Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science, Technology and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On indulgence: I rise to lend some comment to the awarding of the Victoria Cross to Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith VC, MG, a soldier standing over 200 centimetres tall, half Spartan, half Athenian. He is Spartan in raw courage and incredible valour in concern for his mates; in strength; in commitment; and in dedication. He is Athenian in his love for his family, his wife and two beautiful daughters; in his recognition and care for nature; and in his kind and gentle words to all he speaks to. He is a modern day warrior, perhaps a modern day poet, and truly a great Australian soldier.

Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith VC was awarded the nation’s highest honour, the Victoria Cross, on 23 January 2011. The Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, awarded the medal at an investiture ceremony at Campbell Barracks, the home of the Special Air Service Regiment in Perth. He probably now is one of the most highly decorated soldiers in the nation, wearing both the Victoria Cross and the Medal for Gallantry, which was awarded for bravery in Afghanistan in 2006. At the investiture ceremony, a wonderful picture was painted as the Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Houston, made the point that Corporal Roberts-Smith had brought credit not only to himself and to the uniform he wears but to his nation. He spoke of the enduring sacrifice of soldiers and of the Special Air Service Regiment as one of the finest fighting forces in the world, and he spoke highly of our newest VC recipient—indeed high praise from Caesar himself!

The true impact of the Victoria Cross, however, is perhaps demonstrated more fully by the fact that CDF then stood and saluted Corporal Roberts-Smith, something that he has the honour to do and something that all serving military personnel will do when they meet Corporal Roberts-Smith VC. The awarding of the medal is also significant in terms of what it has brought to our nation and its people. The military has once again presented its heroes that the nation can look to, aspire to, acknowledge and seek to emulate, not so much in deed but definitely in thought and, more importantly, in character. His valour and his courage lie at the nation’s very core.

Corporal Roberts-Smith exemplifies the best of us in that he won this amazing medal not so much for destroying enemy combatants in war but more for the reason for which he did those deeds: he sought out and closed with the enemy because his mates were at enormous risk. When asked why he ran 20 metres into withering machinegun blasts, he answered that it was because one of his mates was taking enormous fire and he thought he would just have a crack. Truly Australian.

It should come as no surprise that Corporal Roberts-Smith, born and bred of the very essence of that which defines us all, put his life on the line for his mates. His concern was always for his fellow soldiers, and that concern overrode the very basic instinct of survival, the very basic instinct of self-preservation, and he overcame that while fearing fear itself and took himself to those great lengths—charging a machinegun post, despatching enemy gunners and then continuing to fight for the following hours.

Some would argue this is the stuff of fiction; how writers would eloquently write about how romantic war could be. This is indeed the stuff of legend, carved out of the harshness of an Afghani landscape, where bravery and fear are very real, where shed blood is the result of actions. That is why the Australian Defence Force in all its elements, not just the Special Operations Task Group but the men and women of our Mentoring Task Force, is held in such high regard. We ask no quarter, we give no quarter, and certainly Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith VC emulated that to the extreme.

I recently stood in the House and spoke on a condolence motion for Corporal Richard Atkinson. I am aware that I am following on from the conclusion of that condolence motion. Many members stood to express their great sympathy and to acknowledge the sacrifice of Corporal Atkinson, the twenty-second Australian to lay down his life in action in the combat operational zone in Afghanistan. I also take this opportunity to personally thank all members for their gracious words of support to the family and friends of Corporal Atkinson. Thank you for taking the time to acknowledge his sacrifice. It is important. In time his fiancee, Dannielle, his mum and dad and his brother and his brother’s wife and his future nieces and nephews will read the words of members of this parliament, and they will see how the nation stood to honour him. Amongst all the sadness, amongst the difficult times, words expressed by the nation’s leaders make a difference. Words are indeed powerful.

It is fabulous that here in this place, in the nation’s capital, we are able to express both great admiration for the works of our national heroes and great gratitude for their truly selfless acts of bravery. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. We see this not only in Corporal Richard Atkinson but, importantly, in Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith VC, who sought to go forward to protect his mates regardless of the personal sacrifice. It is a tribute to him and all who follow him.

Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fadden and compliment him for his contributions not only today but also on the condolence motion for Corporal Atkinson. For the second time in just two years our country’s highest military honour, the Victoria Cross for Australia, has been awarded to a Special Air Services Regiment soldier. I will comment further on the regiment a little later. I endorse the remarks made by the member for Fadden. Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith was honoured with the VC last month after demonstrating the most conspicuous gallantry in circumstances of extreme peril during engagement in Afghanistan in June 2010. We know that his bravery almost certainly saved the lives of a number of his comrades.

