Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

We all know what the war movie is about. There is a clearly defined good guy, an equally clearly defined bad guy, clearly marked lines and rules of engagement and a finish to the conflict which everyone understands. The conflict in Afghanistan is not as simple as that and, as a consequence, it is right for the elected parliament of Australia to reflect on the support and concerns of the people by having this debate. Just as our coalition partners are reassessing their roles in this conflict, we should be appraising the state of our role and the consequences of our actions.

When discussing the Afghan conflict I believe it is important to reflect on the situation that led to 47 nations joining together to take action by way of force in that country. In 1996, an extremist group called the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan. Between 1996 and 2001, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan with no regard to justice and no eye to protecting the most basic of human rights that all of us enjoy in this great country of Australia. Not long after the Taliban took power, many thousands of horrible testimonies of atrocities against their own people began to filter out to the international community. Men and women were often publicly executed without trial and simple things that we take for granted in the West such as music, dancing and flying kites were outlawed.

Just as disturbing was the Taliban’s often open support for terror-training camps and its material support for acts of terrorism. It is undeniable that numerous acts of terrorism were planned and financed by the Taliban directly or they allowed the planning and financing of these acts in their country. The most notable of these terrorist attacks relates to the events in New York city on September 11, 2001. On that day, nearly 3,000 people lost their lives when large passenger jets were used as weapons of mass destruction. Most of those killed in the three attacks that day were not service men and women on active duty; rather, they were everyday people, office workers, tourists, police officers, firemen, husbands, wives, parents and children. Thousands of people around the world suffered great loss that day.

Australia’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan has had a dramatic effect on the people in my electorate of Herbert, centred on the garrison city of Townsville, home to Australia’s largest combat ready defence forces. The people of Townsville understand the ramifications of war better than most. Throughout the conflict in Afghanistan, Townsville has played a pivotal role in seeing Australia meet its contribution to the coalition of nations in Afghanistan. I pay tribute to the men and women of the following Townsville based units who have served with distinction and who all deserve mention in this place: 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment; 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment; 5th Aviation Regiment; 10th Force Support Battalion, Joint Logistic Unit, North Queensland; and 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment, which is part of the special forces task group.

At present there are no Townsville based units in Afghanistan yet that does not diminish the way my city and region feel about the men and women of Australia’s defence forces that are there today. I cannot emphasise enough the extent of the broad base of support that our service men and women enjoy in Townsville. The civilian population has embraced the men and women of Australia’s defence forces as part of one big family living together in the garrison city of Townsville and when one of them falls the whole region feels the impact.

I note the strong contributions of both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in this debate. I agree with the Prime Minister in that there are inherent difficulties and challenges in relating to Afghanistan. I also agree with the Leader of the Opposition when he said we are faced with the risk of losing the PR war just as we are making gains in the ground conflict. There will not be any victory scenes in Afghanistan like the victorious flag-raising following the historic and bloody Battle of Midway during the Second World War. This conflict must end at the negotiating table. There will be no formal surrender or victory claim on either side.

No matter what changes are made, and regardless of the outcome of the military operation, we must all stand 100 per cent behind our troops. There can be no room for wishy-washy, mealy-mouthed statements aimed at political point-scoring or for preparation of a fallback position at our troops’ expense. My community has an extreme position when it comes to the way our troops are treated. There are more than 5,000 service people in Townsville. There is a significant retired Defence Force population in Townsville. They are mums and dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. They are parents at school. They are members of the swimming and golf clubs. They are members of the Rotary and Lions clubs. They are families in my city and they must be supported. It is hard enough for anyone to have a family member away from home let alone serving in a war-torn country.

The community service that people in the defence forces do in our city of Townsville should also be noted. There is not a weekend that goes by where we do not see guys in uniform going around the city collecting money for the Red Shield appeal, the blood bank or any other form of charity that goes on around the place. The defence forces are there front and centre doing it for everyone. The 1RAR band plays regularly at community events for retirees and is a significant part of my city.

Australia’s defence forces have built an enviable reputation in many theatres of war and peacekeeping missions around the world. The war in Afghanistan rates as one of the most difficult operations in which our young nation has been involved. Our men and women fighting in the dusty desert are not engaged in a traditional combat situation—far from it. The threat of death or serious injury is all-encompassing and cannot and should not be underestimated. This nation owes the men and women of the ADF a great debt of gratitude for the sacrifices they have made, and continue to make, in an extremely hostile environment. The very least we can do back here in the relative comfort of this great nation is to use this House and every available forum to send the loudest and clearest message to our troops and their families that they have our unconditional support.

I do not believe, as others in this place have asserted, that we should abandon the people of Afghanistan, abandon our obligation to rebuild this nation and pull out the troops now or on a set date. To do this would create great unrest and place our troops in danger of increased insurgent activity. It would also send a signal to our enemies that we are not committed to the principles of freedom and democracy for the long haul. We have made a commitment to the people of Afghanistan and to the fight against terror. If we were to walk away now because it is all too hard, we would be abandoning our friends in Afghanistan and playing into the hands of our enemies. It would not be long before Afghanistan was once again a safe haven and a training ground for radical terrorists whose stated aim is to undermine the very freedoms that our troops are fighting for right now. It would also send entirely the wrong signal to our brave troops who have served this nation with distinction in Afghanistan, 21 of whom have paid the ultimate price.

The free world has to be a beacon of hope for oppressed peoples around the world. If we walk away from our commitment to the task we have undertaken in Afghanistan, we may harm our reputation as a defender of democracy and of the basic freedoms that we hold dear in our society. Looking to the future, I believe that Australia must set clear goals for our troops and only after they have been achieved bring them home. By ensuring we have clear goals to achieve for the nation of Afghanistan, the sacrifices of our soldiers and their families will be remembered long after the end of this conflict. These goals should be determined with Australians at the negotiating table along with the Afghan government and other coalition forces representatives—but Australia must be central to any negotiations.

When I talk of our troops working towards set goals, I am not talking about a flag-raising ceremony. I am talking about ensuring everyday Afghani men, women and children are able to go about their lives without the threat of persecution. The goals we should insist on include: ensuring that girls have the right to an education on a par with boys; the right to due justice and a trial; the right to freedom of religion; ensuring that the government has a bureaucratic infrastructure to operate effective governance; that the Taliban is starved of training grounds and no longer intimidates villages; and the right to vote for an elected government.

As a representative of Australia’s most important military facility and centre in Townsville I welcome this opportunity to publicly recognise the wonderful job our troops have done and continue to do in Afghanistan and around the world under extremely difficult conditions. I again urge all Australians to stand shoulder to shoulder with our brave service men and women and their families. We must never forget the sacrifices made by our troops and by their families in the service of this nation.

See this speech in context