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

) ( ): In my statement to the House last year on the war in Afghanistan, I set out to paint a very honest picture of the difficulties and challenges facing our mission in that country. I did so, confident that Australians are a realistic people. Our people of peace, so often called to war, have always known that human conflict brings days of sorrow, as well as days of progress. Australians well know that this war is no exception. Australians well understand that days of progress and days of sorrow still lie ahead. Of course, we wish it could somehow not be so. It is right that in hard moments our hearts ache for all that is lost and all there is still to lose. Of course, we know that in an imperfect world, there is no perfect way. It is right that we do all that we can, with all that we have, to defend Australia and its national interests. This is the world we live in. It has not become a perfect world in this last year.

The international strategy in which we take our part is sound. It is focussed on counter-insurgency and designed to deliver transition. It has been led by President Obama since 2009 and is supported by the leaders of the 48 other countries who are members of the International Security Assistance Force. It is carried out under a United Nations mandate and with the support of the countries of the world. It is a strategy which is consistent with Australia's aim in Afghanistan as well: that a functioning Afghan state is able to assume responsibility for preventing the country from again being a safe haven for terrorists.

Our mission in Oruzgan as part of the international strategy is clear: protecting the Afghan people, training the Afghan security forces and building the government's capacity. Australia's national interests in Afghanistan are also unchanged. They remain very real—very clear. There must be no safe haven for terrorists in Afghanistan. We must stand firmly by our ally, the United States.

Yes, we are paying a high price for progress in Afghanistan. But progress is being made. Our national interests in Afghanistan have not changed in 12 months. Our mission has not changed. The timetable for transition to Afghan led security by the end of 2014 has not changed either. We will complete our mission of training and transition.

The daily work of Australians in Afghanistan

I believe that our parliament and our people want to know more about the daily work of our troops—and our civilians—in Afghanistan. Australians should have a practical and realistic picture of what our people in Afghanistan are doing on the ground. The moving and now sadly familiar images of ramp ceremonies overseas and funerals at home are a very real part of the story of the war—but they are not the whole story. We owe it to our troops, and to our nation, to understand the whole.

Defence has around 1,550 personnel deployed in Afghanistan at any one time. Over two-thirds of them serve in Oruzgan. Many of the Australians currently there arrived at the end of June and will be deployed until around March next year. With rotations, nearly 4½ thousand Australian Defence Force personnel will spend time in Afghanistan this year. Many will be on their second and third deployments—some will have been to Afghanistan many times.

Combined Team Uruzgan is principally an Australia-US partnership, but it also includes some contributions from Singapore and Slovakia. Many of our soldiers in the team are part of the Mentoring Taskforce. The task force trains and mentors the Afghan National Army's 4th Brigade—to make it ready to take over lead responsibility for security in Oruzgan.

The task force and the brigade train and fight together, working hard to build the brigade into an effective security force, removing improvised explosive devices where they are found, searching out where insurgents hide explosives, improvised explosive device components and weapons. They have been involved in hundreds of incidents involving direct fire—hundreds of firefights—this year. To support these operations, they maintain forward or patrol bases, across the province, in some cases as far as 75 kilometres from our main base at Tarin Kowt. And they join operations outside the province too, cutting the so-called 'rat runs', the routes which provide support and supply to insurgents in Oruzgan.

This last year, the Afghan 4th Brigade has increasingly assumed the lead for the planning and preparation of operations. And as that has happened, our Australians have increasingly concentrated on mentoring and partnering Afghan command and combat support functions. Our Special Forces work alongside the Afghan National Police's Provincial Response Company. Together, they have been targeting insurgent leaders and bomb-makers, finding weapons, interdicting some of the movement of Taliban forces and supplies across Afghanistan. Working alongside the Afghan National Interdiction Unit, our special forces disrupt the narcotics trade as well. In September and again earlier this month, the interdiction unit captured hundreds of millions of dollars worth of narcotics and thousands of kilos of poppy seed stored in preparation for next year's growing season. They cut vital money flows to the insurgency and Taliban when they did.

