House debates

Monday, 24 June 2013

Condolences

Baird, Corporal Cameron, MG

6:03 pm

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

I rise to join with the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, the Minister for Defence, the opposition spokesperson for defence and all those who have made a contribution to this very, very sad condolence debate. I pay my tribute to Corporal Cameron Stewart Baird, holder of the Medal for Gallantry, and extend my sympathy to his family—his parents, his brother, his partner and all those who served alongside him. I recommend that those taking an interest in this debate read the citation that lies behind the awarding of the Medal for Gallantry to this very, very brave Australian soldier. Typically, the citation describes a situation in combat leading to great acts of courage and bravery that leave us mere mortals somewhat gob-smacked—actions, as in the case of Corporal Baird, undertaken to protect those who serve alongside you.

I did not know Corporal Baird—at least, I do not know that I did; I had the great privilege, of course, of serving as the country's defence minister and during that time I made a number of visits to what was then 4RAR, now 2nd Commando Regiment. During my regular visits to Afghanistan, I was always protected by a group of special forces soldiers, sometimes from the Special Air Service Regiment, sometimes from what was then 4RAR Commando. Every individual was different, of course, but they all had the same attributes. They were not necessarily always big, but they were usually pretty big guys, very strong and tough people both mentally and physically, and they all had that courage that is difficult for us to comprehend. I am sure that Corporal Baird had within him all those very special attributes.

I know this about Corporal Baird, even though I am not sure we ever had a discussion: he would have believed very much in what he was doing in Afghanistan, he would have wanted to be in Afghanistan—and that is fairly obvious, given the number of rotations he had there—and, very importantly, he would have believed in the success of the mission. I also suspect—I will not say 'I know', but I speak with some confidence when I say this—that his family and his partner would have supported his decision to be there and given him, even if somewhat reluctantly, every encouragement, knowing that he had a deep-seated commitment to the Army and to the mission there.

As we know, Corporal Baird is the 40th Australian soldier to have given his life in Afghanistan. Many, many more have been wounded in action, and our thoughts are with all of them as we continue this condolence motion this evening. From my perspective, our key role now is to ensure that those lives were not given in vain and that all those injuries were suffered for no reason. We owe it to them to finish this task. It is a difficult task in Afghanistan, and it is now best described as a protracted task. But we went there for a good reason, we remain there for a good reason and we should continue the mission for the same very good reason. Happily, we are now in a position to be winding down our commitment in Afghanistan, but I suspect that the work of our special forces soldiers will be ongoing for some time to come. To do otherwise runs the risk of unravelling all we have done there and making it seem these lives were lost in vain.

I am very pleased that we are now talking in Afghanistan about negotiation—first, between the United States of America and the Taliban, and then, hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban. When we first spoke about the need to hold negotiations, not with extremists but with those who are serious about ending the conflict in Afghanistan, it was very controversial. These days, it is not, and I think that in itself is a measure of our success in Afghanistan. Our disruption has been substantial and we have undermined the capacity of the Taliban in many ways. We have always argued that the best place from which to negotiate is a position of strength. No, we are not in a position to declare victory or 'mission accomplished' in Afghanistan tomorrow, but the fact that we are now sitting around the negotiating table is a reflection, I think, of our success, that the Taliban felt it was necessary to start talking.

Afghanistan has a long and turbulent history. We are reminded on a daily basis that there are no easy fixes there. The tension there is from myriad sources, including ethnic and sectarian conflict. The people live with borders that have been imposed upon them by what might be described as the Western world, which causes great difficulties. There are no easy fixes. In the end, peace will only be found when sensible people get together and discuss sensible outcomes. Of course, we need to go on with building an economy and a society. The aid flow to Afghanistan will need to be very significant for a long time to come. I appeal to future governments of any persuasion to maintain and sustain that task. It will be critical. You cannot have peace and stability and security in a country that does not have an economy, and Afghanistan has a long way to go before we can claim it has an economy that is sustainable.

I pay tribute to Corporal Baird. I extend my sympathy to his family and I thank him for what he has done for his country. He was obviously a very special, courageous and brave man. He was a person with a deep-seated commitment to his country and a real belief in what he was doing there in Afghanistan. Lest we forget.

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