Keith Pitt (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that the Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program (ADFPP) has enjoyed bipartisan support since its formation in 2001;

(2) recognises the importance of providing an opportunity for Parliamentarians to experience life working alongside Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel;

(3) notes that the ADFPP provides ADF personnel with direct access to Members of Parliament in their own workplace or as a part of the exchange program to Parliament House; and

(4) expresses gratitude to ADF personnel who make ADFPP a great success.

The bipartisan Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program offers a unique and often intimate firsthand experience of the challenges of service life. It also gives a broader understanding of the capabilities of the Australian Defence Force and the application of military power in the pursuit of strategic government policy. Between 2001 and the end of 2014, about 340 attachment options were undertaken by federal parliamentarians, 120 by senators and 220 by members of the House of Representatives. Of the 34 participants in 2014, 19 undertook their first attachment and, by all accounts, their experience was excellent.

In a bid to better understand the daily demands placed on our Defence personnel, exactly 12 months ago yesterday I boarded Australia's navy frigate HMAS Newcastle as part of the federal parliamentary exchange program. For much of the time they conducted work-up exercises under the supervision of the Navy's Sea Training Group. I had access to all operations, a flight on the ship's support helicopter, boarding parties, damage control and the general life of our naval personnel. It was an experience I will never forget.

The other important element of the program is the annual exchange of up to 15 Australian Defence Force members from all ranks conducted during a sitting week, usually in September of each year. The exchange element of the program allows the Australian Defence Force participants to gain a unique insight into the operation of parliament and the daily working routine of their hosts.

The program culminates each year with the military dining-in night. For many, it is an opportunity to experience another fine tradition of the military, receive a commemorative award and share experiences with fellow travellers. At the 2014 dinner we heard the member for Parramatta, Julie Owens, speak to her five previous attachments, starting with her first experience with the Regional Force Surveillance Unit in Arnhem Land. The second speaker was the member for Riverina, Michael McCormack, who spoke of his attachment last year to the Middle East region. So, as you can see, Madam Deputy Speaker, the ADF Parliamentary Program is truly bipartisan.

Seconding this motion today is the Labor member for Gellibrand, Tim Watts. Mr Watts took part in a tour of the Middle East and Afghanistan in April this year. Like all of us who have been fortunate to participate in the program, Mr Watts was moved by the camaraderie and dedication of our diggers, describing them as 'our modern-day ANZACs'. I thank him for his support here today.

I would also like to thank the member for Forrest, Nola Marino, for her contribution today. Ms Marino has participated in the ADF Parliamentary Program every year since her election in 2007, travelling to places like Afghanistan, and this year she boarded the USS Mercy in Papua New Guinea.

It is this parliament that deploys our Defence personnel to often dangerous and hostile locations. I think it is essential for members of parliament to have at least a rudimentary understanding of the conditions we ask them to work in in the defence of our great nation. It is equally important that we at least try in some way to walk in their shoes so we can better understand what some of our constituents may have experienced.

My electorate, for example, has a larger than average veteran community. They may have retired from service, but every day they continue to make valued contributions to social life and local life. And they inspire our young people—the number of young Hinkler residents applying to join the Australian Defence Force continues to increase significantly. In the 2012-13 financial year, 575 Hinkler residents applied, compared to 744 in the 2013-14 financial year. So far, more than 50 young people from my electorate have applied for the coalition's reinstated ADF Gap Year program.

While national security is one of the top issues of concern among my constituents, what may come as a surprise to many is that Hinkler has historically received less defence spending than any other electorate in the country. Given the high unemployment rate in my region, that is something I would like to see remedied. I have written to the Minister for Defence to put forward three long-term proposals that are being worked on by the Hinkler community.

They would like to see a naval maintenance base established at the Port of Bundaberg and for Enoggera Barracks to be relocated to the Fraser Coast when it outgrows its current Brisbane site. An advisory group has also been established to produce a business case for the recently decommissioned HMAS Tobruk to be sunk in Wide Bay to create a military dive wreck and fish breeding ground. It would complement our Fraser Coast military heritage trail and the Rats of Tobruk Memorial in Bundaberg. It would create an additional tourism industry to keep boats in the water when the whales and nesting sea turtles are not present. It is a plan that would be of enormous benefit to our local economy, one that would see a military asset continue to serve the people of Australia well after its retirement.

Finally, I would like to commend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Darren Chester MP, for his oversight of the parliamentary exchange program. It is a very worthwhile venture that benefits current ADF members, parliamentarians and indeed our veterans communities.

Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to second the motion before the House today put by the member for Hinkler. As he mentioned, in April this year I joined the member for Dobell, the member for Gippsland, the parliamentary secretary, the member for Solomon and Senator Lisa Singh in the other place in travelling to the Middle East region and Afghanistan to see firsthand the work being done by our Australian Defence Force personnel overseas. You do not know how unfit you really are until you take part in an ADF training session. On our arrival in Afghanistan, the parliamentary delegation was taken outside and put through our paces in a series of gruelling drills. Our drill was one that ADF personnel practice routinely—dragging someone out of an army truck 150 metres down the road by their bulletproof jacket while strapped with 30 kilograms of military kit yourself. The ADF practice this exercise because attacks on their trucks and heavy armoured vehicles are commonplace in the region and it helps to be able to drag an injured comrade to a secure zone. In our case, we did not drag a burly soldier but a poor logistics clerk, who I expect did not wake up that morning thinking that her day was going to involve being dragged across the turf by Australian parliamentarians. However, this was one of the many experiences that helped me grasp the kinds of challenges and pressures that our ADF personnel endure, which we would not be able to understand fully in this place without the ADF Parliamentary Program.

While there I saw the ADF's missions Operation ACCORDION and Operation OKRA. We visited the ADF personnel involved in the Air Task Group, running airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq, and Task Group TAJI, doing important training work in Iraq. This experience was made all the more confronting when, on our journey over, it was announced that we would be sending 300 troops as part of Task Group TAJI to contribute to the international effort to train and build the capacity of Iraqi security forces. Although we did not visit troops on the ground in Iraq, they are there as we speak, along with 100 Kiwi fellow servicemen. Those Australians are just 80 kilometres from the ISIL occupied city of Ramadi, which was captured by ISIL forces in May this year. One cannot really imagine what life would be like working in the Taji camp under those circumstances.

In Afghanistan we met ADF personnel from Operation HIGHROAD, our major presence in the country and contribution to Resolute Support, the international post NATO-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan. The Australian ADF personnel I saw there were very keen for me to bring the message back to Australia that ADF members are still serving in Afghanistan. We had the welcome-home parades in Australia this year, but there are still hundreds of Australian servicemen doing us proud in Afghanistan.

It is not easy being a member of the ADF. At the very least it means being separated from your family for significant periods of time and flown to isolated areas with little to no outside contact. We in this place know something of this, but I could hardly imagine leaving my young children for six months or nine months at a time. Seeing the work of our diggers up close gave me another perspective of the ADF than the one I have as a parliamentarian. This year we celebrate the Centenary of the Anzacs and it is clear to me, after visiting our ADF personnel overseas, that the values that we celebrate in the Anzacs are very much alive today.

The ADF Parliamentary Program has helped me and hundreds of other members of parliament broaden our understanding of the ADF and its operations abroad. Since the program started in 2001, over 120 senators and 240 members of the House of Representatives have taken part in the program in some form or another. Not all participants went to Afghanistan or the Middle East. Many spend weekends with the Reserves or take part in the Army Aboriginal Community Assistance Program, another essential part of the current operations of the ADF.

The member for Hinkler, who I am proud to work with in seconding this motion today, spent four days on the HMAS Newcastle a year ago. The HMAS Newcastle is one of the frigates that served in the Persian Gulf in 2002-03 and in East Timor from 1999-2000. I am very proud to say that the HMAS Newcastle was constructed in my electorate, at the Williamstown shipyards—something that we are all very proud of in Melbourne's west.

The ADF Parliamentary Program has enjoyed bipartisan support since its inception so that parliamentarians can better understand the Defence Force and we can make informed decisions about it. The program is certainly not a one-way street. I look forward to meeting some of the members of the ADF who are due to spend the next parliamentary sitting week learning the ropes of our workplace—somewhat less dangerous, I can assure them. The program promotes a better and more informed conversation about defence policy in our parliament, and, as a strong supporter of it, I hope that it continues for many years to come.

Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly, I would like to thank and commend the member for Hinkler for bringing this motion before the House. It is something very close to my heart. Nothing gives a member of parliament a better understanding of the Australian Defence Force than this particular program. As we have heard, it is a bipartisan program that not only conveys the experience of ADF life but also gives the MPs an opportunity to work together in a particular field.

Senator Judith Adams introduced this program to me when I was first elected, and my first trip was with NORFORCE in the Northern Territory. That was followed by Talisman Sabre, a program focused on the interoperability shared between our forces and our allies in this space. One of the most profound experiences of my entire life was my visit to Afghanistan in 2011 and meeting so many of our Defence Force men and women. I was particularly keen to talk to the first combat engineers, who were doing an extraordinary job on the ground, particularly in relation to IEDs and mines. I also wanted to check the CV joints on the labs, because I knew there were some challenges there. This was at a particularly fraught time, when you consider 2011. I went to see the end of mission in East Timor, and it was very interesting to compare and contrast the mid-mission in Afghanistan with the end of mission in East Timor. I am always fascinated by the logistics and how good Defence is at logistics.

