Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to speak on the motion without closing the debate.

Leave granted.

I thank the House. There can be no more serious endeavour for any country or government than to send its military forces into conflict. Australia has done so in Afghanistan because of the clear threat to our national security from terrorists who have trained for and planned terrorist attacks from within Afghanistan’s border. It is appropriate that Australia’s commitment in Afghanistan is the subject of close parliamentary and public scrutiny. As a consequence, the government fully supports the holding of this parliamentary debate and future reports by the government to the parliament.

The government’s strong view is that it is in our national interest to be in Afghanistan. On 11 September 2001, al-Qaeda killed over 3,000 people from more than 90 countries, including our own, in its terrible attacks in the United States. The Taliban, which harboured al-Qaeda within Afghanistan, refused to condemn al-Qaeda or cooperate with the international community to bring it to account. The international community, including Australia, could not stand by and allow such a threat to persist. So we and others, under a United Nations mandate still in existence, and renewed unanimously by the Security Council this month, removed the Taliban from power.

The 11 September attacks were also an attack upon our longstanding alliance partner the United States. The ANZUS treaty was invoked after the September attacks. That decision was supported by both sides of this chamber. Australia’s contribution in Afghanistan is also an expression of the common interest we share not just with the United States but with the other 45 countries of NATO and the International Security Assistance Force in countering international terrorism. Since 11 September, over 100 Australians have been murdered, along with many more from other nations, in terrorist attacks around the world, including in the United Kingdom, Indonesia and India.

Terrorism in Afghanistan and in its neighbourhood remains a real threat. Afghanistan needs the help of the international community, including Australia, to build its capacity so that terrorists are unable to re-establish the type of presence that enabled such terrorist attacks. Australia and the international community now have clearly defined goals in Afghanistan. Our fundamental goal is to prevent Afghanistan from again being used by terrorists to plan and train for terrorist attacks on innocent civilians. To achieve this we must prepare the Afghan government to take lead responsibility for providing security for the Afghan people. We must stabilise the security situation sufficiently and then train the security forces to ensure that the Afghans themselves are able to take on both the leadership and the responsibility for managing security in Afghanistan.

In the recent past Australia has actively participated in a series of key international meetings to get the strategy and our support for Afghanistan on the right track. The Hague conference in March 2009, followed by the London conference in January this year and the Kabul conference in July this year, laid out for the international community three important principles: the importance of regional support, including from India, Iran, Pakistan and the Central Asian states, for a solution in Afghanistan; support for an enduring political solution, including reconciliation, reintegration and rapprochement within Afghanistan; and transition to Afghan responsibility.

The international community is making progress. Recently General Petraeus, commander of ISAF, and Ambassador Mark Sedwill, NATO’s senior civilian representative, briefed me in Afghanistan on the military and civilian progress being made on the ground. This briefing aligns with the advice the Chief of the Defence Force has provided to the government. As well, Afghan ministers tell me they are determined to achieve the goals set out in the Kabul conference on transition by the end of 2014 and they are confident that Afghanistan is on track in terms of growing the numbers and capability of the Afghan national security forces, both army and police.

The international community has cause for cautious optimism, but we face a resilient insurgency and the situation in Afghanistan remains difficult, serious and dangerous with the potential to revert. International support for the ISAF campaign is ongoing and troop contributions have recently increased. President Obama’s decision announced in December last year to increase US troop numbers by an additional 30,000 has been followed by a commitment of an additional 7,000 by other ISAF contributing nations. Australia has also in the past 18 months increased its force level by 40 per cent to an average of 1,550. The military analysis is that increased operations are reversing the momentum of the insurgency and extending the reach and capacity of the Afghan government into areas long held by the Taliban and their allies. Such ISAF disruption and dismantling of the insurgency creates the time, space and opportunity for the Afghan security forces to develop.

The international community is now clearly focused on transitioning security responsibility for Afghanistan to the Afghans themselves. At the Kabul conference in July this year Australia and the international community supported Afghanistan’s objective that the Afghan national security forces would lead and conduct security operations in all provinces by the end of 2014. This objective will also be the key focus of the NATO-ISAF summit to be held in Lisbon in November, where ISAF countries will agree the process for transition coupled with consideration of the long-term international commitment to support Afghanistan. The aim of the security handover by the end of 2014 is anchored by the capacity of the Afghan national security forces to provide security in the main population centres, the necessary precondition for both the exercise of Afghan sovereignty and the core aim to prevent Afghanistan from again being used by terrorist organisations to plan and train for attacks. Transition to Afghan responsibility will be a graduated and uneven process. It will be done on a province by province and district by district basis when conditions are right. A job done effectively by the Afghans on their own is the objective and the desired outcome.

