Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Again, as the holiday season approaches, on behalf of the parliament, in my capacity as defence minister, I want to acknowledge and thank the work of all ADF personnel and Defence civilians who not only contributed to our national security throughout the year but will remain on stand-by over the Christmas-New Year period to respond to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

Australia and our region are very prone to extreme weather events at this time of year, and we're all too familiar with that. The long-range weather forecast indeed suggests that the South Pacific will be vulnerable to cyclones of similar severity to last year in this coming season. Australia enjoys an excellent reputation with our neighbours, in part because of the selfless devotion to duty of Defence personnel who work as one to ease distress in disaster-affected communities and offer support to the region through stability operations when needed. The work of the Defence Organisation, the ADF and the Defence APS is greatly appreciated in this place.