Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on indulgence, as members of the House would by now know, overnight in Afghanistan we lost an Australian commando, Sergeant Brett Wood. On another occasion we will have a formal condolence motion for Sergeant Wood, but it does seem appropriate, as the House sits today, to say a few words about him and also about his brothers who were injured. Overnight, we have had five Australian soldiers injured—two in the same incident in which Sergeant Wood lost his life, three in a separate engagement. This is a very tough day for our nation. As we speak, our soldiers continue in action, so there is a limit to what can be said about the operational circumstances in which Sergeant Wood was killed and in which other soldiers were injured. But nothing stops us paying tribute to Sergeant Wood in this place today.

Sergeant Wood was a 15-year veteran of our army. He was a genuine professional. He had been deployed overseas on a number of occasions—in Bougainville, in East Timor, in Iraq and on more than one occasion in Afghanistan. Sergeant Wood was a decorated man. He had won the Medal for Gallantry in action in Afghanistan. The Chief of the Defence Force today described him as a magnificent soldier, an inspirational leader with incredible operational experience. Sergeant Wood was a son and a husband, and our heart goes out today to his family, who would be grieving and still very much trying to absorb this devastating news. I am sure that our thoughts will be with them today and will continue to be with them.

With the five soldiers who are wounded, our thoughts are with them as we trust that they make a full recovery. Two of them are described as seriously ill. For their families this is a dreadful time of waiting and uncertainty. Of course our thoughts are with those families as well.

As I said earlier today, on days like this there can be some members of our nation who despair and who wonder at the losses in Afghanistan and the brutal nature of the engagement there. To those Australians who perhaps today might be despairing about our deployment in Afghanistan, I reaffirm that we are making progress, that it is difficult. But through the eyes of those who have regularly gone to Afghanistan—for example, Ben Roberts-Smith, our most recent VC winner—there can be no doubt: we are making progress. We make that progress because of the sacrifice and dedication of people like Sergeant Wood.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on indulgence, I rise to support the remarks of the Prime Minister. Australia has lost another fine soldier in Sergeant Brett Wood, who is the 24th Australian to be killed in action in Afghanistan. We remember him. We also think of the five others wounded on the same day. What we have is yet another reminder of the risks our soldiers run on our behalf, the tragedy that can befall our country's servants carrying out the decisions of this government and this parliament, and the high price that some people pay for our freedom and for our security. Like the Prime Minister, I reiterate my conviction that this is anything but a pointless death in a pointless war. Our soldiers are there to protect the Afghan people from religiously inspired barbarism, to help the Afghan state and the Afghan Army to ultimately protect themselves, to contribute to the stability of the region, and as far as we can to make the world safe from Islamic terrorism. This is the cause for which Sergeant Wood has given his life. This is the cause which our military are doing their best to uphold in Afghanistan. We salute Sergeant Wood and we extend our condolences to his family and to his comrades.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a mark of respect to the memory of Sergeant Wood and to support the comments of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, I invite honourable members to rise in their places.

Honourable members having stood in their places—

I thank the House.