Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

SER () (): by leave—At the request of the member for Stirling, I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises the benefits a career in the Australian Defence Force provides through skills, education, training and experience;

(2) notes:

(a) the Australian Defence Force’s objective to protect Australia and that those recruited to deliver on this objective put their lives on the line for our country;

and (b) that Defence recruits the best and brightest and offers varying pathways for individuals to join and serve our nation; and

(3) acknowledges the sacrifice our personnel and their families make for a career in the Australian Defence Force and our nation’s eternal gratitude for all those who have served past and present.

As the great-grandson of a Gallipoli ANZAC who also took part in the charge of the light horse at Beersheba and the grandson of a Changi POW who served on the Burma railway, I'm pleased to speak about the contribution of Australia's Defence personnel.

Australia's military tradition predates the Australian nation: claim your forces fought in the Boxer Rebellion, the Sudan and at the Boer War. The Australian Defence Force is one of the iconic institutions in our national life. Australians salute and respect the ADF, its personnel and its veterans.

Some of the most important defining moments in our national life and our culture relate to the service exploits and victories and, yes, defeats, of the Australian Defence Force—places like Gallipoli, Beersheba, the Somme, Ypres, Passchendaele, Bullecourt, Fromelles, Pozieres, Villers Bretonneux, Tobruk, Benghazi, El Alamein, Greece, Crete, Kokoda, Rabaul, Darwin, the Coral Sea, Milne Bay, Borneo, Korea, Malaya, Long Tan, Nui Dat, Kuwait, Somalia, Bougainville, East Timor, Kandahar, Uruzgan and Tarin Kowt, are etched on our nation's consciousness.

Great commanders like Sir John Monash, Sir Thomas Blamey and Sir Peter Cosgrove became national heroes and household names. A hundred and one Australians have been awarded Victoria Crosses, including people like Sir Roden Cutler, Albert Jacka, Keith Payne and Mark Donaldson.

Around 102,000 Australians have made the supreme sacrifice in all wars and 226,000 have been wounded. Over 34,000 have been taken prisoners. At the last Defence census, around 60,000 people were serving in the ADF and about 17,000 in the reserves. Latest figures reveal that 19.7 per cent of ADF personnel are women and about 25 per cent of Navy and Air Force and 15 per cent in the Army, although the Army has the largest number of women in real terms.

These people carry on the tradition of their forebears and their service represents the highest ideals of Australian citizenship. Every country needs a defence force of people who are prepared to lay down their lives for their fellow citizens. Defence service is a huge ask of any country of its citizens. Therefore as civilians we must be grateful to those prepared to serve and respect their service and sacrifice.

Given the recent withdrawal from Afghanistan, I wanted to acknowledge over the last 20 years some 39,000 men and women of the ADF who have served along with diplomats, police officers, aid workers, civil officials and, of course, Afghan coalition military partners from more than 50 countries. I also want to acknowledge the 41 ADF members who made the supreme sacrifice, including Trooper Jason Brown from my electorate.

The mission of the ADF today is to defend Australia and its national interests and to advance Australia's security and prosperity. Every day ADF personnel defend our values and the Australian way of life, supporting humanitarian assistance and disaster response efforts, and assisting in recovery efforts.

In that regard, I want to place on record my thanks to ADF personnel who came to the aid of communities on the Hawkesbury River earlier this year following the floods. The presence of the ADF brought confidence and hope to communities whose homes and livelihoods had been decimated. Let me again thank the personnel from the 5th Brigade Infantry Company of the ADF, led by Major Mark Whitfield, for their leadership of the rescue and recovery effort.

The ADF officers' extensive training to its members is essential to a modern defence force. The ADF offers nationally recognised qualifications and varying entry options like the Australian Defence Force Academy and Defence university scholarships. Reservists also receive world-class training in leadership, communication, problem-solving, combined with great benefits, including a tax-free salary.

Military service has significant differences from civilian employment, and there are unique demands and sacrifices required both of ADF members and of their families. I want to acknowledge not only the service of ADF personnel but also the sacrifice by their families. Family relocations are regular, sometimes with limited notice, and they can be stressful. Partners' careers may be interrupted, with a commensurate loss of income, and with impacts on child care and schooling. These factors are perhaps too rarely acknowledged, and I'm pleased to be able to salute defence family members as well.

I wanted to conclude with some words about current Australian defence policy. In September the Prime Minister, the President of the United States and Prime Minister Johnson of the United Kingdom announced the new AUKUS trilateral security partnership. AUKUS will see Australia and the other nations share more information in intelligence; foster greater integration of security and defence-related science technology, industrial bases and supply chains; and strengthen our cooperation in advanced and critical technologies. The first major initiative of AUKUS is to support Australia's acquisition of nuclear powered subs. Our trilateral efforts will enhance our joint capabilities and interoperability, with an initial focus on cybercapabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and additional undersea capabilities.

We are living in increasingly uncertain times both at home and abroad, and I want to thank the ADF for their service in such challenging times: we salute what you do.

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