Another example of our work in building Afghan security capacity is our work at the Afghan National Army Artillery Training School. The Afghan artillerymen we have helped train have now formed a new battery within the Afghan National Army. And in early April they were deployed to Kandahar to commence counter-insurgency operations. In Oruzgan Australians also work with the Afghan police to get them ready for transition. The Australian Federal Police currently has 20 officers at the police training centre and our police have trained more than 1,600 Afghan National Police officers in local policing work. This is our people's daily work: protecting the Afghan people and training the Afghan security forces. Every day, Australians are working to strengthen institutions and deliver basic services as well. In Kabul, led by our ambassador, our diplomats work with the Afghan government and our international partners to prepare for transition in Oruzgan province. We have 12 AusAID staff in the country at any one time, working in Kabul, Kandahar and Oruzgan. In Oruzgan, Australia leads the Provincial Reconstruction Team. Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and AusAID work hard in what is a vital and perhaps under-recognised role. These fine public servants serve our national interest well.

Australia is amongst the top ten bilateral aid donors to Afghanistan. Our programs fund primary schooling. They train farmers to increase crop yields and improve their livestock. They offer small loans to help rural households develop their own small businesses and economic independence. They help remove landmines and teach locals about the risk of mines. They distribute saplings and plant trees. Every day this work makes a difference in Afghan lives.

Our soldiers, police and aid workers do their work as part of a political and development strategy for the province as well. Civilian administrators and aid officials—including Australians—are helping government work better in Oruzgan and in Afghanistan as a whole. They have a difficult task: helping to recruit and train effective public officials, including in key provincial positions, even when it is hard; assisting the provincial government to deliver basic services like health, education and rural development; playing a constructive role to lift the power and prestige of elected government—all difficult, all vital over time—because the international strategy is one which understands that no insurgency is ever defeated by military force alone.

To understand this daily work of our people, we must understand too that their work forms part of a nationwide strategy with international support. And the international strategy supports the Afghan government's efforts for reconciliation. We support reconciliation and the reintegration of insurgents who are prepared to lay down their arms, renounce violence and terrorism and respect Afghanistan's constitution. The international strategy also understands that Afghanistan exists in a regional security context where all its neighbours must do their part.

This year brought a great victory against terrorism. The hiding place of Osama bin Laden was found and Osama bin Laden was killed—justice delayed, but not justice denied. Yet this great success, revealing as it did bin Laden's presence in Pakistan, underscored the complexity of the war in which we are engaged. Pakistan, its military and people are on the front line of terrorism and have been victims of its violence themselves. In that country, perhaps as many as 30,000 civilians and 5,000 military personnel have died in terrorist attacks in the past 10 years. We do cooperate with Pakistan on counterterrorism. And the international community is there to assist as well. All that is true. What is also true is this. It is time for Pakistan to do more to counter terrorism and extremism, particularly on its border with Afghanistan. This is in the interests of Afghanistan, Australia and our coalition partners, and it is in the interests of Pakistan itself.

This was the daily work of the Australian military and civilians in Afghanistan this last year. And it was not isolated work. Across Afghanistan this last year, coalition and Afghan troops put considerable pressure on the insurgency. Sustained operations through the year weakened the Taliban's leadership and disrupted its ability to recruit and resupply. In 2010, the momentum of insurgents had already been halted and then reversed. In 2011, the insurgents were unable to retake any ground from the control of the International Security Assistance Force.

