Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to join with the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and other members who make a contribution to this important debate. I record my deep regret and sorrow over the death of Sergeant Brett Till and extend my profound sympathies to his family. I extend sympathies to Sergeant Till’s wife, Bree-Anna, who is a wonderful person; his children, Jacob and Taleah; his mother Susan and her husband Leigh; and his father Noel and his wife Cathy—all wonderful people whom I had the pleasure to meet both at the ramp ceremony for the repatriation of Sergeant Till and at the funeral service.

I have met many of the men and women of the Australian Defence Force and I am always impressed by their professionalism and courage. Sergeant Till made a significant contribution while serving the Australian Army. He enlisted in the Army in July 2001. After initial training, he was allocated to the Royal Australian Engineers and completed his combat engineer initial employment training in March 2002. Sergeant Till completed his ordnance disposal technician course during 2007 while he was an instructor at the School of Military Engineering. Sergeant Till deployed to Afghanistan in February 2009. On 19 March 2009, Sergeant Till was serving with the Special Operations Task Group when he was killed by an explosion that occurred during a route clearance task in southern Afghanistan. Sergeant Till died serving his country and is owed a special debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid. He was a dedicated soldier with high professional standards, displaying courage in the most demanding of environments. He was committed to his work and was an example to all those who served with him. He was a highly respected explosive ordnance disposal technician from the Incident Response Regiment in Holsworthy in New South Wales. It is surely one of the most challenging tasks any of us could ever imagine undertaking.

Members will be aware that I recently had the great honour and privilege of spending Anzac Day with the men and women of the ADF based at Camp Holland in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan. It was a magnificent privilege and experience for me. There I learned the latest detail of the work of both the Special Operations Task Group and the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force. I got briefings in technical terms, but there is nothing more important to me than mixing amongst the troops and learning first-hand of their experiences in that war-torn country.

One thing that shines through for me is that they all understand very clearly why they are there. They understand this is an important mission for Australia’s national security and they are all dedicated to the task of lifting the capacity of the Afghan national security forces so that they can take care of their own security in the medium to long term. The special forces people are dedicated to the task of disrupting the insurgency. Sergeant Till, as I said, was performing a very special role. It is difficult for us to imagine filling the role he was playing—such a dangerous task—but, again, it underscores his commitment and dedication to his country.

I mentioned that I attended the funeral service. From my perspective it is always hardest when they put up the PowerPoint presentation. The pictures reflect the soldier’s life—in this case, the life of Sergeant Till and his time with his family. Nothing is more moving than when we have lost a soldier, but it was obvious in watching the PowerPoint presentation that there were many facets to Sergeant Till. He was a dedicated and professional soldier but certainly also a dedicated family man, and the family has paid very dearly for his dedication to his country.

I take this opportunity of paying tribute to all the men and women of the ADF who are making a contribution to our campaign in Afghanistan. It is challenging and dangerous work, but I know from their perspective that it is also rewarding work. I make the point that, whenever we lose a soldier, their families always reinforce for me the fact that they understood exactly what they were doing and the risks involved but they were doing exactly what they wanted to do. I think it is very important that the families know and appreciate that.

On behalf of the Australian government we again offer our prayers and our support for Sergeant Till’s family and his friends. The passing of Sergeant Till brings the total number of fatalities in Afghanistan to 10 ADF members—indeed, 11 if you count Rifleman Stuart Nash, who of course died fighting with the UK forces. The other fatalities fighting in the uniform of the Australian Defence Force were, of course: Sergeant Andrew Russell, Trooper David ‘Poppy’ Pearce, Sergeant Matty Locke, Private Luke Worsley, Lance Corporal Jason Marks, Signaller Sean McCarthy, Lieutenant Michael Fussell, Private Greg Sher and of course Corporal Matthew Hopkins, who we paid tribute to earlier this morning. Again, as the Minister for Defence and on behalf of the Australian parliament, I thank them for their service, I thank them for their sacrifice and I thank their friends and loved ones, who have given them as their own sacrifice on behalf of the nation.

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