Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Hansard source

In addressing the debate on the ministerial statement, and along with other speakers, I express my sorrow for those who have lost their lives in this conflict. We were reminded of the toll of this war just yesterday, when we learnt that four Australian special forces soldiers had been wounded during operations. Our thoughts are with the soldiers that are injured and their families, and at this time we wish them a speedy recovery. I rise to speak in support of our engagement in Afghanistan. I speak in support of our service men and women tasked with bringing peace and stability to a nation in turmoil. I speak in support of the Australian soldiers that have been injured or have lost their lives in the service of our great nation.

The privilege I have today of expressing my views to the Senate is a privilege that is not reflected in na-tions around the world. The privilege that we have been gifted was built on the backs of Australians before us—Australians that fought in far-off lands for the gift of freedom and democracy. Our troops today are not in a dissimilar place. In the harsh arid lands of Afghani-stan our troops are held in the highest regard by our coalition partners. Their courage, spirit and profession-alism are constantly recognised. They are Australian qualities that I admire and respect. It is for those rea-sons I state my support for the war in Afghanistan with deep consideration.

When I woke on the morning of 12 September 2001, I could not believe what was unfolding on our televi-sion. I will never forget the images of the twin towers engulfed in fire and of occupants throwing themselves to their death to escape the inferno, the phone calls of the trapped office workers to their loved ones, and the ultimate loss of 3,000 lives. I will also never forget the night of 12 October 2002, when 202 innocent people lost their lives in the first Bali bombing—88 from Aus-tralia and several from my home community of Coogee. And I remember Afghanistan in 2001, under the draconian and extremist rule of the Taliban, a regime that executed women for minor offences, a regime that outlawed the education of girls, a regime that destroyed the cultural icons of other faiths, a Stone Age regime that attacked knowledge itself, and a country that sanctioned the flow of drugs onto the streets of the West. Not only did the Taliban oppress and murder its own citizens; it harboured and ultimately became beholden to the extremist organisation al-Qaeda, the organisation that has at its core the slaughter of those that do not surrender to its doctrine and that was behind the attacks in New York and, of course, connected to the attacks in Bali. It was the Taliban in Afghanistan that provided al-Qaeda with its support to establish its military and financial networks. Under the Taliban in Afghanistan, al-Qaeda trained and funded terrorists to kill. Al-Qaeda provided jihadists to conflicts across the globe. Before the September 11 attacks al-Qaeda in Afghanistan was allowed to become a global terror network with the clear purpose of the destruction of the West.

Our battle is not against the peaceful religion of Islam practised by over one billion people. Our battle is against fundamentalism; it is against militant extremism. It is a battle we cannot afford to lose. Western democracies have fought against extremism whenever they have encountered it, and in Afghanistan it is no different. The war in Afghanistan is a battle of ideas—a battle against the extremist doctrine of a global terror network that gave a green light for the murder of Australian citizens; a battle of ideologies between a belief in the rule of law and freedom for citizens versus Stone Age sharia law.

Our mission in Afghanistan is worth fighting for. We are part of a NATO led force and our role is to help build a civil society. We are part of a mission to provide the citizens of Afghanistan the security environment they need to allow the country to move forward and to prosper. Our armed forces are currently training Afghan soldiers and helping nation-building efforts to help the Afghan people. We cannot allow Afghanistan, after all this, to become a failed state. We owe it to the people of Afghanistan not to walk away because the task is difficult and challenging but rather to stay the course. We owe it to the people of the country, to the children and the women, to support their education, to support their voice and to support their development. And, importantly, we must stay in Afghanistan to keep interrupting an evil terror network.

We are making progress. I am not going to say that everything is perfect. There are still a great many challenges, but at the same time there have been great strides. Militarily, our special operations task force is effectively disturbing Taliban activities and we are damaging the al-Qaeda network every day. There is progress in the training of the Afghan National Army. Women for the first time have a voice in the government. Education enrolments have increased. The Australian Federal Police is training Afghan police officers. And normality is returning to society. As Minister for Sport I was heartened to read that the Afghan judo team participated in the Judo World Cup for the first time, and two of the team members were female. I also recently watched the ICC Twenty20 World Cup, which Afghanistan competed in for the first time, and I read that there is enormous cricket talent in that country that is being developed.

The government and the parliament understand the challenge that is ahead of us. From a fight against fundamentalism through to the challenge of helping build a nation, it is an enormous task. Again, I do not take the decision to support this conflict lightly. I believe this conflict is critically important. It is too important to walk away from those who lost their lives on September 11. It is too important to walk away from those who have lost their lives at the hands of al-Qaeda. It is too important to the region and to our allies. It is too important to the people of Afghanistan. And it is too important to our nation.

I conclude by echoing the sentiments of the only veteran in my party in the House of Representatives, the Hon. Dr Mike Kelly. He calls for us not to leave Afghanistan because it is too hard. He states that we should keep faith in those who serve in our name in Afghanistan and for the nation to stay the course. I wholeheartedly agree. We have to stay the course for the benefit of those who wish for a better life in Afghanistan, for the memory of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, for our national security and ultimately for the security of our own citizens and families.