These gains need to be consolidated. Despite our successes, the Taliban is not yet defeated. But there is progress on the ground. The 4th Brigade is becoming more capable and professional. So is the Afghan National Army as a whole. Its ability to combat improvised explosive devices has significantly improved—more than 120 Afghan counter-IED operators are in the field with another 70 in training now. Some of their training has been from Australians. Afghan medics are about to deploy to patrol bases to train Afghan soldiers in skills that will enable them to stabilise combat injuries and prevent non-battle injuries. They have been trained by Australians. The Afghan National Police's crime scene and evidence collection procedures have improved, thanks to Australian training too. And progress can be seen in the country as a whole. Important tactical victories have been won fighting al-Qaeda and degrading jihadist networks; maintaining our momentum against the Taliban—cutting into their ability to control territory and provide sanctuary for terrorist groups. And the process of transition has begun. Several provinces and districts have now moved to Afghan-led security control and further provinces and districts are to be announced soon.

We understand that security progress is not enough. Progress in human development and political reconciliation is vital too. Afghanistan is a poor country today: a place where most people are extremely poor and where many lack access to clean water, health and education and basic services. But this is not somehow inevitable or inescapable. It is a product of war and dictatorship, and peace and progress can allow Afghanistan to develop over time.

In the 1960s Afghanistan was a poor country but a growing one. Its wealth was comparable to that of countries like Malaysia and Portugal—countries which have found a path to prosperity in the decades since. By 2002, much had been lost. But since 2002 much has been gained. School enrolments are up from around one million then to over seven million today, including 2½ million girls. Basic health services once reached 10 per cent of the population; they now reach around 85 per cent. Almost 10,000 kilometres of rural roads have been rehabilitated, employing hundreds of thousands of local workers and building critical infrastructure. The economy has grown strongly, averaging 11 per cent growth each year since 2002.

Oruzgan is still a poor province and Afghanistan is still a poor country. These lost decades can never truly be regained—the Afghan people's goals for development, and our work with them, are very realistic. But Afghanistan is unrecognisable from the place Australians first deployed to 10 years ago. This is what is happening on the ground. In security, in training the Afghan 4th Brigade, in delivering basic services, progress has been made in 2011.

Toward Transition

Our caution is real. The progress is real too. So now let me turn to the government's plans to complete our mission of training and transition—our plans to ensure that progress continues during 2012. Throughout the coming year, we will continue working closely with the Afghan government, our ally the United States and our other international partners on the future of Oruzgan and our mission there and the course of transition there too.

This ultimately depends upon a careful, realistic and professional assessment of the progress of the Afghan 4th Brigade. Our best professional advice is this: the overall training task is on track. The 4th Brigade is demonstrating progress towards operating independently. One of the brigade's kandaks, or battalions, is now close to being able to conduct fully independent operations with advisers. The others are making steady progress with more expected to be capable of conducting independent operations next year. This is the big picture of the 4th Brigade.

But every member of the House understands the grave significance of the attacks on our soldiers by individual members of the Afghan National Army. If I can echo the Chief of Defence Force's words, it is critical that we show restraint and reserve our judgments until the investigation of these incidents is complete. We do not yet have grounds to conclude that these attacks represent a pattern or were directed with a purpose. What we do know is this. These attacks killed Afghan and Australian alike. Our partners in the 4th Brigade, our Afghan partners, are shocked and horrified at what has occurred. The Afghan National Army is a force of some 300,000 soldiers—a force making steady progress like the nation it serves. Whatever the purpose, we are determined not to allow these incidents to erode our trust. We must not allow attacks like these to strike at the core of our training and mentoring mission in Afghanistan.

All our best advice leads us to conclude that the 4th Brigade is on track to assume the lead role on security in Oruzgan by 2014. And we are making steady and careful preparations for transition now. Australian forces have already handed over 11 patrol or forward operating bases to Afghan lead. Mobile mentoring teams will continue to assist our Afghan partners at their operating bases for periods as required. When our primary training and mentoring task in Oruzgan is complete—when the Afghan authorities have assumed lead security responsibility in the province—then Australia will adjust our contribution.