Most recently, only in the last few weeks, I have been on the USNS Mercy out of Bougainville. This is part of the Pacific Partnership of 2015 and is the delivery of health and a broad range of community outcomes for the Pacific, particularly Western Pacific nations. The USNS Mercy will deliver free health and medical experiences to over 40,000 people in that area. What a level of commitment to our near neighbours. Let me tell you, some of the people I met said that the USNS Mercy and its complement of medical people were a godsend. It is so important. I would like to acknowledge the work of Lynton Dixon with this particular program. For years Lynton has been the driving force of this behind the scenes. He has made sure that so many of us have had the opportunity that we so desperately wanted.

Importantly, my program in Afghanistan gave me the opportunity to go out in the community and talk about what our forces were doing. It was not just about the headlines that the media are so fond of—the negative headlines. It was about the community building and the great work on the ground that our forces and personnel were doing in community building.

The reciprocal program is very, very useful and brings Defence Force members in to spent time with us, and I think we share an enormous respect. As I have said previously in this place, as the daughter of a war widow I am very deeply committed to Defence and will stay that way. All of my experiences with this program are the most memorable experiences of my life. I have met some of the most capable, inspirational, well-trained men and women, working in some of the most challenging situations that you will ever find. One of the things I value most is our people in Defence. That is what our Defence is about—it is about the people. When you are on the ground in their working environment and you get to listen to them talk, you get the best information from the ground up—whether it is about their role in Defence and what their job is on a day-to-day basis; whether it is about the resources and the equipment; or whether it is about their families and all of the other issues that they face. This is one of the best places. The gloves are off. There is nothing that you cannot have access to. There is no-one who cannot talk to you. They can talk openly and freely, and they do.

As a member of parliament, I find that incredibly valuable in the work that I do in this place. It also brings into sharp focus for us, as we make decisions in this place as to what we request of our Defence Force men and women, exactly who we are asking it of and what the impact of it is, when you meet men and women, particularly in Afghanistan, as I did, who are perhaps on their fifth tour of duty and you consider that they are away from their families and the commitment they give in a live war zone. I commend this bill and the efforts of the Defence Force program.

Alan Griffin (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Hinkler for putting forward this motion and the member for Gellibrand for seconding it. The ADF Parliamentary Program has been a particularly significant initiative since 2001 and is an initiative which both sides of the House absolutely support. I certainly encourage all members of parliament to avail themselves of the opportunities that the program presents.

The genesis of this program was very much a sense that the modern parliamentarian, because of the nature of our defence activities over the last 20 or30 years, often were less likely than previous generations to actually have an in-depth understanding of the Defence Force. In previous generations, often many members of parliament had in fact served. Although we do have some members who have served, the fact is that that is true. Providing people with an opportunity to actually see what our Defence forces do on our behalf is an opportunity that I have cherished in the time that I have been a member of parliament. My only regret is that I was somewhat a late convert to being involved in this program; I think I went on my first ADF program in 2006 or 2007, but I have been going every year I could ever since.

I have been to places like Afghanistan, the gulf, the Solomon Islands, the fleet air base down at Nowra and, last week, Williamtown air base in Newcastle and off the coast of Queensland during a war game such as Talisman Sabre. This has given me an opportunity to get a small insight, an understanding of what our Defence forces are doing, whether it be Army, Navy or Air Force. It has given me an opportunity to speak to the many outstanding men and women both young and old who serve us in the Defence Force. It has provided me with a degree of understanding of the sorts of complexities that those involvements require and the sort of professionalism and courage which is on display on a daily basis by those who wear uniforms on our behalf across the services. It has also provided me an opportunity, as a host on a number of occasions, to do the reverse, which is to come to Parliament House and try to make sense of what we do in this place and where it fits with respect to what we then ask them to do in their place of work. That in itself has been fascinating.

I have found invaluable that personal aspect of being able to talk to people in the Defence Force and have a bit of time to get an appreciation of what we and they do. I certainly say that this is a program which has many people on both sides of the House who are incredibly encouraging and supportive of it, but I say that there are more members of parliament that ought to be involved and more MPs—particularly newer MPs—who should avail themselves of those opportunities in order to ensure that they do understand better what is done through the Defence forces with respect to our needs as a grateful nation.

I mentioned the complexity, the courage and the professionalism. They are on display across all three services, and you really do feel extremely proud when you visit some of these bases, see the activities that they undertake and get that understanding. I found it particularly useful, as a member of parliament who has had ministerial responsibility in the defence field, to help enhance my understanding of those issues and my involvement on things like the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade and also to better appreciate what has to be done. I have certainly also found it very useful in talking to constituents. There is often a situation with the Defence Force where a lot of people in the general community think: 'Do we really need this capability? Is it really something that we're ever going to use?' I can tell members of this House that I find it very useful to be able to say: ' I've been where these people go. I've seen what they do. I understand not only the threat but also the importance of having the ability to meet threats and to provide support in humanitarian circumstances when it is required.'

I tell people every chance I get: they ought to be very proud of our defence forces for the work they do. They ought to be very proud of their professionalism, their courage and their decency, and they should know that they serve us in a very, very important way.

Debate interrupted.