This outstanding individual had already received the Medal for Gallantry for actions in Afghanistan in 2006. As such, he has now become our nation’s most highly decorated soldier. I congratulate Corporal Roberts-Smith, his unit and his family on this inspiring achievement.

I say that having as a backdrop the condolence motion, the debate on which we have just completed, about the death of Corporal Richard Atkinson. His death is, in a way, as inspiring—to know that young people are prepared to put on this great uniform and fight for our nation and be prepared to pay the ultimate sacrifice. This is precisely what Corporal Roberts-Smith was prepared to do on the day that he won his Victoria Cross. He needs to understand, and I am sure he does understand, how proud of him are the Australian Defence Force—his defence family—and the Australian nation.

I also congratulate a second soldier from Corporal Roberts-Smith’s unit, named only as Sergeant P, who was awarded the Star of Gallantry for his brave actions during this same engagement in June last year. These guys who work in the regiment are not all anonymous, but they crave anonymity for security reasons and for the purposes of their work. So unfortunately we cannot identify Sergeant P publicly, but he and his colleagues, who proudly wear the beret and are able to wear the beret, are a unique bunch of Australians. I was recently in Afghanistan with a number of special forces soldiers, two of whom—comrades of Corporal Roberts-Smith—were travelling with us constantly. It was for that reason that I was unable to attend the ceremony in Perth on 23 January this year, because it was then that I was visiting our troops in Afghanistan, where I was again able to see at first hand the fine work of that our Defence Force personnel are carrying out in the name of our great country.

It is, of course, not surprising that during the trip the bravery of Corporal Roberts-Smith was commented upon by a number of Australian Defence Force personnel. His deeds in the face of a numerically superior enemy are impressive not only to his colleagues but also to the wider Australian community. I remain astounded by and am incredibly proud of our deployed personnel and the way they conduct themselves, often in very difficult, trying and very dangerous circumstances far away from home and their loved ones. Like many of those who wear the sandy beret, Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith is modest when recalling his achievements, but I think it is worthwhile reading into Hansard the details of the event for which this Victoria Cross has been awarded:

On 11 June 2010, a troop of the Special Operations Task Group conducted a helicopter assault into Tizak, Kandahar Province, in order to capture or kill a senior Taliban commander.

Immediately upon the helicopter insertion, the troop was engaged by machine gun and rocket propelled grenade fire from multiple, dominating positions. Two soldiers were wounded in action and the troop was pinned down by fire from three machine guns in an elevated fortified position to the south of the village. Under the cover of close air support, suppressive small arms and machine gun fire, Corporal Roberts-Smith and his patrol manoeuvred to within 70 metres of the enemy position in order to neutralise the enemy machine gun positions and regain the initiative.

Upon the commencement of the assault, the patrol drew very heavy, intense, effective and sustained fire from the enemy position. Corporal Roberts-Smith and his patrol members fought towards the enemy position until, at a range of 40 metres, the weight of fire prevented further movement forward. At this point, he identified the opportunity to exploit some cover provided by a small structure.

As he approached the structure, Corporal Roberts-Smith identified an insurgent grenadier in the throes of engaging his patrol. Corporal Roberts-Smith instinctively engaged the insurgent at point-blank range resulting in the death of the insurgent. With the members of his patrol still pinned down by three enemy machine gun positions, he exposed his own position in order to draw fire away from his patrol, which enabled them to bring fire to bear against the enemy. His actions enabled his Patrol Commander to throw a grenade and silence one of the machine guns. Seizing the advantage, and demonstrating extreme devotion to duty and the most conspicuous gallantry, Corporal Roberts-Smith, with a total disregard for his own safety, stormed the enemy position, killing the two remaining machine gunners.

His act of valour enabled his patrol to break-in to the enemy position and to lift the weight of fire from the remainder of the troop who had been pinned down by the machine gun fire. On seizing the fortified gun position, Corporal Roberts-Smith then took the initiative again and continued to assault enemy positions in depth during which he and another patrol member engaged and killed further enemy. His acts of selfless valour directly enabled his troop to go on and clear the village of Tizak of Taliban. This decisive engagement subsequently caused the remainder of the Taliban in Shah Wali Kot District to retreat from the area.