The timing to complete transition in Oruzgan is not yet decided. But given the progress we now see, it may well be complete before the end of 2014. And once our mission to train and mentor the 4th Brigade is complete, we will draw down the number of ADF personnel in the country. We are realistic about the 4th Brigade's progress. And it is that realistic assessment, by the governments of Australia and Afghanistan and by ISAF, which will decide the timetable for transition in Oruzgan. We will not allow a security vacuum in the province.

This reflects the international plan across Afghanistan. In March this year President Karzai announced the first tranche of Afghan districts and provinces to start transitioning to Afghan-led security responsibility. As security conditions improve, 2012 will see Afghan authorities take on lead security responsibility in more provinces and districts. The Afghan government is expected to announce the second tranche of provinces and districts for transition soon.

Transition is a process—and in these areas it is expected to take around 12 to 18 months. By the time transition in the second tranche is completed, Afghan national security forces will have lead security responsibility for around half of the country's people. As subsequent tranches are announced through 2012 and 2013 the remaining parts of the country will enter transition. And the Afghan National Security Forces should lead and conduct military operations in all provinces by the end of 2014.

Transition and Beyond

Over the next three years, Australia will complete our mission of training and transition. Australia will not abandon Afghanistan. With Afghan authorities in charge of their own security, the nature of the international effort in Afghanistan will change. International military forces will reduce in number. The forces that remain will focus on training and support for the Afghan National Security Forces and on counterterrorism. Australia's contribution in Afghanistan will continue to be part of a wider international effort. We will be engaged through this decade at least.

Naturally much remains to be decided. For now, the centre of our efforts is directed towards successful transition. But now is also the time when we will begin to develop the right strategy and approach for beyond 2014—for post-transition. 2012 will be an important year. Working closely with the Afghan government, international community and military planners, we will form our plans for transition and beyond. What we can say already is this. The international commitment, including that of our ally the United States, remains substantial. It is a substantial commitment in human and in dollar terms. Today, the US has around 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, reducing to around 90,000 at the end of this year. Most of the 'surge' troops, which lifted troop numbers to deliver the international strategy, will remain for most of 2012. This time next year, there will be around 68,000 US troops in Afghanistan—as part of an international force of over 100,000. By the end of next year our contribution of around 1,550 people will be part of a force of over 100,000 uniformed personnel.

The United States is in negotiations with Afghanistan on a long-term strategic partnership—intended to provide a transparent political framework for long-term cooperation—to continue targeting terrorists and supporting a sovereign Afghan government. While the shape of the US commitment in Afghanistan post-2014 is yet to be decided, this work being done by the US on its long-term strategic partnership—and work being done by NATO—informs our thinking. And the May 2012 summit in Chicago of member countries of the international force will be critical in developing this thinking further.

What this means is that we have reached an important stage in our national policy on Afghanistan. I can advise the parliament that the government's post-transition planning has formally begun, building on the announcements made by the Minister for Defence and the Minister for Foreign Affairs during this year.

During my visit to Afghanistan last month, President Karzai and I discussed formalising a long-term framework agreement for the future of the Australia-Afghanistan partnership. This kind of cooperative, country-to-country approach is an important framework for our long-term plans. We seek an enduring partnership with Afghanistan beyond 2014 as Afghanistan takes on responsibility for its own security and governance—taking in a broad range of bilateral activities, including a sustained development assistance program and support for Afghanistan as a fledgling democracy. We have all worked hard to support democratic institutions and process. The next presidential elections in 2014 will be a test of those. So continued electoral reform is important too.

Australia will work closely with the Afghan government and international partners to continue electoral reform and to support successful and transparent presidential elections in 2014. Good government in the country may be the work of an Afghan generation. That, of course, is the responsibility of the Afghan government and people. But we can help.

While in Afghanistan, I also officially opened Australia's new embassy in Kabul—a 'bricks and mortar' symbol that our relationship with the people of Afghanistan will endure. After 2014 we will continue to maintain links with Oruzgan, a province in which we have invested so much. But our role will also have a national focus, with substantial development assistance and an AusAID presence, including Afghanistan based official aid personnel. We also expect to continue defence training to continue building the capacity of the Afghan National Security Forces—and for the Australian Federal Police to keep training the Afghan National Police.

