David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Reynolds for her question. On 18 July, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed in circumstances indicative of being shot down by an SA11 surface-to-air missile in Ukraine, near Donetsk, close to the Russian border. There were 298 people on board that aircraft, including 38 Australian citizens and residents. I know I speak on behalf of all senators when I say that our collective hearts went out to, and continue to go out to, the families of the passengers that perished in that atrocious act—an act that shocked the world.

On 21 July this year, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to support Australia's resolution for a full and independent investigation into the MH17 disaster—and I pause to thank Foreign Minister Julie Bishop for the decisive and quick action she took to secure that resolution. Ukrainian authorities, along with Australia and other countries whose nationals were victims, agreed that all remains of those victims be repatriated from Kharkiv in Ukraine to the Netherlands and then brought home to their grieving families. The repatriation from Ukraine was completed a week ago, on 19 August. The departure of personnel supporting Operation Bring Them Home from the Netherlands is now in its final completion phase. Two air movement personnel will remain in the Netherlands for a few further days and one liaison officer will remain indefinitely with the Netherlands Ministry of Defence.