John Cobb (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that more than 27,000 Australian boys and girls participate in the Australian Defence Force Cadet program: Army, Air Force and Navy;

(2) expresses its support for the program and the role that it plays in youth development throughout Australia;

(3) encourages young Australians to consider joining their nearest cadet unit; and

(4) extends its appreciation to Australian Defence Force personnel, reservists and volunteers who assist in the delivery of the program.

The Australian Defence Force Cadet program is one of the very best youth programs our country has to offer. It plays a huge role in youth development, giving cadets unique experiences and skills. Importantly, young cadets learn about discipline and the power of self-discipline—and, with self-discipline, you can set goals and you can achieve. Young people often feel overwhelmed by the difficult decisions or tasks they are faced with as they grow up. A cadet is equipped with the tools to remain focussed and attain goals. The Australian Defence Force educates cadets about the function of leadership. They learn about respectful leadership, the role it plays and what a good leader does.

The Defence Force does an outstanding job, and it is important that our young people understand the functions involved. Joining the cadet program gives an insight into the good work our Navy, Army and Air Force personnel do and the sacrifices they make for our country, and they come to realise just how professional and how competent our Defence Force is. I have spent a lot of time, particularly with our Navy and our Army, and one thing that is overwhelming is how competent and professional they are. I have personally benefitted from the programs that the Defence Force run. I went to a boarding school where being in the cadets was compulsory. I was in it for five years, and I did a course and became a cadet underofficer, which no doubt will surprise my good friend here from Townsville.

It is really good to see young people get involved. The self-discipline part is particularly important. To have to learn to stand still when you are on an honour guard takes a lot of doing. But when you are with a heap of people who will give you hell if you do not do it, you do it, and it does teach you self-discipline. The Australian Air Force Cadet aviation centre in Bathurst opened in April last year. It is the first of its kind; a centre of excellence. I am proud to say that over 1,000 cadets, 40 ADF cadets and 367 staff have participated in camps in the Bathurst glider facility from its opening until June this year. This financial year, it is predicted that 1½ thousand cadets will participate in camps. It is phenomenal to see these programs are growing and our young people are interested.

I really encourage all young Australians to think about joining their nearest cadet school. It is a great advantage if they can do it at school but, for obvious reasons in this day and age, that does not happen. I take the opportunity to thank every person involved in making these programs happen, and I would like to express my appreciation—and, I am sure, my government's and the parliament's appreciation—to the ADF personnel, reservists and volunteers who are driving the programs. To those involved in the school programs in my electorate, at Scots and Kinross, I extend my personal thanks, and also thank those who are running the programs generally.

I would just like to say that the program in Dubbo, in Mark Coulton's electorate—just outside my old electorate—being run by the reservists is simply outstanding, as are the ones further east in Calare. Young Australians can gain so much from these programs, and I personally recommend it. I was going to say that I would not be the person I am without it—and that will upset some people. Personally, it is something that I look back on with pride—and, yes, I did learn a lot of self-discipline. My mother and father could not teach it to me—though they tried—but the cadet corps did. There is no-one more professional or competent than the Defence Force, and the more people who spend more time with them, the better.

Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion.

David Feeney (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased indeed to rise to support this motion. The Australian Defence Force Cadets is a voluntary, uniformed, youth development organisation established within the Australian Defence Organisation and comprising cadets, community-based staff and volunteers. The ADF Cadets has a distinctive service character and relationships with each of the three services that are integral to their function, their identity and their work. There are the Australian Navy Cadets, the Australian Army Cadets and the Australian Air Force Cadets.

It is fair to say that in my time as parliamentary secretary for defence I had the privilege of visiting cadet units right across Australia, and again and again I was struck by the enormous success of this scheme. I would go so far as to make the boast that it is the leading youth development program in this country. The ADF Cadets program comes in two varieties: there are school-based units and there are community-based units. Each of them has their virtues and each of them relies on strong support from the community and community volunteers.

The ADF Cadets program, as a youth department program, serves a number of functions. Above and beyond youth development, it seeks to encourage young people interested in the ADF to pursue careers in the ADF, the Australian Defence Organisation or defence industries, and it seeks to engender a positive attitude towards the ADF in the broader community. In that sense, that makes the ADF Cadets program one of the most successful community outreach efforts organised by the ADF.

It would strike any observer visiting a cadet unit that the ADF Cadets program is successful in recruiting a greater diversity of Australians to its ranks than, in fact, the ADF itself is able to do. In particular, the ADF Cadets program has been very successful in attracting a much higher ratio of women into its ranks and a much higher ratio of Australians from families that were born overseas or do not speak English in their homes. These are two great virtues of the program. It engenders strong civics and Australian values in those young participants and, hopefully, serves to better the diversity of the ADF itself.