We must remain vigilant against the threat posed by al-Qaeda and the groups it has inspired. Al-Qaeda and its affiliates still hold ambitions to conduct acts of terrorism in Afghanistan, the region and around the world. We will continue our efforts in Afghanistan to ensure that the country never again becomes a safe haven and training ground for international terrorism.

Whether there is still a counterterrorism role for the Australian Defence Force, in concert with the US and other international partners, will depend both on the security situation and on our discussions with our international partners. The government will keep under consideration a continued Australian Special Forces presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014. We will take a firm line on our national interest that terrorism finds no safe haven in Afghanistan.

We will see them through

I am deeply aware of, and the government, the parliament and the nation deeply feel, the burden which is being borne by the Army, by the Australian Defence Force and by the Defence community as a whole. In the years since 1999 we have asked much of this generation of our Defence Force personnel. We ask much of their families. We ask much of the communities they come from and the communities where they live. And for these good people, this has been a very hard year. As a nation, we are determined. We know we have done good things. As a nation, we know their price. We know the good things we have done have come at a high cost. There have been days of sorrow and we do not forget.

Eleven Australians have died in Afghanistan this year. The 1st Combat Engineer Regiment lost Corporal Richard Atkinson and Sapper Jamie Larcombe in February. The 2nd Commando Regiment lost Sergeant Brett Wood in May and Sergeant Todd Langley in July. In May, Lance Corporal Andrew Jones of 9th Force Support Battalion and Lieutenant Marcus Case of 6th Aviation Regiment both died of wounds. The Incident Response Regiment lost Sapper Rowan Robinson in June. The 2nd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, lost Private Matthew Lambert in August, and then last month the battalion also lost Lance Corporal Luke Gavin. On the same day Captain Bryce Duffy, 4th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, and Corporal Ashley Birt, 6th Engineer Support Regiment, were killed. We do not forget.

I believe that the best tribute we can pay to them is to live by their example—the example set by those who have died and by those they leave behind; of their service without fear. Even in their mourning they are an example to us. These are people who stick together; these are people who see things through. I am proud of the respect Australians show to our Defence Force—to those serving, to those who have died. I see that on Anzac Day and I see it on Remembrance Day. I feel it most when we hold our breath at the news that we most dread, news of casualties from the field. We have lost 32 Australians in our decade in Afghanistan. They are not our only casualties. Our wounded—and their families—have suffered terribly as well.

More than 200 Australians have been wounded in action in Afghanistan—48 this year. They include: 18 soldiers who were involved in improvised explosive device attacks, five aircrew who were wounded in a helicopter incident and another 10 soldiers wounded in the two recent incidents at patrol bases. They suffer: amputations, fractures, gunshot and fragmentation wounds, hearing loss and what is called 'mild traumatic brain injury'—something we will see more and more often as we learn more about how to detect and understand percussion damage from explosions. There are also lacerations and contusions, concussion and traumatic brain injury, penetrating fragments and multiple severe injuries. Many will not serve again. Some will not walk again. Not one will be forgotten. Our country will recognise and respect our wounded as well as our dead. Our country will take care of these Australians as they have taken care of us. We will see our mission through; we will see our people through as well.

This year, I flew from Jamie Larcombe's funeral at Kangaroo Island halfway across the world to Washington DC. I spoke about him there. I wanted to be sure that his service was honoured and, through him, that of all his mates. Not just their service and their sacrifice but their virtues as well; their confidence and their resolution; their professionalism and their courage; their determination to see their mission through. They are a sight to see.

