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

The very, very good member for Lyons, I should say! I have some other commitments—not that I rank those other commitments as a priority over this condolence motion; I certainly do not. But I appreciate the member for Lyons giving way to me.

I am of course here to support the condolence motion moved by the Prime Minister—a condolence motion reflecting the life and good deeds of Corporal Richard Edward Atkinson. I did not know him, although it is possible I might have met him during my time as the Minister for Defence, but I do not need to have known him well to understand who he was and what he was. He would have been typical of those who serve in the Australian uniform on operations overseas.

He was a volunteer, of course. It is always very important to highlight that, because the Australian community does need to understand that people like Corporal Atkinson do what they do both voluntarily and enthusiastically. They know the very serious risks involved and the potential consequences of those actions. On almost every occasion, and no doubt it is the case in this instance, they do so with the full support of their family, friends and loved ones. I think that is a very important message for the Australian community as it begins, even more as time goes on, to question Australia’s participation in Afghanistan. These brave young Australians understand why we are there, and they understand the risks. We are there for a very important reason, and we in this place should not ever speak in a way which indicates that we ourselves question those very important reasons. These men are there to make the world a safer place and to make Australia a safer place. It has been said many times in this place that most of the terrorist attacks that have injured or killed Australians have had some link back to Afghanistan and training by Islamists in that part of the word—not just Afghanistan but the north-west frontier provinces in Pakistan on the border of Afghanistan.

So today we mourn him, but we thank him for what he has done for his country and we thank his family for allowing him to do what he obviously wanted to do, knowing the very great risk involved. It is also an occasion to reinforce the need for those of us in this place to understand that if we are going to send our troops into dangerous places we need to be properly resourcing them. I have no doubt that we are properly resourcing them. Questions have been asked about that from time to time. They even relate to some incidents that occurred in this place earlier in the week. We all need to remain vigilant, each and every one of us, in ensuring that government ensures on all occasions—without any question, without any exceptions—that our troops fighting in theatre have all the support and capability they need to do their job as effectively and as safely as possible. Again, to Corporal Atkinson I say: ‘Thank you for what you did and thank you for your sacrifices. We will never forget your deeds. Hopefully we will ensure that we follow our mission through in Afghanistan and in doing so ensure that your efforts were not given in vain.’

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