Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The people of Gilmore are proud to be part of the actions taken by the Australian Defence Force in recent humanitarian aid. There is probably no better project to draw together the divergent views of our residents than pulling together to help others. While we would wish that such events triggering human loss and tragedy never took place, there are few in Gilmore who would not be prepared to help in any way they could. One of my constituents called straight after the announcement of the disaster in Nepal to ask how local collectives could be airlifted to those who most needed help. Local Rotary clubs did a fundraising push to supply shelter boxes to help as well. Australia is always one of the first nations to provide financial assistance—food, water and shelter provision—as well as personnel on the ground to assist other nations in times of desperate trouble. The events of this year alone reflect the importance of our strong humanitarian aid program.

Let me first describe the assistance that was given to Vanuatu in March, when it was hit by a category 5 tropical cyclone called Pam. There may have been a small number of people who lost their lives—11—which has a significant effect on their families, but around 188,000 people living on 22 islands were deeply affected. Their key industries of tourism and agriculture have been badly affected, not to mention their services for education, health and transport as well as their domestic infrastructure. So far Australia has committed more than $50 million in humanitarian assistance, including $15 million in immediate response and $35 million for longer term recovery. The Australian medical assistance team treated 1,341 patients. The Australian urban search and rescue team working alongside locals in Vanuatu put critical repairs in place for 27 schools and five health clinics.

I am proud to describe how my country helps others. This same assistance was put forward for the recent earthquake tragedies in Nepal. In this instance more than 8,000 people died and a further 20,000 people were injured. With $20 million supplied for emergency response, this was a significant help to Nepal.

It is important to note that this humanitarian assistance could not take place without the dedication of our Defence Force personnel and the allocation by the government for the purchase of two additional Boeing C17As. This purchase announcement was made in April this year, taking the total fleet number to eight. The two aircraft, including all associated equipment and facilities, represent a billion-dollar investment in our security and our ability to respond rapidly to disasters in our region. This heavy transport aircraft allows the RAAF to rapidly deploy troops, supplies, combat vehicles, heavy equipment and helicopters anywhere in the world. The C130 Hercules can carry almost 26 tonnes, while the C17 capacity is a maximum of 77 tonnes, three times that of a C130. It is pretty impressive when the list of items that the C17 can carry includes the following: an M1 Abrams main battle tank, four Bushmaster vehicles and three Black Hawk helicopters. It can also operate as an air medical evacuation centre or deliver many tonnes of humanitarian aid.

Actually, the amazing work of these aircraft often goes unnoticed. They were the backbone of the air link for Operation Slipper in Afghanistan and have been part of the aid and deployment operations in the Queensland floods, Christchurch after the earthquakes and in the Philippines as just a few examples. These operations make a person feel so unbelievably proud of our Defence Force members and a government that is prepared to invest in equipment for them to operate.

Delivery of helicopters as part of the aid to disaster areas means that isolated areas can be reached more readily. These same C17s acted as an aerobridge, evacuating Australians and other foreign nationals out of dangerous territory. Very often the enormity of foreign aid using the Australian Defence Forces is best understood by the description of some of the materials that were delivered to Nepal within two days of the crisis. The aircraft carried six tonnes of tarps, five tonnes of woollen blankets, 80,000 water purification tablets and six tonnes of health supplies.

We invest in foreign aid and we invest in our personnel. This year we are also delivering new and improved personal protective equipment for our soldiers, including new generation body armour. We are funding new, state-of-the-art special forces vehicles to be assembled in Australia, giving enhanced capability and protection to our most elite troops. This government is committed to returning defence spending to two per cent of GDP within the decade, confirming our confidence in our Defence personnel and our commitment to keeping a safe and secure Australia but not forgetting to help our regional neighbours in times of trouble, disaster and other tragedies that strike the area.

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