Ours is a beautiful country. We share a continent of many great sights, and last week I took President Obama to see one of our finest: 1,500 of our young people in uniform in an Air Force hangar on a steamy Darwin day. I never thought I would say drinking a non-alcoholic beer was a highlight of my year, but a good time depends on the company you keep. And, if it had to be 'near-beer' last month, it was worth every drop for a chance to be near some great young Aussies in the canteen at Tarin Kowt.

The job they are doing for us has not changed in 12 months. They have made progress. They have hard days ahead. So do we. Ours is a realistic people. A people of peace, so often called to war. We will do what is necessary. We will defend our national interests. We will deny terrorism a safe haven in Afghanistan. We will stand by our ally, the United States. We will complete our mission of training and transition in Afghanistan. I present a copy of my statement.

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

I ask leave of the House to move a motion to enable the honourable Leader of the Opposition to speak in reply to the Prime Minister's statement.

Leave granted.

I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the honourable Leader of the Opposition speaking for a period not exceeding 37 minutes.

Question agreed to.

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

I rise to support the fine words of the Prime Minister and I am grateful for the opportunity to join her in this expression of support for our military commitment to Afghanistan.

With the passing of the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, and of the beginning of Australia's commitment to Afghanistan, it is fitting that we in this parliament reconsider and recommit to the military campaign. Much has been achieved over the past year. The United States and its key allies have badly damaged al-Qaeda. Information recovered from the Bin Laden compound suggests that, with half its key leadership killed or captured, the movement had even on its own assessment largely lost its capacity to inflict harm on Western targets and had failed in its quest to portray the West as being at war with Islam. In President Obama's assessment, al-Qaeda is now headed for defeat.

Inside Afghanistan, President Karzai has declared that Afghan forces should assume full responsibility to lead combat operations by the end of 2014, and members of the international coalition are planning for a transition to meet that deadline. President Obama has announced that 33,000 US troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan through 2012. Prime Minister Cameron has already withdrawn 500 British troops, but both the United States and the United Kingdom continue to emphasise that the transition in Afghanistan will depend upon the actual security situation inside the country and that some coalition forces could remain for a long time.

The international coalition's commitment to Afghanistan cannot be entirely open-ended because that would excuse the Afghan people from taking responsibility for their own country. It would amount to a Western takeover. On the other hand, withdrawal dates cannot be irrevocable either or the Taliban win just by waiting out the West. The best exit strategy is to win. For Australia, this means playing our part in defeating the Taliban in Oruzgan province and completing the task of training the 4th Brigade so that central government can contain and defeat the insurgency.

Our soldiers should not be in Afghanistan a moment longer than is necessary but, while there is vital work that they can do, that mission should be sustained. While it may well be possible to have significant troop withdrawals by 2014, it would be wrong to think that Australia's or the broader international community's involvement with Afghanistan should terminate at that point. It would be unrealistic for Australia to stay longer than our principal allies are staying but it is vital that we achieve our mission: Afghanistan should not be abandoned after 2014.

Australia must remain a reliable friend and partner of Afghanistan, if necessary, for many years to come. That may well require contributing to Afghan security beyond 2014, including with troops in an overwatch role—and I note the Prime Minister's comments a few moments ago about the possible continuation of special forces in that country.

We know that victory in Afghanistan will not resemble the unequivocal resolution of World War II; it will be more like success in Northern Ireland, involving a process as much as an outcome. Our goal is the establishment of a stable, effective and humane government, at least by Afghan standards, backed by reliable security forces.

I would like to confront head-on the claim that this is an unwinnable war. The impact of the surge of US troops which began in 2009 has been dramatic. At times, this has been overshadowed by high-profile suicide bombings and the tragedy of Australian casualties. Still, grief and disappointment should not override judgment. The coalition and its Afghan partners have made important security gains across much of the country, even though the border with Pakistan remains porous and key elements of the insurgency can enjoy a form of R&R there.

