Judith Adams (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I take the opportunity to speak about the 2008 Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program, which was launched last Wednesday by the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support the Hon. Dr Mike Kelly AM, MP. As a keen supporter of the ADF Parliamentary Program, I would like to congratulate all those involved in arranging such an impressive range of options for the 2008 program—namely, Commodore Trevor Jones, Head of the Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program; Mr Lynton Dixon, ADF Parliamentary Program Executive Officer; and Mr Alex Ruiz, also of the ADF Parliamentary Program executive. The 2008 program has a choice of 15 options. Option 1 is with the Navy in exercise RIMPAC 2008. This is a biennial maritime based combined joint exercise conducted with the United States out of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. I was very fortunate to attend the 2006 exercise RIMPAC. This exercise had eight countries participating, 34 ships, six submarines, 160 aircraft and 19,000 personnel. It was a wonderful experience, and I do hope that my colleagues take this option up this year.

Option 2 is Navy exercise Kakadu IX. This is a maritime exercise conducted with regional defence forces out of Darwin in the Northern Territory. This attachment provides the opportunity to engage with Australia’s Navy in an important exercise with a large number of our regional allies and coalition partners, drawn from Brunei, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It is a very large exercise with over 20 vessels participating. Once again I would encourage my colleagues to look at this option.

Option 3, again with the Navy, is a tour of the east coast naval establishments. I believe this is one of the most important options to take up because it really shows what is behind keeping our ships and our people at sea. I did this option in my first year in the Senate. The aim of this option is to provide a five-day broad overview of Navy capability through operationally focused visits to Navy ships and establishments located in the greater Sydney region. This includes visits to HMAS Kuttabul; Fleet Base East; HMAS Waterhen, the clearance divers’ and minehunters’ home; HMAS Penguin; and then sailing to HMAS Creswell down in Jervis Bay, onto HMAS Albatross and then back to Sydney. This program really lets you know exactly what is behind keeping our people at sea—it is very important.

Option 4 is the Army option of NORFORCE, which I am going to do. NORFORCE supports the Northern Territory intervention. As with a number of us who have been involved in Aboriginal issues, I am very keen to go out on the patrols with them to Pine Gap; Uluru; the Olgas; Mutitjulu; Kaltukatjara, which is near Docker River; and Alice Springs, to really see firsthand what is going on in these communities and the approach taken by NORFORCE in the work that they do.

Option 5 is with the Army mission rehearsal exercise. Mission rehearsal exercises are conducted by the combat training centre to prepare our battle groups for deployment on operations in either Iraq or Afghanistan. The mission rehearsal exercises are designed to test the battle group by putting it through a series of activities and incidents similar to those they may face in country. Members of parliament will be part of the enemy force so they will certainly be very active in that exercise.

Option 6 is another one with the Army—this time with the Special Air Service regiment selection course. An SAS trooper is a soldier trained to a high degree in basic infantry skills who is qualified in one or more specialist skills. The Special Air Service regiment selection course is a rigorous program designed to identify those soldiers, sailors and airmen with the special qualities required of an SAS trooper. This option is a very special opportunity to gain a unique insight into the extraordinary physical and mental hardships endured by the course participants as they strive for selection in this elite group.

Option 7 is with the Air Force at RAAF Base East Sale. This base is probably best known for its Central Flying School—the home of the famous Roulettes aerobatic display team. Members and senators will mix with the pilots and all those who support the team. On this option they will learn what goes into planning a mission from planning to execution and all the factors to be considered so that the crowd is entertained and safe practices are still adhered to.

Option 8 is another Air Force option at RAAF Base Wagga Wagga. The centrepiece of trade training at RAAF Base Wagga is the RAAF School of Technical Training, which caters for up to 60 courses and an annual throughput of 3,500 students. Members and senators will join the recruits at initial recruit training, and experience firsthand the changes that our young people go through to become the backbone of our Air Force.

The ninth option is another Air Force one, this time at RAAF Base Amberley, which is the largest operational base in the Air Force employing approximately 3,000 service and civilian personnel. This option will provide an overview of the behind-the-scenes work that goes on at the Combat Support Group. Members and senators will also join personnel at the RAAF School of Fire and Security, which is the primary training facility for firefighters as well as airfield defence guards, security police, military working dog handlers and airfield engineering personnel.

The tenth option is Operation Catalyst, which involves operations in support of Australian Defence Force activity in the Arabian Gulf and Iraq. I was very fortunate to go on this last year. It is an excellent opportunity to join our men and women of the ADF in execution of their mission in the Middle East by spending time with the AP3C Orions, and also this time members of parliament will be with HMAS Arunta. I was fortunate to spend my time in HMAS Toowoomba.

Option 11 is Border Protection Command’s Operation Resolute, which is Defence’s contribution to the whole-of-government approach to protecting Australia’s offshore maritime interests. Members and senators arrive at Thursday Island on the northern tip of Cape York and, after a series of briefings and an assimilation tour of the area, find themselves on board one of the Navy’s patrol vessels as well as a customs vessel. That is a five-day tour that I am hoping to do in July.

Option 12A is at the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies, or CDSS, part of the Australian Defence College in Canberra, where selected senior Australian military and civilian officers together with senior foreign military officers undertake a 12-month course. This option will give our members of parliament a very good idea of the senior operational issues that our Defence Force meet. Option 12B is an opportunity to go to ADFA, the Australian Defence Force Academy, also in Canberra. There are up to 1,000 students at ADFA comprising cadets from the three services who, together with foreign military cadets, undertake a three-year university degree under the auspices of the University of New South Wales. We then have option 12C, which is a combination of the CDSS and ADFA.

The 13th option, which is a fascinating one, is the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme. This gives members of parliament an opportunity to go with 23 of Australia’s young people and nine Royal Australian Navy crew on a journey from Townsville to Hamilton Island.

I would quickly say in closing, since its inception in 2001 there have been more than 70 parliamentary participants in the ADF program. We also have an exchange program which allows 12 defence personnel, four from each of the services, to come and join us in Parliament House. Last year I was fortunate enough to host Captain Peter Leavy, who is now the Director of Sea Power and who was the captain of HMAS Stuart on two of the operations that I was attached to. It shows how a program like this gives us all an opportunity to join with the young people on these ships, aircraft and in the Army and to really appreciate what they do. (Time expired)