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

Sapper Corporal Scott James Smith, from the Incident Response Regiment, was killed in action whilst serving with the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan. I express my personal condolences and those of the entire Townsville community to his parents, Murray Smith and Katrina Patterson; his sister Roxanne; and his partner, Liv.

Townsville is the home of the largest defence base in the country. When someone in our military falls, we feel it—no matter where they are from or where they served. They are one of us. Scott Smith, you are a proud member of the ADF family. To be this man, you must be incredibly brave; you must push the envelope right to the edge. But you would never be foolhardy. To be this man, you have to trust your training and your mates. To be this man, you must realise that some may fall. To be this man, you have to know that it could be you. These men are out the front.

As the member for Fadden so eloquently put it yesterday, others literally walk in his footsteps. That is what these guys do. They lead the way and clear a path so that others are safe. These men are highly trained. They are tough and highly professional. They possess skills and reflexes few of us will ever witness. He died among friends, protecting them. He died with his mates saying he was brave and strong. If I were the parent, brother or partner of someone killed in action, I could take very little comfort from this. But, as a citizen of Australia and my city's representative in the national parliament, I take huge pride in the fact that we have people like this in our midst. Scott Smith died too young and he will be missed. Lest we forget.

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