When in government, the Australian Labor Party very proudly organised the Hickling review into Australian Defence Force Cadets, led by Lieutenant General Hickling. That report of November 2008 enabled stronger funding and stronger focus on ADF Cadets. It also meant that there were new units formed, but it did identify a number of constraints. I would like to join with those opposite in congratulating this scheme for its work and for its reputation—and, indeed, for sustaining that reputation. At a time when other youth development programs have come under great scrutiny and great criticism, ADF Cadets remains a strong and reputable program.

But there are constraints that both sides of this parliament should join together in dealing with. There is an excessive administrative burden on those volunteers who make this program possible. There must continue to be a strong child protection focus, so that the pristine interpretation of ADF Cadets continues into the future. Also, of course, we should encourage the three services to take even greater interest in their own cadet programs.

There is an adage amongst ADF cadets that the Air Force love their cadets, the Army know they have cadets and the Navy is yet to find out that it has cadets. This adage—and I say it in jest—is borne out by the funding. In 2013, the last year of the Labor government, the Air Force Cadets spent some $8.8 million, Army spent $7.6 million and Navy spent $5.1 million. I can say from my personal experience that the former Chief of Air Force, Geoff Brown—and I am sure this also applies to the current Chief of Air Force—was an enormous enthusiast for Air Force Cadets, and that permeated right through his service. It meant that the additional funding provided by Labor to the cadet program was swooped up by him and spent on purchasing gliders. It is fair to say that for the young participants in that program the opportunity to fly gliders was an enormous delight.

This is a great success and a great model of enthusiasm, but it has always been my personal view that Navy Cadets, in particular, has enormous potential for growth in a maritime nation such as our own—building maritime and navigational skills. I suspect that is a program that would readily attract vast numbers of young Australians to join. I join with those opposite in congratulating this youth development program, and I think that together we can make sure that it has an even stronger future.

Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Calare for moving this motion. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on an organisation for which we should all have great respect. The member for Calare said that he was once a cadet. I was not a cadet, nor did I serve—and the cadets and the ADF are better for that. Whether they are my RAAF cadets at Garbutt, my Army cadets at Heatley State High School at Lavarack Barracks or the TS Coral Sea Navy cadets at South Townsville, these are young people working hard to improve their skills in a wide range of areas.

I agree with the member for Batman that the Australian cadet movement is the premier youth leadership program on offer in our country today. Before I came to this place, I was an employer of many young people. If I saw that the young person had served in cadets, they were always granted an interview. The reasons are many, but they are also very simple: for a start, cadets are good people. They are invariably polite and well presented. They can speak to people many years their senior with respect and authority. They understand the nature of conversation. Cadets understand teamwork. They know that not everyone can be a star and that some have to do the hard yards so that all can win. They know that if they have a hard-yards role, they will do it with a smile on their faces and sweat on their brows as they push their teams to success. They listen. This is often overlooked and is a quality that many of us in here could do with a refresh of. The ability to take instructions and follow through without constantly having to be reminded of the duty is a cost saving to every business and every organisation. They can tell the time and they understand that punctuality is indeed a virtue. Cadets learn some personal discipline and respect for themselves and for others. Cadets are proud but not narcissistic. They have pride in themselves and in their teams. In a world where we are seeing children riding around the streets in the middle of the night, you can bet your bottom dollar that none of them are cadets. More than anything, cadets are up for the challenge. They are constantly shifting out of their comfort zone and trying things they have never done before—and succeeding. Even when they fail, it is a success because they have tried. They will analyse, and then they will overcome.

Cadets do need support and they do need to be housed. In my city, my Navy cadets at TS Coral Sea are going to be without a home in 2017. We are working very hard in this area with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Darren Chester, the member for Gippsland, to make sure that there is a smooth transition. Lavarack Barracks is a great Army base but it is not a great place for kids. The barracks that are there for my Army cadets are demountables. I would love to see a permanent home for them, either on that base or somewhere near it—it is easier for kids to get onto the base by pushbike or with parents. We are all working together.

I agree with what the member for Calare said when he raised this motion, that these things do not just happen. It takes an enormous amount of effort from parents, volunteers, veterans and current serving members. A good friend of mine, Jim Davis, used to run the Magnetic Island branch of TS Coral Sea. Jim is an old salt and he has done tremendous service for his country, but he is not up to handling a bunch of cadets anymore. Sadly, the Magnetic Island branch of the TS Coral Sea cadets is not able to continue. It has some fantastic facilities and equipment and it would be great to see that sort of thing come back on. We are always working and looking for people for those things in those spaces. It does take a lot of effort. John Osborne, who heads up TS Coral Sea, said that he is certainly not going to retire on the amount of money he gets from it and that he certainly does not want to work out his hourly rate, because it would be fairly low.