Describing the events which led to the award of the VC, Corporal Roberts-Smith said:

I just looked across and saw my mates getting ripped up. I just decided to move forward because I wasn’t going to sit there and do nothing. I thought I’d have a crack, not let my mates down.

When you hear those words—and not only his view of it at that time but the description of the action that took place—for those of us who have not experienced this, I think it is almost unbelievable. The element of bravery which is part of the Australian way of doing business in the Australian Defence Forces is really intriguing. Here we have someone who took it upon himself to clearly lay his life on the line in the most obvious way by attracting fire for his mates. We throw barbs across the chamber and feel a bit personally damaged at times, but we can never, ever appreciate what it is to be in such danger. When you contemplate what it is this man has achieved, he must be a mighty bloody warrior.

And he is not on his own. He is, as I said at the outset, our nation’s most highly-decorated soldier. I know that his mates, those whom he works with, all share the characteristics which he exhibited. Having met and worked in different ways with members of the Special Operations Task Group, most particularly members from the Special Air Service Regiment, I believe that we should be internally proud of what they do and understand that their capacity to be able to do the work and have the courage to make the sorts of decisions which Corporal Roberts-Smith made, is due to the training that they have received, the leadership that they are shown, and the leadership which is developed within them. They are extraordinarily competent and professional individuals, and Corporal Roberts-Smith is a compliment to them and to all those who serve. I know that his valour is an inspiration to the soldiers whom he fights alongside and of course is in keeping with the finest traditions of the Australian Army and the Australian Defence Force.

Today we can publicly salute the courage, spirit and strength of Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith, VC, MG. I congratulate him, and I know that his wife, Emma, and his daughters, Eve and Elizabeth, will come to appreciate in future years the value of these achievements and the truth of what he has done. His family must be so proud of him and I know the nation certainly is.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When our service men and women leave this country to serve overseas, we know in our hearts and minds that it comes with an element of risk. In the past few weeks, Australians have seen the turmoil that serving our country can bring but also the celebration bestowed on a soldier for his courage and bravery illuminated in a time of battle.

In the light of tragedy, it seems an appropriate time to celebrate a moment of gallant behaviour shown by Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia in recognition of extreme devotion and heroism. The Victoria Cross is the highest and most respected military award which can be given by our country. Benjamin Roberts-Smith is one of three recipients of the honour who are still living, and he is the first from Western Australia since World War II. Every VC winner has put his life on the line for his mates. Benjamin Roberts-Smith risked his life to relieve his comrades who were under withering machine-gun fire at the time of the incident. Corporal Roberts-Smith did what he could to bring his mates home.

The greatest responsibility, and the one which is at the core of the Anzac story, is to bring your mates home. Corporal Roberts-Smith did just that. I take special pride in the work of the men and women of the Australian Defence Force, as my home town of Wagga Wagga in the electorate of Riverina is known as the home of the soldier. Every Army recruit who signs up to train and learn the roles of Anzacs comes through the gates of Kapooka—Australia’s renowned Army recruit training centre.

As well as Corporal Roberts-Smith and another recent Victoria Cross recipient, Mark Donaldson, the Riverina has had four recipients of the VC medal since the award was first handed out during the Boer War. William Jackson from Gunbar, who served in World War I, was only 19 when he received the honour. John Ryan from Tumut also served in the Great War, as did Walter Brown, who later settled in Leeton. Reg Rattey from Barmedman, who served in World War II, is the fourth recipient.

It is an honour to soldiers past that the tradition lives on in a new generation—a generation that is showing itself to be as brave and as selfless as the generations before. To Corporal Roberts-Smith I, with the rest of the Riverina, say thank you for your courage, your quick thinking, your valour and your service to our nation.

On Wednesday, 2 February at 9.30 am Afghanistan time, an improvised explosive device exploded, fatally wounding Corporal Richard Edward Atkinson. The recent awarding of the VC brings home the harsh realities of the death of Corporal Richard Atkinson, and it brings to mind the very incongruous nature of both death and valour, with the VC being the highest honour in wartime. At 22 years of age, Corporal Atkinson had only just begun his life as a soldier, but he was about to begin his life as a man. How courageous is it that a man so young chooses to leave behind his loved ones to fight for the freedom that the people of Afghanistan deserve and to preserve the rights of the Australian people. The freedoms that the people of Afghanistan deserve are the ones that we take for granted. The men and women who serve so bravely for us in Afghanistan are people of whom we can all be immensely proud. They are working to bring peace and stability to this country. Australia is there to help them, because we are not immune from the terrorist acts that have been planned from Afghanistan for so long.

