Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House record its deep regret at the deaths on 29 August 2012, of Lance Corporal Stjepan (Rick) Milosevic, Sapper James Thomas Martin and Private Robert Hugh Frederick Poate during operations in Afghanistan, and place on record its appreciation of their service to their country and tender its profound sympathy to their families and friends in their bereavement.

They were three Australian soldiers born in very different parts of our nation—Penrith, Perth and Canberra. They were soldiers at different stages in their military careers and their own lives. Two of them were young men on their first deployment. The other was an older father of two making his second deployment overseas.

Lance Corporal Milosevic was a much-liked and experienced leader, a typical Australian bloke with a dry sense of humour and a friendly, natural charm. Sapper Martin was a quick learner who adapted well to the Army environment, a young man who when his mates were thinking of withdrawing from training said, 'I won't give up this opportunity for anything'—and he did not. Private Poate was a larrikin, a young man known for his leadership potential. They were three men different in character and background but united in their loyalty to our nation, men who served together and men who tragically died together.

We have mourned many combat deaths since the day this parliament first sat in May 1901. We were at war then and we are at war now. They have been, for the most part, wars far from our shores. But with the deaths of Lance Corporal Milosevic, Private Poate and Sapper Martin we were left in no doubt about how real this war is and how close to home its effects are felt not only in its grim cost but also in its complexity. All deaths during wartime are heartbreaking because of the lives they have shortened and the losses they leave behind.

These three men loved the Army, its way of life, its challenges and its comradeship. They loved life too, and they were in its prime. Their deaths are doubly heartbreaking because grief has been compounded by betrayal. The coward who took their lives was meant to be a fellow soldier in arms from the country that we came to help, the army we came to train.

Some have seen in these shocking deaths a reason to come home. Our troops will come home once they have seen their mission through to completion. But, right now, we must hold to our course. We must show to the world and to ourselves that Australia is a nation which keeps its commitments, a nation which sees the job through and a nation which honours its fallen by continuing and completing their work. On the eve of the 11th anniversary of the terrible events of September 11, we are reminded of the importance of their work.

On behalf of all Australians I wish to express my deepest sympathy to the friends and comrades of these three brave soldiers in the Australian Defence Force and particularly to the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment Queensland Mounted Infantry, the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment and the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. I say to Lance Corporal Milosevic's wife, Kelly; young daughters, Sarah and Kate; mother, Heather; brother, Milan, and sister, Danica; to Sapper Martin's mother, Suzanne; sister, Holly; stepbrother, Angus; and grandparents Ralph and Lucille Thomas; and to Private Poate's parents, Hugh and Janny; and sister, Nicola: your loved ones gave this nation all they had. We will never take their sacrifice for granted and we will never allow ourselves to forget.

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

I rise to support the moving words of the Acting Prime Minister because, yet again, Australia has lost some fine soldiers—this time killed by a treacherous ally—in Sapper James Martin, Lance Corporal Rick Milosevic and Private Robert Poate. On behalf of the coalition I extend our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones and send our best wishes to their comrades in arms still serving overseas.

There is a particular sense of anger when our soldiers are killed by those whom they are trying to help. But atrocities like this merely illustrate the ruthlessness of our enemies and the difficulty of the task that our soldiers are embarked upon. Hard tasks are worth pursuing while the outcome is worth the effort, and every day that our soldiers spend with our Afghan allies means that the Afghan army is better trained and more disciplined. Every day that Australians spend in Afghanistan means that there are more women in education and more girls in school and that standards of decency and justice have more chance to grow in what has previously been an almost feudal society. As the Acting Prime Minister has said, we are a nation that stays the course. We are not a nation that cuts and runs. That is why there should be no precipitate withdrawal from Afghanistan despite this latest and most vexing loss.

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

I rise to associate myself with the remarks of the Acting Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, both in expressing condolences to the families, friends and mates of Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic—or Rick Milosevic, as he was known to his family—Sapper James Martin and Private Robert Poate, and also in expressing our continuing support for our mission in Afghanistan. Lance Corporal Milosevic, Sapper Martin and Private Poate were murdered in an insider attack in Uruzgan province on the night of 29 August this year, the early hours of 30 August in Australia.

