Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like first to thank the member for Boothby for moving this motion and to thank all the honourable members who will be speaking in support of it. I want also to acknowledge all our service men and women, but particularly our women in service.

This motion provides me an opportunity to acknowledge that I bumped into an old school friend the other day when I was at Victoria Barracks in Sydney, the home of the Australian Army. I want to acknowledge the professionalism of and the outstanding person that is Colonel Fiona Curtis. She reminded me that it's our 30-year high school reunion coming up—which made me feel quite old, but she still looks absolutely marvellous and is doing a great job for Army.

It is important that we take these moments to reflect on and give gratitude to those who have served and who continue to serve in our Defence Force. I am sure everyone remembers the proud moment we had in the last parliament when amendments were passed to remove all barriers for women performing all roles within the ADF. It was a step in the right direction for us, and I note that Defence, as the member for Boothby just mentioned, have targets they are aiming for for participation of Australian women in our defence forces. We're currently at 17.9 per cent for the whole of the ADF, but I certainly think we can reach those targets even before 2023.

I would also like to note my support of the decision made by the government to form the Council for Women and Families United by Defence Service. The needs of women and families affected by defence service are not always understood or visible. Voices haven't always been heard. Obviously, it's vitally important that we seek to better understand the service and sacrifice of women who either have served in the ADF or have been impacted by the service of a loved one in the ADF.

I know that one of the matters the council is looking into is the proposal to create a killed-in-service class—a KIS class. It would be awarded posthumously as recognition to defence service members who make the ultimate sacrifice for our country. The campaign to create the KIS class is an initiative of an amazing couple, Warrant Officer Kerry Danes CSM and Kay Danes OAM. The proposal has some support from both sides of the chamber. The idea of this initiative is that, with the loss of a family member, the family who are left to deal with that loss have something on the medals that they remember their loved one by.

Close to my heart, obviously, are all the women that we recognise who served in World War II, in particular in the defence of Darwin in the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force, the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service and the nurses, as previously mentioned, on hospital ships like the Manunda, which was hit during the bombing of Darwin in 1942. In fact, in my electorate I've established an award for an outstanding student showing courage at Manunda Terrace Primary School in Darwin. The award is named after Margaret de Mestre, who was wounded when the Manunda was struck but continued to say to her colleagues: 'Leave me. There are others more injured than me.' Margaret passed away shortly after and is buried in the Top End. I always remember the courage of Margaret and of all the women who serve in our ADF as they go about doing what every member of the ADF does in the service of our nation.

There are so many people we could acknowledge. I also want to mention Captain Angela Stokes from the Top End for her service.

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