Importantly, transition is not the signal to withdraw. International partners, including Australia, will continue to provide support to Afghanistan. As has previously been made clear, security transition has not and cannot be seen as the automatic end of either Australia’s or the international community’s commitment to Afghanistan. Time and outcomes will determine the length and nature of that commitment, whether it is, for example, overwatch, embedded arrangements or other support. What is clear, though, is that international community support for development assistance and civilian capacity building will be required for years to come.

The strategy in Afghanistan cannot just be a military strategy; it also requires a political strategy. The solution in Afghanistan cannot just be a military one; it also requires an enduring political solution with reconciliation between the people of Afghanistan. The international community, including Afghanistan’s neighbours, has a key role to play in supporting such efforts. Australia continues to support Afghan led reconciliation with those individuals who are prepared to lay down their weapons, renounce violence and support the Afghan constitution. At the London conference in January this year Australia publicly committed $25 million to the peace and reintegration trust fund to assist the Afghan government’s work towards reintegration and reconciliation.

Training and mentoring the 4th Brigade of the Afghan national army to take responsibility for security in the main population centres in Oruzgan is the cornerstone of the transition objective in Oruzgan province. The Chief of the Defence Force advises this will take a further two to four years. In the meantime we are seeing improvement in the ability of the soldiers who make up the 4th Brigade. The 4th Brigade recently planned and delivered effective security for the parliamentary elections in Oruzgan and did not require additional support from Australia or other ISAF forces. This is a key sign of progress and a measure of growing confidence within the 4th Brigade.

Following the Dutch withdrawal in August this year, Australia joined with the United States to form the new multinational Combined Team Oruzgan responsible for military and civil operations in Oruzgan province. The transition from Dutch command has been smooth and successful. In Oruzgan Australia is working closely with partners from the United States, New Zealand, Singapore and Slovakia. While the US Striker Battalion and Australia’s mentoring task force, in close cooperation with Afghan security partners, provide the pillars of security, a key element of Combined Team Oruzgan is the civilian led provincial reconstruction team, the PRT, the main conduit for Australia’s civilian mission and Afghanistan. An Australian Defence Force protection element is dedicated to protecting these civilians so that they can conduct their work safely.

The mentoring task force as part of combined team Oruzgan now provides operational mentoring and liaison teams to train all five kandaks, or battalions, and the headquarters of the 4th Brigade. This increased training commitment is seeing mentoring task force elements move into new areas such as Deh Rawood in the west of the province and is fundamental to our mission. The 4th Brigade, under the ADF’s mentoring and guidance, is proving to be an increasingly capable force. The Australian Defence Force has a strong tradition of mentoring other defence forces, from East Timor to Iraq, and does it very well. The 4th Brigade, however, will require substantial support for the next few years. We are building up the capacity of these forces so they can operate alone. As each of the kandaks is at different stage in the mentoring process, progress will be uneven.

As well, our Special Operations Task Group continues to attack insurgent networks in Oruzgan, improving security and force protection for Combined Team Oruzgan. The special operations task force is also contributing to ISAF’s effort in the province of Kandahar. Other elements of Australia’s contribution, such as the combat engineers, the Rotary Wing Group and the embedded personnel throughout ISAF continue their highly visible and highly valued efforts in Afghanistan.

Our troops and Australian personnel in Afghanistan are performing extremely well in dangerous circumstances on a daily basis. As my friend David Miliband said of others, in a different context, they are both brave and impressive. Australians are proud of the fact that our troops have a well-deserved reputation for their effectiveness and their conduct. Afghan government ministers and General Patraeus praise the work and reputation of Australian deployed personnel, including in their engagement with local Afghan communities.

