Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank my colleagues for their previous comments and I'd also like to thank the member for Groom for bringing the motion forward, in particular noting the outstanding success of the 2019 ADF Parliamentary Program. I've been involved with the ADF Parliamentary Program since the commencement of my parliamentary career, and it's worth noting that the program commenced in 2001, introduced by a private member's bill by the Hon. David Hawker and seconded by the Hon. Warren Snowdon, who is still in this place, indicating bipartisan support. Dr Brendan Nelson was the parliamentary secretary who actually started the program. The exchange element was introduced in 2003.

The program has enabled me to develop a much greater insight into the sacrifices that defence families make to defend and protect our society and also the quality of the personnel that we have in our defence forces. There is also, for my part, a great deal of self-interest in being in the program, as I've had some really fantastic learning experiences, including being on the biggest hospital ship in the world, the USNS Mercy, and practising with the Da Vinci remote surgical robot, which was absolutely unbelievable. This is where surgery can take place in the battlefield with the surgeon being remotely located offshore or even in a hospital in the United States. Amazing technology! This is an amazing ship. It is a 1,200-bed hospital on a ship with 20 operating theatres, six CT scanners and an amazing surgical ability to do cardiopulmonary bypass open heart surgery. There was all sorts of amazing technology, so I've had a really fantastic experience.

My most recent experience has also been fantastic. I spent some time in the 2019 program being posted to HMAS Penguin at Balmoral in Sydney. I was introduced to the Navy Medical School, who do fantastic work not only in naval medicine but also looking at things like veterans' health—mental health in particular. They do some really wonderful, state-of-the-art work now in preparing our veterans for life in and after the Defence Force. I was hosted by Lieutenant Commander Gary 'Curtis' Steeger, who is a wonderful character and a highly trained naval officer with a great insight into how our defence forces work, and I'm very grateful to him for hosting me. I was also able to visit HMAS Watson at Watsons Bay, where a lot of the high-technology naval services were trained.

I spent some time on the HMAS Adelaide, the Navy's largest ship, as it prepared to embark for the Pacific. I had a great insight into what some of the families and some of the men and women who were spending a long time away from their families at sea were going through. I've looked after many defence families and their children in my role as a paediatrician in the Macarthur area. We are close to the Holsworthy military barracks, and I've seen many of those families over the years. I talked to some of the naval officers and soldiers firsthand and realised the stresses that they were going through, which was a wonderful experience and a great learning experience for me.

I had as my exchange partner Colonel Rod Petersen, an obstetrician and gynaecologist who is employed full time by the Army. It is really important to note that, in this day and age, a lot of the work that the Australian Armed Forces will be doing in our area will be humanitarian work. The fact that they have an obstetrician and gynaecologist is really important to that work. In the days of global warming, climate change and natural disasters, which we believe will become more frequent—indeed, that has proven to be the case—our service personnel will be required to support in that area. I also, through Rod, met his charming wife, Professor Julie Quinlivan. I hope this is a friendship that will be able to be fostered over the next few years.

I was really impressed with the program. I have been impressed with the program since I have been in parliament. I recommend it to all my colleagues. It was a great learning experience for me and a really great time. I must confess to a degree of self-interest that will keep me wanting to go back to that program. I have had a great time. I thank Lieutenant Colonel Andy Martin, the executive officer of the Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program. I will be going to the program for as long as I am in parliament.

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