Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

Today we pause to remember and pay our respects to the outstanding life and service of Sergeant Brett Till, who died for our nation on 19 March 2009 aged but 31 years. As we know, he was an explosive ordinance technician based at the Incident Response Regiment in Sydney serving in the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan. He was killed by an IED, an improvised explosive device, during a route clearance task—a very dangerous job. It has been acknowledged by the commanding officer of the Special Operations Task Group, that ‘without question Brett’s work on the day he died saved the lives of his mates.’ I have learnt much of this brave man over the past few weeks, as those who knew him shared their tales that told of a compassionate family man and an incredibly professional and dedicated soldier. Brett joined the Army in 2001 and trained as a combat engineer. He was highly respected by his peers.

I have personally witnessed over the last few years the great work our defence forces do in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste and variously the tough conditions and dangers they confront on a daily—if not hourly or minute-by-minute—basis depending on what they are doing. Our service men and women in the Special Operations Task Group are working tirelessly amongst daily threats of enemy fire, rocket propelled grenade attacks and IEDs. It is important that we acknowledge all of those currently serving our nation overseas as well as those in the past for their dedication and hard work and for their courage to face such risks on our behalf.

Last weekend, here in Canberra, I was at the Old Parliament House for a very good occasion, the commemoration of the history of Australian democracy. When you see our young men and women in uniform overseas, it is perhaps too easy to forget what they are fighting for. What was brought home to me on Saturday, and this is invigorated in my memory today, is the fact that these young men and women—like Sergeant Brett Till, who made the ultimate sacrifice—are doing it for us. They are doing it because we live in this nation of freedom. For the ongoing, enduring protection of our freedom, we request—indeed, direct—young men and women in uniform to represent our interests and fight for us on foreign shores. We should not underestimate the sacrifice that is being made, and I think we should embolden the Australian community to understand that, whilst they might see the war in Afghanistan as a long way away, in fact it has its roots here. Its roots are in this parliament, where we consider and contemplate the events of the day and where an executive government elected by the Australian people makes decisions on how our Defence Force is going to be deployed. When we make those decisions, they are very solemn decisions. When we ask our young men and women to go to these foreign shores and fight on our behalf, we are putting them in danger. I know my colleague the parliamentary secretary Dr Kelly has his own experiences of these dangers.

It is important that the Australian community understand how we the Australian community benefit directly from this service. Unfortunately, on occasions I think that is not the case. When we reflect upon the contribution and sacrifice made by Sergeant Till we should bear in mind what it means for his family. When they saw him depart this shore to do his job, as he wanted to do, they could not have foreseen the tragic way in which his life would end. He leaves behind his pregnant wife, Bree-Anna, and his children, Jacob and Taleah; as well as his mother, Susan, and her husband, Leigh; and his father, Noel, and his wife, Cathy. I extend my personal condolences to all of you who mourn his death. Having said that, when we think about this nation of ours and the sacrifices such as that which Brett has made for us, we should also contemplate that his family are now devoid of him.

When we ask our men and women to serve overseas, we should also be thinking about those they leave behind. We have an obligation to recognise our wonderful defence families—the mothers, the fathers, the wives, the husbands and the children who have to remain behind and, as in the case of Sergeant Till, who are left without their husband, their father, their son. I do not think one can contemplate what that ultimate sacrifice means to that family. When we are thinking about our ongoing contribution to these tasks that we ask our men and women in uniform to undertake on our behalf, we should on an ongoing and daily basis pray for and think about their families.

I personally would like to express my gratitude to Brett’s extended family for the support they gave him throughout his career. It enabled him to do what he wanted to do. It enabled him to serve our nation. I know there is nothing we can say that will fill the gap that is now there, but they should be aware that this parliament gratefully acknowledges his tremendous service and sacrifice for our nation.

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