The support and protection of Australian personnel in Afghanistan is rightly our highest priority. Some recent criticism of the level of protection for our troops has been both inaccurate and ill-informed. I am pleased that there now appears to be a much greater understanding of these issues. ADF forces in Oruzgan are structured to include a range of critical capabilities. Not all capabilities, however, are provided by the ADF; many capabilities are provided through ISAF. Capabilities such as artillery, mortars and attack helicopters are available through our partners, when necessary. Tanks, for example, are not required for our current mission in Oruzgan Province. Australian troops now have access to more artillery and mortar support than they did a year ago and they have access to ISAF attack helicopters and close air support from fighter aircraft when necessary. The force protection review, commissioned by the government in July 2009, has led to a further package of measures and seen over $1 billion in new measures to further protect our troops. These protection measures are kept under constant review and I have made clear that the government continues to in particular examine further anti improvised explosive device measures.

While this parliamentary debate is a good thing, it will be a sad reminder to families of their tragic personal losses. Australia has lost 21 soldiers in Afghanistan, whom we will always honour. We face the prospect of further fatalities. Oruzgan Province remains a dangerous place and will be for some time. The recent Australian deaths and casualties bring this into stark relief. Between July 2009 and June this year there were no Australians killed in Afghanistan. In the last few months 10 Australian soldiers have died. Our thoughts are with all the families and friends of the 21 as they come to terms with their tragic loss. As well, since the beginning of the year more than 50 personnel have been wounded. Supporting their recovery and rehabilitation is an essential and high priority for government.

Suggestions for what Australia should do in Afghanistan now range from doing much more to boost our commitment to pulling out immediately. An argument deployed by those who oppose Australia’s commitment is that Afghanistan is not unique as a breeding ground for terrorism. They rightly point out that the terrorism landscape is both not limited to Afghanistan and is evolving. While real and tangible progress has been made in closing down terrorist training centres in Afghanistan, that country remains vulnerable. Terrorists operate from a range of places across the globe. They are able to recruit, train and plan out of poorly and ungoverned spaces in Africa and the Middle East. They are not confined to these places and indeed, as a counterterrorism white paper made clear last year, Australia needs to be alert to the threat of home-grown terrorism. The international community’s efforts in Afghanistan are of course not the only activities in the global challenge of countering violent extremism and terrorism. The international community recognises that this is a major long-term problem on a global scale and needs to be addressed in that context. It is a problem that is being tackled differently in different locations as circumstances dictate.

Another argument is that international efforts in Afghanistan have pushed al-Qaeda and their affiliates across the border into Pakistan and elsewhere. As a result it is said that the core job in Afghanistan is done; the terrorists are operating from elsewhere and so our activity should be focused elsewhere. It is, however, essential that Australia and the international community both maintain efforts in Afghanistan and engage with Pakistan. The Afghanistan-Pakistan border is highly permeable to terrorist movement and remains a threat to sustainable progress in stabilising Afghanistan. The Pakistan government does not deny this and nor the threat posed by violent extremism within its border. Pakistan faces an existential threat from violent extremism within its own borders. Australia is working closely with Pakistan to improve its capability to address the threat posed by violent extremists. Australia values our strategic dialogue with Pakistan and our engagement with our international partners through the Friends of Democratic Pakistan group, of which Australia is a founding member.

In the future when we look back on this period it will be even clearer that the international community has made mistakes. The initial effort in Afghanistan, including our own, was in 2001 and 2002 in the aftermath of September 11. There was then the Iraq distraction. There were insufficient international community resources in Afghanistan over that period to carry out the international stabilisation mission, and a withdrawal of Australian forces. After 2006, when the international community came back, it took too long to get to the well-defined strategy that we have developed over the past few years. This strategy is as a result of the Riddell review, the McChrystal review and, ultimately, President Obama’s response to General McChrystal’s review of both the military and the political strategies. The end result is a strategy that says that we cannot be there forever, and we do not want to be there forever. But we need to be able to put the Afghan security forces in a position where they can manage their own affairs and, despite the difficulties, a strategy that clearly points to the risks to Australia and the international community of leaving before the transition is effected. It is also a strategy that acknowledges that Australia and the international community expect to see substantial improvement in Afghanistan by its government on corruption, on governance, on electoral reform, on counter-narcotics and on human rights, in particular the treatment of women and girls, especially when it comes to education.

Progress is being made. It is incremental and hard won, but it is apparent and will become increasingly so. As General Petraeus, commander of ISAF, and Major-General Cantwell, commander of Australian forces in the Middle East, have both recently stated, the required strategy and resources are now in place, and a sound foundation has been laid to mark the way for further progress.

