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

I move:

That the House record its deep regret at the death on the morning of 22 August of Private Matthew Lambert during combat operations in Afghanistan, place on record its appreciation of his service to his country and tender its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

Around eight o'clock yesterday morning Australian time Private Matthew Lambert was killed in Afghanistan. As General Hurley said yesterday, Private Lambert's colleagues described him as a man who excelled at any task he was assigned and as a soldier who was proud to serve his country. Matthew was a sniper, a tough specialist in mind and in body, one of the most skilled soldiers in one of the most skilled armies in the world. While many Australians were starting their ordinary working week yesterday morning, finishing their breakfasts and getting the kids off to school—some already well into the day's commute—this young Australian was risking everything for us.

Matthew was on foot with elements of the Afghan National Army and other coalition forces in Afghanistan conducting a night-time reconnaissance patrol. What is believed to be an improvised explosive device detonated. It seriously wounded a comrade from the International Security Assistance Force. Matthew's mates performed first aid on the spot. He was transferred to Tarin Kowt and treated there, but it was not enough. He died from his wounds in the Tarin Kowt Hospital.

Matthew went to Afghanistan for the first time in June. He will be home soon. Our minds are full with thoughts of other people today—above all with thoughts for Matthew Lambert's spouse, parents and family. They have lost Matthew, a 26-year-old man. They have given our country what they loved above all things. We also think of his unit, 2RAR. They have suffered their first fatality in Afghanistan. We think of the Townsville community. They know these soldiers well and they know their families well.

Our minds are also with 28 other Australian families today. I want to say something to them now. There was a lot of attention on you on the day the news of your loved one's death was announced. There was a lot of attention on you on the day that their body returned home. There was a lot of attention on you on the day that your loved one was buried. We respect your privacy and we know that you need to get on with your lives, as hard as that may be, but we have not stopped thinking about you. I have not stopped thinking about you; Australians do not forget.

I want to say something to our nation as well. Transition has begun in areas of Afghanistan. The kind of mentoring work Private Lambert was performing is the kind of work which will allow Afghan-led responsibility for security arrangements in Oruzgan province to transfer by the end of 2014. Members of our Mentoring Task Forces are doing very difficult and very dangerous work and through that work they are developing an effective and capable Afghan National Army. We need that work to be done so there is security in Afghanistan after transition is complete. We need security in Afghanistan after transition is complete so that Afghanistan will not again become a safe haven for international terrorism. We do need that work done, as dangerous as it is.

These Mentoring Task Force soldiers like Private Matthew Lambert are patiently, carefully and with superb professionalism building a capable Afghan military force. It is difficult work, dangerous work—we saw that this week—but work that must be done. We are on track to transition. It is a hard track, a hard road, and that is why we send hard men to walk it for us. We will deny terrorists a safe haven there. With our ally the United States as part of the international community we have a clear goal, a defined mission and a time line of the end of 2014. I cannot say that this will be the parliament's last condolence for a lost soldier in Afghanistan but I can say we will see this mission through.

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

I rise to support the words of the Prime Minister. Australia has lost another fine soldier: Private Matthew Lambert of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. On this sad day our thoughts are with his wife, his family and his friends. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the other allied soldier wounded in the same incident, they are with the family of the New Zealand SAS soldier killed in Kabul last week and as the Prime Minister has mentioned they remain with the families of the other 28 Australians who died serving our country in Afghanistan.

At a time like this we must obviously count the cost of staying in Afghanistan but we must also reckon the greater cost of withdrawing: possibly the destabilisation of Pakistan, probably the return of the Taliban, almost certainly a new feudalism in Afghanistan and the rolling back if not the destruction of the social progress of the last decade. We best honour the dead by remaining true to the cause they served. On behalf of the coalition I echo the Prime Minister's words that we will stay the course and on this sad day our hearts go out to everyone who knew Private Lambert.

Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I associate myself with the remarks of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition both in expressing condolence to the spouse, parents and family of Private Matthew Lambert and in expressing support for our mission in Afghanistan.

