Brian Burston (NSW, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Defence, Senator Payne, representing the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. Today is the 70 anniversary of Australia's involvement in peacekeeping operations around the world, and we thank them for their service. In the case of Lebanon, in 1983-84 the UN observers were at risk of being shelled by artillery or killed by militia on a daily basis. Indeed, the Australian embassy in Beirut was closed down in 1984 because of the security situation in Beirut, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Some UN peacekeepers and observers were evacuated with gunshot wounds and others were subjected to physical harm from hostile forces of the Israeli Defence Force, reacting to UN sanctions and militia opposed to their presence in Lebanon.

Minister, can you please advise the chamber on what basis unarmed ADF members and police deployed into a hostile environment or an environment that becomes hostile might be recognised for war-like service and receive the Australian Active Service Medal and full repatriation benefits?