There is no higher sacrifice in conflict or in war and there is nothing more terrible than when it occurs as a result of the actions of a person who comes from the country and the army whom one is trying to assist. Australia has now seen four terrible insider incidents. They have seen the deaths of seven Australian soldiers and 12 Australian soldiers wounded. We have now seen 38 fatalities during our time in Afghanistan and some 240 wounded.

Lance Corporal Rick Milosevic enlisted in the Army in 2008 and was posted as a cavalryman to the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment, Queensland Mounted Infantry, in Brisbane in 2009 on completion of his basic training. He was much liked and respected by members of the regiment. His leadership and professional abilities stood out on exercises and on operations and also, his mates say, on the rugby field. He deployed to Iraq in 2010 and Afghanistan in 2012. He was regarded by his mates as a leader and a devoted family man.

Sapper James Martin was a Perth boy, and I know as the local federal member for Perth that in his youth he played underage cricket with the Maylands Junior Cricket Club and AFL football with the Bayswater Bears football club, both in my electorate. He reminded me of this when the Prime Minister and I farewelled 3RAR Task Group from Townsville prior to his deployment. His mother and his grandparents live in the electorate of Perth. Young James enlisted in the Army in 2011, and following recruit and combat engineer training was posted to the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment in Brisbane. He was described by his mates as an intellectual, a quick learner. He was well respected as a loyal friend and a good comrade. He was on his first operational deployment.

Private Robert Poate enlisted in the Army in 2009 and on completion of his basic and initial training was posted as a rifleman to 6 Battalion, RAR. Private Poate was described by his mates and superiors as having outstanding leadership potential. He was described by his mates as both a professional soldier and a larrikin. He was also on his first operational deployment. He was proud of his family, proud of his military service and proud of his Canberra origins.

The loss in such terrible circumstances of Lance Corporal Milosevic, Sapper Martin and Private Poate will lead many to question, quite rightly, our commitment in Afghanistan. But at such a terrible time for the nation and for those families we must continue to be clear sighted. Our objective is to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a safe haven for terrorists. We will not be in Afghanistan forever. Transition to Afghan-led security responsibility in Uruzgan commenced in July and is on track. Our thoughts and our condolences are with the families, friends and mates of Lance Corporal Milosevic, Sapper Martin and Private Poate. 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 Acting Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Minister for Defence in honouring Lance Corporal Rick Milosevic, Sapper James Martin and Private Robert Poate from the 3RAR Task Group, who were tragically killed in action—and two of their comrades wounded in action—following an attack at Patrol Base Wahab in the Baluchi Valley on the evening on 29 August. I offer my condolences to Lance Corporal Milosevic's partner, Kelly, and daughters, Sarah and Kate; to Sapper James Martin's mother, Suzanne Thomas, his younger brother and sister, Angus and Holly, and his grandparents Lucille and Ralph Thomas; and to Private Robert Poate's parents, Hugh and Janny, and his sister, Nicola.

That was a dark day for our nation. The moment we learnt of this loss was the moment that as a country we collectively gasped. We mourn the loss of three Australian soldiers killed by someone they trained with and someone they trusted, a member of the Afghan military they came to serve, an ANA soldier they came to fight alongside, to risk their lives for his. These three men were not soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, which comprises the bulk of the combat force; they were specialist volunteers to bolster the unit and increase its combat power.

Private Poate was from 6 Battalion, the fifth killed in action from this battalion. Lance Corporal Milosevic was from the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment, Queensland Mounted Infantry, the second killed in action from his regiment. Sapper Martin was from the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment, the third killed in action from his regiment and the seventh sapper overall to lay down his life. These three brave men, like others with them, joined the ranks of the 3rd Battalion to collectively form the 3RAR Task Group. They stood up when they were needed and they did everything that was asked of them. Theirs, surely, was the way of virtue, theirs the way of service. They came to Afghanistan to give life, to reach out an open palm and to fight for freedom, and they served magnificently. We will remember them.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a mark of respect, I ask all present to signify their approval by rising in their places.

Honourable members having stood in their places—

Debate adjourned.