Australian soldiers have been killed as a result of terrorist activity while directly protecting our freedom to live unencumbered by the threat of terrorist activity. Their work is of great importance and, while we will mourn the death of Corporal Atkinson forevermore, we should also be eternally proud of the work that our soldiers do.

Australia lost a brave young man who paid with his life, a very high price indeed. He will be mourned by his family, friends and mates in the Army, the wider Defence Force family and all Australians who value and respect the commitment of Defence Force personnel who work in this country’s best interests. We wish the soldier who was injured at the time all the best for a speedy recovery. Our thoughts are with him and his family. Today we stand alongside the family, friends and colleagues of Corporal Atkinson as we mourn his loss. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith VC and Corporal Richard Atkinson are owed an eternal debt of gratitude by all Australians.

Lest we forget.

Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 16 January, as locals have done for the last 70 years, a commemoration was held in the St Kilda Cemetery for Captain Albert Jacka VC and bar. As I have done every year since becoming the member for Melbourne Ports I attended this moving ceremony for our local war hero at St Kilda Cemetery. It is usually addressed by someone from the family or an eminent historian like Geoff Blainey or one of the great local leaders of our veterans organisations, like Brigadier Jack Rossi.

Jacka was awarded Australia’s first Victoria Cross in the First World War for gallantry, valour and selflessness. On 19 May 1915, the Anzacs were entrenched above the beaches at Gallipoli and the Turks launched a major assault on their position. A section of the trench at Courtney’s Post was captured. When the Anzacs struggled to drive them back, Jacka, taking advantage of a diversion created by the bomb throwers at one end of the Turkish position, took on the Turks, killing all of the occupants of their trench. We have just heard the member for Lingiari describe in detail the actions of Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith VC, who has just won his award for his role in Afghanistan. How strikingly similar they were to the actions of Jacka. The citation for Jacka’s VC reads:

For most conspicuous bravery on the night of the 19-20 May, 1915, at Courtney's Post, Gallipoli Peninsular. Lance Corporal Jacka, while holding a portion of our trench with four men, was heavily attacked. When all except himself were killed or wounded, the trench was rushed and occupied by seven Turks. Lance Corporal Jacka at once most gallantly attacked them single-handed and killed the whole party, five by rifle fire and two with the bayonet.

While 90 years later we honoured and remembered Jacka’s bravery, we were unaware that eight days later, on 23 January, we would again be honouring an exceptional piece of bravery by another Australian soldier in the line of duty. Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith, like Jacka, was an ordinary bloke, a somewhat large bloke, who did something extraordinary, and he has received the nation’s highest honour for his actions in Afghanistan. Roberts-Smith’s gallantry has been recognised once before, in 2006, when he was awarded the Medal for Gallantry. His actions on 11 June 2010 epitomise the definition that is appropriate for the award of the Victoria Cross.

Roberts-Smith’s story is one in which we see not only the bravery and valour of one soldier but also, I would argue, the continuum of Captain Albert Jacka’s great service in the First World War. It is typical of those heroes who step forward in the various conflicts that Australia has been involved in in the defence of our nation. Every time one of our armed forces engages an enemy in the line duty they do so for their mates, their family and their country. Every day they put their lives at risk and every day they act alone and take a level of bravery and gallantry that turns them into Australia’s heroes. I was going to read the details of Corporal Roberts-Smith’s actions when his special operations group conducted a helicopter assault on Tizak to capture a local senior Taliban commander, but the member for Lingiari did it so well I do not think it is necessary to repeat it.

It was not simply for his mates that Benjamin Roberts-Smith did that. I heard, sitting at a breakfast table in faraway Melbourne, him interviewed the following morning on the ABC. He was asked about why he did what he did. He said:

“I believe that we—

that is, the soldiers fighting in Afghanistan on Australia’s behalf—

are making a difference in stemming the flow of terrorism into Australia, and I want my children to be able to live as everyone does now without fear of getting onto a bus and having it blow up.”

So we see this picture of Corporal Roberts-Smith, his lovely wife Emma and their twins, Eve and Elizabeth; we see his extraordinary gallantry; but we also see his clear-sighted understanding of why he is doing what he is doing. That makes us all proud of him and his deeds. It makes it even more a source of pride that we have one of our leading soldiers like his mates who knows what he is doing, why he is doing it, why he is there on the country’s behalf.

