Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to offer my condolences to the family and friends of Sapper Jordan Ronald Penpraze, who died on 11 October 2012 as a result of the injuries he sustained in an accident at Holsworthy Army Base on 8 October. This tragedy is a reminder that service in the uniform of this country carries with it risk. The risk is not only in the terrain of Afghanistan but also in the wide variety of training conducted to develop our military capacities. It is also, as in the case today, when being transported as part of that training.

A Victorian from Mornington, Jordan Penpraze was born on 15 August 1990 and enlisted in the ARA, the Australian Regular Army, on 3 April this year. Having completed his recruit training at Kapooka, he became an engineer and went off to the School of Military Engineering at Casula in western Sydney. It was on 11 July 2012 that he commenced his IETs, as we called it in the Army, or initial employment training. IET is the first specialist training that a soldier gets for the corps to which they have been allocated. In the case of Jordan Penpraze, this was the Royal Australian Corps of Engineers.

The task of the engineers on the battlefield is varied and there is no doubt it can be highly dangerous. These are the soldiers who build and clear. When I was training as a commissioned military police officer in Sydney in 1990, we visited the School of Military Engineering while the IETs were in training there. People like Sapper Penpraze were there building a bridge across the big creek just near the school. It was impressive but clearly dangerous work. Similarly, during the 2000 Olympics the engineers were involved with the searches and were prepared to deal with the nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical threats that might have faced the games. Again, it was high-risk and potentially deadly work. Of course in Afghanistan the threats they have to deal with are the highly dangerous IEDs, or improvised explosive devices, that have sadly claimed so many of our soldiers' lives.

It was therefore into that sort of life of potential threat that Sapper Jordan Penpraze was heading, and enthusiastically. One sometimes wonders why a person would embrace those sorts of threats when one is aware of the risk. The engineer officers I knew did of course look forward to blowing things up. I know that a fun day as an engineer was clearing obstacles or blowing up suspect objects. They also enjoyed building things or, in the case of soldiers, driving the bulldozers. In the case of Sapper Penpraze, we know he specifically liked operating boats and the water based activities.

I would imagine that the thought of these sorts of activities would have been quite an incentive for a young man like Jordan, along with the belief of doing something significant for his nation. In any case, my point is that he knew that his chosen vocation carried with it a level of excitement along with significant danger and risk. He would have known that he would probably have served in Afghanistan before too long. He probably would not have considered that riding in the back of a Unimog truck or a Range Rover at Holsworthy would be the circumstance that would cost him his life but, as we know, any military training comes with risk. I am not aware of any results yet of the investigations being carried out by Defence, Comcare or the New South Wales Police, but the tragic death of this young man should serve as a reminder that care and attention is warranted during all activities and not just on the explosives range, in the operation of plant or equipment or even in the construction of bridges.

In conclusion, I once again offer my condolences to the family and friends of Sapper Penpraze. His death was a tragedy. He is now forever lost to his family and friends. It is also a tragedy in terms of his being unable to graduate from SME and serve his country as a fully qualified engineer. He would have been magnificent, from all reports. Before concluding, I would add that it was in some way fortunate that this terrible accident did not happen earlier in his time at SME, because then he would not have been in Liverpool on local leave when he helped resuscitate a collapsed elderly person. I would like to thank his family again for providing their son in the great and important service of our nation and for raising the sort of person who would, as we know, never walk past those in need. Although he was just 22 years old, he made a significant impact on those in his troop, his friends, family and, as we now know, even strangers. In every way he was the sort of Australian that we should all be proud of. May he rest in peace.

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