Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today we have around 90,000 Australian men and women who put on the uniform of our Navy, Army and Air Force and are prepared to place themselves in harm's way to help those who can't necessarily help themselves. I respect the fact that those part-time and full-time service men and women do an incredible job on behalf of our nation to keep us safe and respond to humanitarian aid and disaster relief requests throughout the world.

It is a world-class Defence Force that we have, and the competitive edge of that Defence Force is not the equipment or the weapons; it's the people themselves and the values, the character, the integrity and the culture of excellence that they have in their service to our nation. As a grateful nation, we owe them the opportunity to train well, to deploy well and to be supported in their service. Also, when the time comes, we owe it to them and their families to help them transition well and make a great contribution to civic life in our nation.

So I was alarmed, disappointed and concerned by the complete lack of respect evident in the Minister for Defence's comments in relation to our Defence Force. I'm also concerned about the impact of those comments on the morale of our serving men and women, particularly at a time when we're trying to secure more of our best and brightest young Australians to serve in the Defence Force. The minister said:

I think there are issues of culture within the senior leadership and the more general leadership of the ADF and the department which needs challenging.

He went on to say:

There is an issue in relation to culture, and we should be seeking to have a culture of absolute excellence, and that is the point that I've made.

He goes on again:

There is a way to go before we have that culture of excellence in the Department of Defence and in the Australian Defence Force.

In this place, words are our weapon of choice. But the men and women of the Defence Force don't have that luxury. They can face real hardship and real threats in their day-to-day work. I challenge the minister to explain his comments. Exactly what does he mean when he says there is a 'culture of excellence' problem in the Australian Defence Force? I have travelled extensively around Australia and around the world, and have had the great fortune to see our men and women of the Australian Defence Force in action, in training and on deployment—and I have witnessed excellence in action on many, many occasions. Many of the finest Australians I've ever met are the men and women in uniform in the Navy, in the Army and in the Air Force, and they are highly regarded by all other coalition nations and the people they serve alongside. I stand with them and respect them. I don't stand with the minister, who weaponises his words to undermine their service to our nation.

On this side of the House, we respect our Australian Defence Force personnel and the job they do. The men and women in uniform have earnt that respect. They have our eternal gratitude, and I thank them all for their service to our nation.