Tattooed across corporal Roberts-Smith’s chest are the words, ‘I will not fail my brothers.’ This pledge rang true on 11 June, and for his actions the nation is indebted to him. Corporal Roberts-Smith told the Australian at the point where he saw the Taliban fellow about to throw a hand grenade:

“At that point I decided I’d had enough. I wasn’t going to wait until someone got hit. I know their families, they know mine. I’m not going to let someone get hit while I sit here doing nothing.”

That kind of spirit and commitment to the safety of others—the commitment to help and risk one’s own life to better others—is the same spirit that Albert Jacka showed in that trench in Gallipoli, Courtney’s Post, all those years ago, and of course Jacka repeated many times in France, where he won the MC and rose to the rank of captain. The same spirit was shown by a current recipient of the VC, SAS Trooper Mark Donaldson, who exposed himself to heavy machine gunfire to retrieve a wounded translator. It is the spirit which Australian soldiers should live up to and embrace.

Corporal Roberts-Smith and his troops’ victory in Tizak is just one of many that Australia has seen recently in Afghanistan in Oruzgan province. I want to say something about this because I think it is important not to see Benjamin Roberts-Smith’s actions in isolation. He would not want us to see his deeds in context of the Army’s military activities for Benjamin Roberts-Smith is part of a highly successful operation that is going on in those two provinces in Kandahar and Oruzgan.

Three Australian soldiers were recently profiled in the Australian. They were not identified for security reasons. The three men from 2nd Commando Regiment revealed that there was a slow but definite improvement in the military situation in Afghanistan. All three spoke of the importance of Australia’s contribution in Oruzgan and said that the difference on the ground in the southern provinces was remarkable. Sergeant R said:

“We are more mobile, (able to) establish ourselves and disrupt and get in there and get under their skin.”

Having served in Afghanistan three times, the sergeant stated that his platoon used the ‘tethered goat’ approach to draw out insurgents. He said that on recent tours the tactics are keeping the Taliban on the run, with 90-kilometre motorised patrols into the enemy’s heartland. Captain A reported that his platoon’s operations in the southern province of Kandahar and in the Mirabad Valley of Oruzgan had made substantial differences. The platoon’s operations had allowed coalition forces to establish a permanent security presence in the area.

These three men, like Corporal Roberts-Smith, have also been awarded for their bravery and valour. The dangerous and risky operations our diggers undertake in Oruzgan and in the southern province of Kandahar are enormously important for the battle against the Taliban. Last month Australian and Afghan troops removed significant quantities of explosives and weapons from the insurgents in those areas. They seized an insurgent cache that included 400 kilograms of explosives and 22 ready to use IEDs—improvised explosive devices. The Australian Defence Department revealed that in the last week of January this year operations within the Baluchi Valley north of the Australian base in Tarin Kowt had received considerable success against the Taliban.

These victories and the individual commitment to duty that Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith has shown by his actions on that day in 2010, and all those serving in Afghanistan, shows that we are making a difference—our presence and operations—to drive back the Taliban. The Taliban, we remember, hosted al-Qaeda, which has indulged in many attacks on Australians, whether on September 11 when Australians were killed in New York, or in Bali or even in Mumbai. These fellows are helping dismantle the Taliban in Oruzgan and Kandahar and they are being extremely effective.

Corporal Roberts-Smith’s heroism makes it possible, through these military accomplishments, that we here in Canberra are able to work with the government of Afghanistan and we have the political space and time to stand up the Afghan national defence forces. After all, Australian people do not want to be sacrificing our blood and treasure in Afghanistan forever, but it is due to the sustained work and heroism of people like Roberts-Smith and SAS Trooper Mark Donaldson that we have the ability to do the political task, and that is to make sure the Afghans can stand up and defend their own country from the terrorists who would threaten this country. It is only because of people like Roberts-Smith and all of the other blokes who are fighting with the 1st Commando Regiment and the SAS that we are able to do the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan and give the opportunity for the training of the Afghan National Army. It is because of Roberts-Smith and people like him that Australia is able to make a contribution to achieving that worthy and just political cause, that just end, in Afghanistan.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I apologise to the honourable member for Kooyong, who was seeking the call, but standing orders do require that after 12.30 I invite a member to propose the question that the Committee do now adjourn. The honourable member for Kooyong and other speakers will have the opportunity to contribute to this debate when the House and the Main Committee resume after the break for a week.