Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, I acknowledge the service of the member for Menzies, one of most honourable people in this House. He's served as the defence minister and as a minister for a long time in government. I recognise that. I am sure I speak for everybody in this House and I'm certain for all Australians when I say that Christmas is a time to reflect on what has been a very difficult year for many Australians, both at home and abroad. That includes members of the Australian Defence Force, our agencies and those that perform work in our country's name who will never be known to the Australian public—those that wear a uniform and those that don't who are involved in intelligence collection and operations overseas to protect our interests. In many cases, these are the men and women who have been responsible for stopping terrorist attacks and for keeping us safe. We as a country pay them the honour of stopping and saying thank you to them for their service and saying thank you for the sacrifice that they will make again this Christmas. Many of them will be deployed overseas or on Operation COVID-19 Assist or elsewhere in our country's name, and we should rightly be incredibly proud of the work that they do. As we know, this year they've not just been involved in the pandemic but also 250 ADF personnel risked their lives in the Kabul evacuation, bringing 4,100 people, predominantly women and children, to safety. That was a remarkable effort. The Prime Minister and I and other members of the National Security Committee had briefings right through that period from the CDF and others, and it was a precarious position. As we know American soldiers lost their lives in that theatre. Ours were able to be brought home safely, and that they brought people in such a significant number is a great credit to their professionalism.

It doesn't stop there. We know that there have been 522 personnel who have been deployed on classified operations abroad, and 24,000 troops and 440 defence department staff have helped underpin the government's pandemic response through Operation COVID Assist. And all of those who have supported the personnel I've just spoken about—the spouses, the friends, the mates, the children who have gone without contact over an extended period of time with their mum or dad—as they've served in these different roles need to be acknowledged in this place as we approach Christmas.

On behalf of a very grateful nation, a grateful government, we say thank you to all of those men and women of the Australian Defence Force and the department and those who have provided support in keeping our country safe. May we always provide the requisite support to them to keep them safe in the work that they do to keep us safe.

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