Being a cadet does not mean you are destined to become a member of the ADF—far from it. Being a cadet is a role unto itself that will set you up for life knowing that there is nothing in this world that cannot be overcome if you plan properly and carry out that plan. To anybody who is thinking about getting into cadets, I give you my wholehearted endorsement. In Townsville, as would be the case right around country, you would be with a bunch of people who want to push themselves, who want to stretch themselves, who want to see how good they can be and bring their team with them, who want to try new things and who want to be part of a greater society. We are lucky in this place to be surrounded by people who genuinely care about their communities, and I think the cadets program is right in that space. I am very proud to be in a city that has so many cadets and I am very proud to be in a city that takes its young people so seriously. I thank the House.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the motion of the member for Calare. It is nice to see a motion where both sides agree wholeheartedly. The Australian cadet program has a long history in my electorate. During the last school holidays, about 200 Army cadets from across Victoria participated in promotion courses and camps at Puckapunyal. Cadets at the camp were taught the leadership skills required to lead their subordinates in the barracks in a field environment.

One of our own units, the 312 Army Cadet Unit, based at Puckapunyal, continued their excellent performance at these camps, I must say. The 312 is made up of Mitchell shire teenagers bringing a variety of experiences and backgrounds to the group. Cadet Sergeant Zachary Steele of 312 was awarded Student of Merit of the most senior course, the cadet under officer/warrant officer course. Lieutenant-Colonel Craig Madden of the Combined Arms Training Centre presented Zachary with the Commander Australian Army Cadet Commendation (Gold)—the highest award that a cadet can achieve.

The 312 Army Cadet Unit at Puckapunyal has been highly awarded over the past few years. The unit's success includes winning the state military skills competition in 2013 and 2014. Our cadets also represented Victoria at a number of national competitions where they placed in the top three. Other achievements of the 312 include a berth on the Young Endeavourand an Army funded exchange program to Canada for four Army cadets. Indeed, I am proud to say the 312 Army Cadet Unit is currently the most highly awarded Army cadet unit in Victoria, racking up 24 commendations and four adventure training awards.

We also have the Plenty unit at Ivanhoe Grammar School, which is another one of the cadet units we are proud of. It is approximately 150 students ranging from year 8 through to year 11 who have all shown that they espouse everything you would like to see in young leaders. Led by the CO, Captain Virginia Creed, the Plenty Valley campus unit works closely with our schools, RSLs and the wider community to ensure that each Anzac Day and Remembrance Day there is a highly-skilled and disciplined team at services to showcase their exceptional skills and ensure that our services are given the respect and high regard they deserve. Both these units are a credit to their leaders and the wider cadet movement, and they give us great pride.

The strength and the future of our country is safe in the hands of these fine young men and women of our society. I think it is worth noting that the cadets is a very inclusive organisation. Officers and instructors of cadets are drawn from a diverse range of unique backgrounds and experiences. All are committed to providing and enjoining positive, safe youth development experience, respecting the values and dignity of all people and recognising the particular rights and needs of young people.

For some six years in my younger days, I was a member of the now-defunct Upfield High School cadet unit. I can say that it was an extremely rewarding experience. You would spend many weeknights ensuring that your uniform was immaculate, starched to within an inch of its life, and that the brass on your belt was polished. You also had to remember that the old GP boots you were given had a mirror finish put on them. There were weekly parades where you learnt a range of skills and discipline. It was self-confidence building. There were camps and bivouacs where navigation and survival skills were tested along with your resolve and your ability to lead and work as a team. These are skills that are never forgotten, even if the old uniform may have shrunk a little bit over the years.

Most proudly, the cadets gave me the opportunity to march in Anzac Day parades where, rain, hail or shine, you would proudly carry the banner of the units, leading the great men and women who served our country as they march to the shrine and receive the thanks of a grateful nation along the way. As teenagers, we might have done that journey four or five times each Anzac Day, beaming with pride. You ignored the blisters you got on your feet from your GP boots or the uniform saturated in the rain, because through cadets you learnt it was an honour to be cherished that you carried the banner that reunited the men and women who put all on the line in our name, and no blisters or wet clothing were going to take that away.

Throughout my time in cadets I received a few promotions and enjoyed the time that we would have at different events, whether they were Anzac services or other community festivals and events. It was an opportunity to join together with like-minded people and work and challenge each other to see who could rise to the top, who could push themselves and deliver leadership in teams when we went on those camps and we were pitching the hutchie in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night and it was freezing cold, when you were tucked up under your little tin foil—

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It did you good.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It did do us good, Member for Moreton. It was something that I have been very proud of and continue to be proud of today, that I spent that time in the Army Cadets. I am also proud that the young people of my electorate are active in the Army Cadets, Navy Cadets and the Australian Air Force Cadets. I commend this motion to the House and thank the member for Calare for bringing it on.

Debate adjourned.