Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion regarding the recommendation of the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal for the creation of a new class of medals and clasps which recognises the loss suffered by families of Australian Defence Force personnel killed or wounded as a result of their service. This recommendation was made following a referral of the matter to the tribunal in January last year by the former Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel.

It's worth noting that Australia, through the Order of Australia and the Australian Defence Force honours and awards system, already recognises the service of ADF members. However, there is a need for an expression of the gratitude of the nation for individual sacrifice. The tribunal therefore recommended that the time had come for Australia to initiate a physical expression of its gratitude to members and their families. This would provide a meaningful and widely recognisable expression of national gratitude for the sacrifice of ADF members killed or suffering a serious wound, injury or disease as a result of their service, and that of their families, and would do so in a way that allowed existing Defence Force honours and awards to better tell the story of that service.

I'd also like to take the opportunity this afternoon to speak about the contribution many local businesses are making to Australia's defence industry; in particular, a couple of businesses in my home state of Queensland. I've spoken before in the Chamber about the Rheinmetall factory in Redbank, in the heart of the Oxley electorate. I've had the privilege of visiting that facility, and I'm so pleased that a defence force capability is being built in the Oxley electorate. It's certainly my hope and vision, as the member for Oxley, that our region, particularly the south-west suburbs of Brisbane and the Ipswich corridor, becomes the hub or epicentre of Defence Force manufacturing in this country.

In the opportunities I've had of talking to the sector and its industries, I was lucky enough to visit a world-leading Queensland company, Gilmour Space Technologies. The company was founded in 2013 by brothers Adam and James who by sheer willpower built a company which will be launching small satellites into orbit later this year. Gilmour will make lower-cost access to space available, and their first payload will be a bushfire early warning satellite. The work that the company is doing is incredibly important in improving Australia's sovereign capability. The company receives support from the Queensland government, including an investment by QIC announced by the Queensland Treasurer in July last year. This was part of the company's $61 million series C capital raise. Clearly, the private sector sees the opportunity here, as we all should.

The Australian government recently included space as one of the 14 sovereign industrial capability priorities for Defence. Last year defence scientists signed an agreement with Gilmour to develop defence related space technologies as part of a long-term strategic arrangement. There is plenty happening in this sphere, particularly at Gilmour Space Technologies. I look forward to their first launch from Queensland soil later this year, and I strongly encourage the federal government and the Department of Defence to look for more ways to work together to support the company's efforts to get Australia and Queensland into the space race. I'm really proud that Queensland is leading the way when it comes to not only investment but also the opportunities for our Defence Force capabilities.

I'd also like to highlight the work of Products For Industry, a locally owned and operated business. PFi Aerospace work for the Australian Defence Force using their program Skyfall, a low-cost, high-volume, client-customisable real-world threat simulator, and they have also unveiled their Australian development program for low-cost, high-speed surrogate ballistic targets designed to provide enhanced local, area and theatre air defence training for the Australian Defence Force and allied nations. Once again, I commend this motion and the intent behind it to the House, and I want to finish by recognising the incredible service of each and every member of Australia's Defence Force, past and present.

David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a privilege to rise to speak to this motion. I'd like to recognise some of my colleagues who are also participating in this debate and may have already spoken. I note in particular the members for Blair, Solomon and Bradman. The recognition of our veterans and their service is an issue which enjoys bipartisan support in this place. I know all members, not just the ones contributing to this debate, share a common desire to see our veterans and their families cared for and recognised. But sometimes that care and recognition are elusive and can only be found after some struggle and trouble. That is why this motion is so important.

As things stand, Australia lacks formal recognition of injuries, wounding and death in service. If you look around the world, other countries have formal recognition for wounding and death in the service. The United States, of course, famously has the Purple Heart. Canada has the Memorial Cross and the Sacrifice Medal. France has the Medal for the War Wounded. India has the Wound Medal. The United Kingdom has the Elizabeth Cross. Sweden has the Armed Forces Medal for Wounded in Battle. But Australia has no such recognition for our defence personnel who are injured or killed in the course of their service. This is in spite of the fact that, since the Second World War, our service personnel have experienced a variety of deployments around the world. These have ranged from peacekeeping missions to counterinsurgency stabilisation missions, to direct combat against an enemy force. These deployments have been dangerous, and many of our service personnel have been injured or killed.

But the dangers from service do not begin and end with a deployment overseas. Too many are injured and even killed in training and other everyday occurrences and accidents relating to service. Make no mistake: serving your country carries dangers, and it's frankly baffling that we have no suitable recognition for those who fall victim to those dangers.

It was a peacetime accident that brought into stark contrast this lack of recognition for the price of service. In 1996, two Black Hawk helicopters carrying troopers from the Special Air Service Regiment collided near Townsville. When the smoke cleared, 15 members of the Special Air Service Regiment were dead, as well as three members of the 5th Aviation Regiment. This terrible disaster highlighted that those who were killed and wounded in this accident would receive no formal recognition for their sacrifice.

For Kerry and Kay Danes, this accident was a catalyst. Alongside others, they began to campaign for proper recognition for those wounded and killed in service. Like others have in too many examples, they had to struggle against the inertia of a bureaucracy which often seems allergic to change. Indeed, in the course of my work as the member for Bean, I've been approached by many veterans whose service has not been appropriately recognised. For some, my representations have resulted in some measure of justice or recognition; for others, the work continues; and, for some, the recognition comes too late.

After some time, the government agreed to an inquiry which resulted in the recommendation from the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal that we are discussing today. We are finally at a point where we will be able to secure recognition for the service of those killed and injured in our Defence Force. But the final steps are up to this government. The final steps to turn the recommendation from the tribunal into an applicable mechanism for award recognition are entirely up to this government. I commend this motion, and I call on the government to take all necessary steps to finally give full recognition to those wounded and killed in the service of our country.

Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.