Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—On behalf of the Australian Greens, I rise to support the remarks of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the Government in the Senate and the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, and to pay tribute to Corporal Cameron Baird on his posthumous award of the Victoria Cross—which, of course, came subsequent to his award for gallantry and other medals for service to our country. He was a hero. Interestingly, when his father was speaking about him, he said that the best tribute he could pay to his son was to say that he was always dedicated to the 'soldier's code'. He said that it was an honour to be a soldier in the Australian Army, to serve Australia and to bring credit to the Army, his unit and his fellow soldiers, and that that summed up his son. I think that is how we will remember his service. In doing so, we recognise that he was the 40th of our diggers to die in conflict. To remember Corporal Baird as he would have wanted and to pay respect to others in his unit and in the Army we must now look after those who have come home from Afghanistan in their post-service lives.