Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In a place that often focuses on the differences between the parties, I think both sides of the chamber agree on one thing and that is that one of the pre-eminent objectives for us in Afghanistan is the protection of our troops and of their wellbeing in Afghanistan. One of the things that I did want to focus on this morning in my question to the minister is what we are doing to protect troops there. I am led to believe that we have undertaken a number of measures in the course of the last year. There is new lighter combat body armour and a new combat uniform, longer range machine guns and upgrades to the Bushmasters. I understand that in the course of the last year we have let out a contract for the manufacture of over 100 new Bushmasters in Victoria and the upgrades to the ones in Afghanistan are designed to make them even more secure. I also see that we have put in place a counter-rocket system in Tarin Kowt to provide additional protection of troops there. Clearly these measures are critical.

In addition to this, a MultiCam camouflage uniform is being trialled to provide troops with even greater levels of concealment across the various terrains within Afghanistan. Obviously that is critical for them there. The new uniform, with its new elbow and knee pads, is designed to reduce soft tissue injuries. The uniform is cooler, it is designed to be worn under the body armour, and it has a padded waistband to make it even more comfortable under webbing or a field pack. And it has more pockets and stretch fabric at the joints.

I said earlier that the upgrade of the Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles will make them even safer. The upgrade will include the installation of protected weapons stations to reduce the exposure of crew operating vehicle-fitted weapons; internal spall liners that provide vehicle occupants with better protection from direct fire and side blasts; and new seating and flooring, giving troops in the vehicle better protection against spinal and lower limb injuries from the blast effects of IEDs. I want to ask, Minister: is there any other research being undertaken to further build on this commitment in terms of protecting our troops? I am wondering if you can outline that to the chamber.

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