that was not the case in the Boer War—and they did so in uniform and willingly. We need to all understand that when they put that uniform on they are committing themselves to the possibility of sacrificing their lives—every one of them; men and women. I think we need to see the value in that and the value of their contribution.

The average term of service for a defence person is seven to eight years. It's a young person's vocation. There are the lifers, absolutely—people who have careers as officers and become Chief of Army, Chief of Air Force and the rest of it, or Chief of the Defence Force—but the fact is that most don't. What we need to comprehend is that the sacrifices they make whilst they're in their uniform, especially if they've served overseas or are serving overseas, depending on the number of rotations they've done, may have a tremendous impact on them personally, either then or some time later. We're seeing the consequences of that in terms of the mental health issues which are confronting many of our veterans, and the suicide rates. We need to believe that we can do a lot better in assisting them when they come home. Importantly, also we need to understand that it's about families. The people who buttress our serving men and women when they come home, when they separate from the Defence Force, are their families. The people who look after them when they're injured, either mentally or physically, while in uniform are, more often than not, their families. We need to appreciate the sacrifices that families make, particularly children, when their parents are in the defence community. This motion calls us to recognise the support of their families and friends during their service, which we should do. It also acknowledges the positive social and economic impact that the men and women of our Defence Force have on our communities throughout Australia.

I want to very briefly talk about that contribution in the Northern Territory. Since the late 1980s, we've seen a significant movement north of defence personnel. Currently in the Northern Territory there are 5,336 uniformed and non-uniformed defence personnel: 3,311 in the Army, 1,100 in the Air Force, 630 in the Navy and 250 civilians. The value to the Northern Territory economy—and this is an important figure—is 8.4 per cent of gross state product, at a value of $2.1 billion. I don't think this is properly understood by the broader Northern Territory community, and it needs to be, because not only are these people serving for us but they are serving with us. They are living in our communities, their families are part of our communities and they are making an enormous contribution, both socially and economically, to those communities, and in this case particularly in the Northern Territory.

I want to make particular reference to an organisation which is not often recognised: the Regional Force Surveillance Group. It was formed in 2018 to provide littoral surveillance and reconnaissance capability in Australia's north and north-west. It comprises the surveillance units NORFORCE, the Pilbara Regiment and 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment. Its commander is Colonel John Papalitsas, who resides at Larrakeyah. It has units operating right across northern Australia. Its most significant impact is through the support it gives to Indigenous people across the north—contributing, putting on a uniform and being part of NORFORCE. We need to acknowledge the group.

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