Private Matthew Lambert was born in Kogarah in New South Wales in 1985. He was 26 years of age. He joined the Army, from Southern Queensland, enlisting in the 9th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment in August 2005. He transferred to the Australian Regular Army in February 2007 and was posted to the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment—2RAR—based in Townsville in Queensland. Private Lambert first deployed overseas to East Timor from June to November 2009. He deployed to Afghanistan in June of this year with Mentoring Task Force 3.

His mates remember well that he was looking forward with great anticipation to serving his country in Afghanistan. Private Lambert is described as a well-respected soldier who excelled in any task he was assigned. He was awarded the Australian Active Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Australian Defence Medal and the Timor Leste Solidarity Medal.

As the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have indicated, Private Lambert is the 29th fatality we have suffered in Afghanistan. With this terrible tragedy, we must continue to be clear sighted about our objective in Afghanistan. Our objective is to prevent Afghanistan, in particular the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, from again becoming a safe haven for terrorists. We will not be in Afghanistan forever, and we are on track to transition to Afghan-led responsibility for security arrangements in Oruzgan in 2014.

None of this, of course, makes it any easier for the Lambert family, for his spouse, for his friends, for his mates, for 2RAR or indeed for the people of Townsville. It does not make it easier for the 28 other Australian families who have been so terribly reminded of the loss of a son, a husband or a brother. Nor does it make it any easier for our nation to bear yet another fatality. Our condolences are with Private Lambert's spouse, his parents, his family his friends and his mates. His contribution and his sacrifice will always be remembered.

Members may be pleased to know that my New Zealand defence colleague, the Minister for Defence, Dr Wayne Mapp, rang me just before question time to express New Zealand's condolences at the tragic loss of Private Lambert. Dr Mapp and I spoke as recently as Saturday when I conveyed Australia's condolences for the death of Corporal Douglas Grant, who was killed defending the British Council in Kabul. I am pleased to advise the House that an Australian C130 assisted in the early stages of Corporal Douglas Grant's repatriation to New Zealand. At this time of tragic loss on both sides of the Tasman, we remember Private Matthew Lambert with our age-old refrain, so fitting for our Anzacs, 'Lest we forget.'

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

I join the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Minister for Defence to honour Private Matthew Lambert, a soldier from 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment killed in action in Afghanistan yesterday morning. I pass on my sincere condolences to his spouse, parents and family. When Private Lambert arrived in Afghanistan as part of MTF3, his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Smith, addressed the soldiers and said to them, 'You haven't yet earned the right to stand shoulder to shoulder with the soldiers of MTF2, but you will. I am confident we will build on their successes and that each and every one of you will work hard to emulate and expand on their achievements.' Let me say very clearly to all present, Private Lambert's unstinting service earned him the right to stand shoulder to shoulder with any in our grand military heritage. He served in a remote part of the province in Patrol Base Anaconda in the Khaz Oruzgan Valley. He served in the rough, in areas barely accessible by vehicle. He patrolled the valleys by foot, he manned the battlements, he mentored the Afghan soldiers he lived and fought with. He did everything asked of him in some of the most inhospitable terrain on earth, and he did it at night, in the rain, in the cold, in the heat, and in the dust. Private Lambert embodied everything that the 2nd Battalion is known for—duty first.

As a sniper, we know his deeds. Today we honour his name. A name known not only by us but by a family who loves him, known by the regiment who trained him, known by the men who fought with him, known by the medic who cradled him, known by the pilot who flew him, and known by the doctors and nurses who did everything possible to save him. While we collectively grieve for the loss of this fine Australian soldier, we remain eternally grateful for his sacrifice and that of the 28 others who have gone before. We are now closer to the end than the beginning. So as the light grows and the darkness fades let us continue to support our fighting men and women and let us strengthen our collective resolve to see this job through to the end. We honour you, Matthew Lambert, as we mourn your loss.

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

As a mark of respect, I invite honourable members to rise in their places.

Honourable members having stood in their places—

Debate adjourned.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the order of the day in relation to the death of Private Matthew Lambert be referred to the Main Committee for debate

Question agreed to.