Progress is fragile. There is no certainty that recent security gains will be turned into a durable, stable country. Still, my most recent visit reinforced my confidence that Australia is making a difference, at least in Oruzgan province. The security situation there continues to improve. Taliban numbers are decreasing. They are finding it increasingly difficult to move around, and there are more relatively safe areas than during my previous visit. The insurgency still has the capacity to inflict casualties using roadside bombs to carry out civilian massacres and assassinate officials of the Karzai government.

The Australian military assessment though is that the Taliban's ability to engage in direct combat with coalition forces or even with the Afghan army has been seriously degraded. The transition from largely Western to largely Afghan security forces will take time. But, thanks to the work of the Australian mentoring task force, the 4th Brigade is now among the best in the Afghan army and is disproving the view of some strategic analysts that the only people in Afghanistan who shy away from fighting are the Afghan National Army.

In Oruzgan, more schools and clinics are open and many girls are getting an education for the first time. The road between Tarin Kowt and Chora has been sealed and a four-hour journey can now be done in 20 minutes. I understand that there are now individual cars on the road as travellers no longer feel the need to be in convoy for safety. Local villagers, in a pattern which echoes Iraqi uprising against the insurgents in that country, are reported to be increasingly turning on the Taliban.

But, for Australian soldiers on the ground, the insurgency does remain potentially deadly. There is no such thing as casualty-free combat. Soldiers understand that, and we should too. Because of the higher intensity of our operations, we have lost 21 soldiers over the past two years compared to 11 in the previous eight years of our involvement. Nor should we overlook incidents in which rogue Afghan soldiers have turned on their Australian mentors. The element of betrayal makes these deaths particularly tragic. In any traumatised and armed society, though, there will be individuals who act violently even against friends. Our enemies hope to foster this type of treachery because it is the surest way to shake our own people's faith in the mission, so it is important not to play into their hands. Trust between comrades is vital for success in battle and must now be fully restored. I am pleased to say that the Australians I met in Tarin Kowt all spoke highly of their Afghan allies, the vast majority of whom they regarded as worthy brothers-in-arms. The next claim I want to confront is that the war is not worth the cost. Higher casualty rates do not mean that the war is being lost. They could equally mean that it is being prosecuted more vigorously. The Taliban are finding it more difficult to move around or to directly engage coalition or Afghan troops, so have increasingly resorted to roadside bombs. Since the departure of the Dutch in mid-2010, the Australian Mentoring Task Force, with the same numbers as before, has had a bigger job.

The Howard government originally judged that it was in Australia's national interest to help evict the Taliban from power and to secure an Afghanistan that would never again grant sanctuary to al-Qaeda. And, to their credit, the Rudd and Gillard governments have made essentially the same call for essentially the same reasons. First, al-Qaeda represented a direct threat to all Western countries, as the September 11 atrocity demonstrated and as subsequent ones confirmed, such as the Bali and London bombings. All up, al-Qaeda has murdered 108 Australians. Al-Qaeda has also been a deadly threat to our country from within, as shown by home-grown terrorist plots, all of which, thankfully, so far have been foiled.

Second, it is in Australia's enduring national interest to be a reliable ally and friend. It is in our national character not to let down our friends when the need help. It is right that we should support our allies in doing some of the heavy lifting in the struggle against Islamist extremism.

Third, it is consistent with our best values as a nation to back an international effort to remove an oppressive regime and to help establish a freer and fairer political system and a freer and fairer society in Afghanistan, especially for women. I have to say that Afghans are unlikely to become a nation of liberal pluralists or secular humanists any time soon. But that does not mean that they have no wish to be free to choose their own way of life. Their enthusiastic participation in multiparty elections last year, despite lethal intimidation, as well as similar participation earlier in Iraq suggests that the desire for freedom and democracy is not merely a Western conceit. Afghanistan may never be a Western-style pluralist democracy. In any event, it is for Afghans, not for outsiders, to reengineer their society from feudal to the modern, if that is what they want. It is important, though, that their choices should not be made for them by a totalitarian theocracy bent on exporting death to all, with a different notion of God.

