Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very appreciative of the opportunity to recognise the outstanding contribution that women make to the Australian Defence Force. In acknowledging that important and vital contribution to our Defence Force, I want to bring to the attention of the House the contribution that some in my electorate are making in this regard.

A wonderful example of service personnel who are making that contribution include long-time Bathurst resident Sarah Patterson, who is an Army lieutenant and has been deployed to Iraq as a radiographer to take X-rays and ultrasounds at the Taji military complex near Baghdad, where Australian and coalition soldiers help train the Iraqi army. I'm told that Sarah, being from the Bathurst area, loves her car racing. Even though she is a Holden supporter and might not have been too happy with yesterday's results, I'm told that she did make arrangements so that race week could be telecast at the base. She requested that four days of V8s be shown on TV while she was on deployment. That's commitment! She was willing to get up at 3 am to watch those races. I was at the track yesterday, and I can confirm that the race was a cracker.

Sarah, who graduated from MacKillop College in 2003, works in Iraq treating Australian and coalition soldiers, along with some civilians, at the military complex. Her position saves people from having to fly somewhere else just for an X-ray, which saves a lot of time and money. During her deployment, Sarah has conducted over 60 X-rays and 40 ultrasounds. Ultrasound is a postgraduate qualification for radiographers. She completed long-term schooling through Defence and managed to pick up a deployment after she got back to the unit from her studies. She is just one of hundreds of active servicewomen doing amazing things in our defence forces, and I would like to acknowledge the great work of Sarah in this House today. Hopefully, she'll be back trackside in the not-too-distant future.

Locally, our reservists have been deployed to peacekeeping missions and help communities devastated by natural disasters. They've engaged in search and rescue activities through their deployment. That includes the men and women of the 1/19 Battalion stationed at Bathurst, Orange, Wagga and Dubbo. The 1/19 Battalion has a very proud history, and it can trace its lineage back to 1854. In 1996, the 1/19 Battalion was decentralised and moved from Ingleburn to its current four regional depots. It's currently led by Lieutenant Colonel Michael Buchanan, who is also the deputy principal of Cowra High while serving in his reservist role. There are seven women currently serving in an active capacity with the battalion. They've played vital roles, both domestically and overseas, including during the 2000 Olympics, and the 1/19th has also provided personnel for search tasks as part of the Australian Army security operations. In May 2010, 1/19 Battalion provided a platoon-sized element to Operation Anode Rotation 21 for service in Solomon Islands as part of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands. This force returned to Australia in August 2010, and I would like to acknowledge the important work of 1/19 Battalion.

I'd also like to acknowledge programs like Exercise Boss Lift, which has been a unique opportunity for businesspeople to experience reservist Defence Force life and provide an example to the general community. I'd like to recognise two Bathurst women, Stacey Whittaker OAM and Abbey Barrett, who both recently took part in the exercise in Malaysia over five days. They were dropped deep into the jungles of Malaysia, given ration packs and sent on a mission with the Australian Army reservists. Ms Barrett works at Skillset in Bathurst, and she said that Exercise Boss Lift participants gain a deeper understanding of the training skills and capabilities that reservists can bring back to the civilian workforce.

Stacey Whittaker has also taken an active role in the reserves in her role as the chair of the Central West Defence Reserves Support Council New South Wales. I'd also like to mention the great work of our cadet units in our area, for example Kinross Wolaroi School in Orange, managed and led by teacher Gary Yeo. They have 350 students, many of them young women, who are coming up through the ranks and many of whom will no doubt serve in the ADF in future years. We acknowledge the wonderful contributions of our women wherever they may be in our defence forces and our cadets.

See this speech in context