Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier today I moved a motion in the Federation Chamber about the mission of the Australian Defence Force to rescue Australians and those who supported our nation throughout the war on terror from Kabul as it was taken by the Taliban just over a year ago. I want to put on record that the Taliban are an illegitimate government; they are a terrorist organisation, and what we have seen come out of Afghanistan prior, during and after the fall highlight that the Taliban are no friend of democracy, no friend of women and no friend of Australia.

I would like to acknowledge those brave men and women who answered the call and who stood shoulder to shoulder with our partners and went into Afghanistan knowing that their nation was behind them and knowing that they had one of the most important roles of our life time—and that was to go into the belly of the beast where there was no support, there was no QRF, there was 'no call up if you need a hand'. It was by themselves. When I was in Afghanistan, we had the support of a quick reaction force. We had the support of those that were close to help us whether it was a medical evacuation or if we were in contact to come bolster numbers, but they didn't have this.

I want to acknowledge the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and the other military attachments that were there with the appropriate battle honours to highlight the unique operation that was conducted in the most hazardous, chaotic and challenging circumstances. What you've done is save countless lives, with the more than 4,100 people evacuated owing their lives to our Australian Defence Force.

I didn't want to speak on their behalf; I wanted them to speak for themselves, so I got soldiers who were deployed to Afghanistan to write stories and tell me what they did. One RAF soldier told me: 'People we had brought through the wire into the airport would be held in an assembly area with the relative safety of about 50 metres from the wire so DFAT could process them, and we would move them to down further to AMK9 if they had been cleared to go. Not all people would be cleared to go down to AMK9, and those people were to be placed back outside the wire where we had just dragged them from through a somewhat hidden side gate. This became a very difficult task. I had been told three women, maybe in their late teens or earlies twenties, didn't have documentation and were to go back outside. I had myself and two others to assist with this task. Leading these women back to the hell that was outside the wire is a prominent memory. The weight of one of the women dragging on my body armour and her begging for her life is something I won't forget. Her fear of death and rape by the Taliban and her emotional cries skewed my moral compass. We did eventually, reluctantly, get them out, and I won't ever know her fate. Along with her, there were plenty more people that didn't have correct documentation—a mother begging for her own death by our hand in front of her two young boys; a father abandoning his son, who he had no documentation for, so he could secure a trip out of the country, with his son left behind; and countless families with women and children rejected, all of which carry a heavy psychological burden.'

Another member spoke of a place they called 'heartbreak gate'. This is what they told me: 'Heartbreak gate doesn't need much more explanation than its name. Due to miscommunications, some people were brought through the gates that didn't have the proper documentation or didn't meet the criteria to come to Australia. This meant that, if no other country would take them, we had to take them back out the gate. This heartbreak gate was separate to the entry. It was set up so that people only had one way to go, which was out. Throughout the time we were there we had to take multiple families out those gates, often splitting up big families. I think everyone will remember the look on people's faces and their pleas for you not to send them out once they realised they were getting close to the gate. I distinctly remember a woman looking into my eyes and telling me to shoot her there and then because what was waiting for her on the outside was far worse. I won't ever forget that.'

The people of 1RAR and the attachments deserve recognition, and they need to be supported by the opposition, by the government, by the parliament and by the people of Australia.