Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Government Services) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to support the motion moved by the foreign minister and I also wholeheartedly endorse her words, her emotions and her sentiments as expressed in her comments. I congratulate her and other ministers, and their staff and their many officials, who are working so hard to save so many lives, but the sad truth is they won't be able to save them all.

For 20 years many thousands of Australians in and out of uniform have served our nation in Afghanistan and more widely in the region. This has undoubtedly saved the lives of not only Australians here and overseas but also many others elsewhere. They've saved Australian lives from the threat of terrorism, which has spread from its roots in Afghanistan like a hydra, right across our region and even into Australia. Like so many others, I have been absolutely distressed in recent days to hear some suggest that the efforts of Australian veterans, diplomats and civilians in Afghanistan were for nought. It is simply not true. As a former defence minister, I've been to Afghanistan. I've seen firsthand how Australia's military involvement there, and in the wider region, not only has made our own nation safer from the threat of terrorism but also has made a tangible difference to the lives of so many millions of Afghans, particularly their women and their girls. The efforts of our veterans have not been in vain. I commend Senator Lambie for her words and her expressions of support for the thousands of veterans from Afghanistan. Through our presence and our support millions have seen the possibility and the reality of a much better life—please, never ever doubt that.

I join the foreign minister also in thanking all of those who are currently supporting the evacuation efforts in Kabul and in the UAE. Like so many others, I am now waiting anxiously for news from Kabul and from the UAE about who has made it out and who has made it out past those terrible roadblocks manned by the Taliban, who are subjecting people to beatings and far worse. But I know there are far too many Australians today who are anxiously and desperately waiting for word of the wellbeing of their family members both in Kabul and also right across Afghanistan.

None of us can ever forget where we were on 11 September 2021. I was chief of staff to the Minister for Justice and Customs when the Twin Towers were hit by al-Qaeda. Like all Australians, and indeed the rest of the world, I watched the horror of the multiple attacks on that day in sheer disbelief. That night, none of us who worked in the ministerial wing here slept. The phones rang hot. No-one at that minute could imagine what the tragedy would mean for our nation's safety and security or for the rest of the world. Indeed, in the first few hours, we were even worried about the safety of the Prime Minister and his travelling team.

Over the next months and, indeed, years, I was at the heart of subsequent reforms to our nation's antiterrorism measures. The Bali bombings, which followed hot on the heels of September 11, added to our urgency and brought the reality of terrorism ever closer to our shores. Throughout this time I gained enormous insight into the darkness that inhabited the souls of the perpetrators of that terrorism. That darkness and evil, sadly, continues to dwell in the minds of some today, including the Taliban and those who have seized control of Afghanistan. The tentacles spread so quickly from Afghanistan and al-Qaeda to our region, to Jemaah Islamiyah and the Bali bombings, which claimed the lives of 202 innocents, including 88 Australians. In Bali, I visited the morgue. I met shell-shocked survivors. I worked with the families of those who lost loved ones in Bali. I saw, heard and—as I will never forget—smelled the impact of terrorism on the lives of Australians.

I also witnessed then, as I do every day here in Australia, that the decisions made by governments of the day are never easy and never taken lightly. That time also showed me very, very clearly that democratic freedoms are never truly free and that, all too often, they have to be fought for over and over again. That is what thousands of our troops did in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years, with the loss of 41 irreplaceable Australian lives. These were all Australians who loved and were loved and who will be forever missed, and they will all be remembered.

These experiences also motivated me to begin volunteering with a range of Australian and overseas programs to support and empower young political leaders, particularly women, to help them find their voice in their communities, in their media and in their parliaments and to help them speak out in circumstances that we have no concept of, that really are just so foreign to our own way of life. I've met so many women, including women in Afghanistan, who I'm now proud to call friend and who continue to make me so proud, to inspire me and to humble me.

What did our 20 years of service in Afghanistan achieve for Afghans? For a start, the life expectancy of Afghans has increased from just 56 years to 64 years. The mortality rate of infants has reduced dramatically, from 87 to 46 per 1,000 births. Women's participation in the labour force has risen to over 20 per cent from almost nil. Afghanistan now has more than 200 female judges and over 4,000 women in law enforcement, and 27 per cent of seats in Afghanistan are held by women. But one of our most significant achievements and, I hope, enduring commitments and legacies is the dramatic increase in access to education for Afghan boys and girls. The literacy rate of the adult population has increased to 43 per cent, while the literacy rate for girls has increased dramatically, to 60 per cent. Student enrolments grew from less than a million—of course, all boys—to over 9.5 million students today. Wonderfully, 40 per cent are now girls.

Having worked with women who fight unimaginable political and security challenges each and every day on behalf of their communities, I think it is very fitting to leave my last words in this chamber today on this issue to the words of one of the women who has so inspired me, an incredibly brave Afghan woman, Shukria Barakzai. Shukria is a former Afghan politician and diplomat and a fierce advocate for women's rights. She has chosen to remain in Kabul. Her bravery, her struggle and her sacrifice continue to inspire me and so many others. In her life, she has been subjected to multiple suicide attacks, she has been beaten, she has been wounded gravely, she has lost two children and she has suffered so many other losses that are just so unimaginable to all of us in this parliament today. She ran an underground school for girls during the Taliban, and, today, she still fights in Afghanistan for the voices of young women.

Last week, Shukria wrote a really powerful article from Kabul, which was published in the Daily Mail, about her fears but, amazingly, also about her hopes that enough younger Afghans will continue to carry out her work and the work of many others who have fought for so long on behalf of women and girls. She said that this week her concern is for the young minds—that they survive, that they endure and that they keep on fighting the fight for women and girls. I'll finish with her parting words in the article:

I am trying to place my faith in the resilience of this land and its brave and benighted people.

No matter how dark the clouds are, I am looking at the end of the night and sunrise beyond.

Today my hope is that the passion, the commitment and the bloodshed of so many from Australia and around the globe will continue to inspire women with the resilience that Shukria has.

To all Australian service men and women and all other Australians who served in Afghanistan, and to their families: I thank you for your service. To all veterans and to their families: please always remember that not only have you saved Australian lives here and overseas but you have transformed the lives of a generation of Afghan boys and girls. And, like Shukria, I hope that together we have done enough to prepare them, as she said, with the skills to endure the current darkness so that they may eventually see the 'sunrise beyond'.