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

Twenty-two-year-old Sapper Jordan Ronald Penpraze was in a truck which rolled down a steep hill returning from a training exercise. On behalf of the people of Herbert and the people of Townsville I would like to extend my sincere sympathies to his family, his teammates, his unit mates and comrades in Townsville, where there is only one degree of separation—and with Sapper Penpraze this is no different. Our Mayor, Jenny Hill, has a son in the Army who went through basic training with Jordan. Whilst all deaths are a terrible thing, especially that of a young man, to his parents and his family we extend our heartfelt condolences. We know that he chose to go in to a field of service and anyone who puts on a uniform knows that there are inherent risks in that. No doubt his parents were very proud of him as he stood there looking good in green.

To be brave is something I do not know too much about, but he obviously was brave. To be a sapper he would have gone into clear the path for commandoes and this takes a very brave person. As the member for Fadden said, he would go where others literally would walk in his footsteps and this is an act of true bravery and true courage. It is something that should never be diminished. He will be missed, his mates will raise a glass and he will always have a place in the history of our ADF.

As a representative of the garrison city, I know that Townsville takes its responsibilities very seriously when it comes to the men and women of our ADF. We have a very proud tradition. Recently I hosted the shadow defence minister, Senator David Johnston from Western Australia, at Lavarack Barracks and at RAAF Base Garbutt. To be able to sit down and talk to the guys who have been to Afghanistan and have been to Somalia and to Timor Leste, who have been to the Solomon Islands, to be places where your life is at risk, to be places where your training is taking you there and your training is there to be done. We are the deployable forces for Australia in Townsville. We are the cutting edge. Our training is all about getting to that place. Sapper Jordan Penpraze was not in Townsville, he was at Holsworthy, but his training would have been as pointed and as spot-on as the rest of them. Having spoken to now Major-General Stuart Smith, in training they must get into muscle memory so that when they get into a position where they are under stress it is not so much you have to think, they train until it becomes instinct. When you are a sapper that is what you must do as well. You must jump in there, you must know in advance what you are going to do, where you are going to go, what your actions will be, what your field of vision will be. With those words I say again that Jordan Penpraze will not be forgotten. Another brave man has fallen for the service of his country.

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