Today's parliamentary statements are a response to understandable public concerns that the results in Afghanistan might not be worth the effort. In fairness to our soldiers and to their families we must count the cost of our continued commitment, but we must also count the cost of prematurely abandoning that mission. Should the international coalition's mission fail or end too soon, there is a strong risk that Afghanistan would once again descent into feudalism and once again become a base for international terrorism. If the Taliban were able to reassert control in Afghanistan there would be a high risk that neighbouring Pakistan—a nuclear armed country under great internal pressure from its own extremists—could itself become critically destabilised. That is why it is important that those who support the commitment continue to explain why it is not—I repeat, not—interfering in a faraway struggle that we could safely ignore.

I again place on record the coalition's appreciation of the magnificent work of the Australian forces in Afghanistan. As I had the opportunity to observe again last week, their job is dangerous and difficult, but they undertake it with great skill and resolution. Again and again they have confirmed their reputation as soldiers equal to the world's best. There are many ways to serve our country but probably no finer way—and, I am sure, no tougher way—than to be on active service in the armed forces. I am sure all in this House stand in humble awe of those who put their lives on the line every day for our country.

We mourn the 32 young Australians killed in Afghanistan. They are our finest. We honour them and we will never forget them. We also remember the 213 who have been wounded in the line of duty. Those who have not recovered fully from their injuries must have the best possible support; we must never let them down. Our hearts go out to the families of the dead and the wounded. They do not want their loved one's sacrifices to have been in vain. We best honour these soldiers by securing the victory for which they fought. I also salute the police, diplomats, aid workers and other Australians working hard in Afghanistan to give that country a better future.

I do acknowledge the fact that the Rudd and Gillard governments have maintained their predecessor's commitment in Afghanistan and were even prepared to strengthen that commitment following the withdrawal of most Australian forces from Iraq. Bipartisan support for the commitment is not quite the same as agreeing that nothing could ever be improved. Respectfully, the coalition should speak out in those instances where we feel the commitment could be made more effective.

In my parliamentary address on Afghanistan last year I noted that it would be important to be able to detain suspects beyond 96 hours, as the Americans and the British can. I have to say that our troops on the ground do remain concerned that they are releasing suspects only to have them rejoin the fight against us. So, again, I do respectfully ask the government to consider giving our forces in Afghanistan the capacity to detain terror suspects for at least as long as authorities already can here in Australia. The key element in prolonging the conflict in Afghanistan has been covert support for the Taliban from elements in the Pakistani state. The United States has so far judged that it is better to have an imperfect Pakistan as a partner than to treat it as a pariah. Pakistan indeed has tacitly accepted air attacks against al-Qaeda operatives on its territory and did not overstrenuously object to the US raid that killed bin Laden. The Pakistani army has been intermittently effective against the local franchise of the Taliban. On balance, it is best for Australia to maintain cooperative relations through our military training program in Pakistan and I am sure that the government is making every effort to rouse the Pakistanis to their own danger should Taliban safe havens continue to exist and should an insurgency take greater hold in Pakistan too.

I fully understand why a peaceful people would prefer to have our military forces out of harm's way. As far as everyone in this parliament is concerned, I am sure, Australian forces will not stay a day longer than they need to. But they should not leave while they are still needed and wanted. We should be very wary of rushing for the exits and seeing much that has been achieved crumble. Missiles and drones might be able to keep terrorist bases out of Afghanistan but they cannot build roads, they cannot keep schools open and they cannot give women equal rights with men. That requires a commitment on the ground.

Whatever the future holds, there is no doubt that the Australians there have acquitted themselves with courage and professionalism in the very best Anzac tradition. Our armed forces are more than ready to fight for our country but they need to know that it is indeed our country's fight. Our behalf of the Liberal and National parties I give them that assurance.

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

I move:

That the House take note of the document.

Question agreed to; debate adjourned.