The mission we have set for Australian forces and Australian personnel more broadly in Afghanistan is the right one. The consistent advice to me is that Australian forces have the resources and capabilities they need to undertake their core mission. As circumstances change—and in conflict circumstances continually change—we will continue to examine, re-examine and adjust our efforts as required. We have a responsibility to Afghanistan and to our allies and partners to remain committed. We have a responsibility to the fallen to continue the task. Most importantly, we have a responsibility to the Australian people to ensure that we protect Australia’s national interests, and that is what we are doing in Afghanistan. Australia and Australians should expect no less of us.

I seek leave of the House to table, for the benefit of the House, a fact sheet which I publicly released on the weekend for public consumption.

Leave granted.

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science, Technology and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

After nine years at war in Afghanistan, it is appropriate for the parliament to reflect on our current commitment—its past, its progress and its future. If the military theorist Karl von Clausewitz is correct that ‘war is an extension of politics, but by other means’, it is certainly incumbent on the government and indeed the parliament to present a clear national security rationale for war. The public should demand a detailed, strategic justification for ongoing conflict. A case always has to be built to continue to put men and women in harm’s way. It is the very least we owe those who wear our uniform.

This war has extracted much of our nation’s blood. Twenty-one Australian soldiers have been killed in action and 152 wounded in action since 2001. There have been 10 killed and 52 wounded this year alone. The war has taken husbands from wives, fathers from children, sons from fathers, brothers from siblings and grandsons from grandparents. The cost has been high, borne by a few. Only the most significant of national objectives could be worth such a price.

This morning I will present the case for Australia’s ongoing engagement in Afghanistan based around five points: the original premise in 2001 for war, the changing nature of the conflict, the ongoing strategic justification for staying the course, past achievements and future challenges, and what Australian success in Afghanistan would look like.

A 21-year-old celebrating their coming of age today was 12-years-old and in primary school when the first US and UK missiles struck Afghanistan on 7 October 2001. This young adult probably cannot remember where they were when the World Trade Center towers came tumbling down on September 11, killing almost 3,000 people, including 10 Australians.

For all people of our nation to look forward, we must first look back to see how this fight began, because the world changed on September 11. Australia invoked the ANZUS alliance to stand shoulder to shoulder with our friend and ally the US. President Bush launched Operation Enduring Freedom—the US’s global fight against terrorism—and commenced combat operations to destroy terrorist training camps and infrastructure within Afghanistan, capture al-Qaeda leaders and cease terrorist activities in that country.

On 20 December 2001 the UN approved resolution 1386 that created the International Security Assistance Force as a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan to defeat the Taliban, al-Qaeda and factional warlords. Indeed, the US assembled an International Coalition against Terrorism that by 2002 involved 136 countries, including 55 countries providing military forces, 89 countries granting overflight status for US aircraft, 76 countries granting landing rights and 23 countries agreeing to host US and coalition forces involved in military operations in Afghanistan. The world had changed, and Australia was involved and continues to be involved in a UN mandated conflict that has been re-endorsed every year. Up to 1,300 defence personnel were deployed by Australia in 2001. It was a just and justifiable war in response to an unmitigated act of barbarity.

Australia withdrew its combat force by the end of 2002, after the destruction of much of the terrorist force. For the next 2½ years, up to 2005, there were literally only two defence personnel in Afghanistan. But by July 2005 the original premise that defeating al-Qaeda, the Taliban and insurgent warlords would ensure peace from terrorism was shattered when the London bombings showed the new face of Islamic extremism: home-grown terrorists with wives and children at home. Terrorist cells also strongly emerged in Somalia, Yemen and Pakistan. No longer was the war in Afghanistan the silver bullet to ensuring a world free from terrorism. Islamic extremism had spread its tentacles further afield using violence to achieve its end: a world subservient to extreme Islamic sentiment.

By the end of 2005, insurgent forces in Afghanistan continued to operate, causing Australia to once again deploy special forces. In 2006 the Howard government deployed a Reconstruction Task Force to start rebuilding in Oruzgan province, with numbers of troops building to 1,000 by the time of the 2007 election. The emphasis was on building and on fighting the insurgency in the populated areas with the special forces group.

Post election, the mission on the ground changed when the new Minister for Defence, Joel Fitzgibbon, announced that the government would maintain its current commitment in Afghanistan but would place a new emphasis on training the Afghan National Army. The strategy would change once again post President Obama’s victory, when in 2009 an open-ended US commitment of transforming Afghanistan was changed to a mission of training Afghan forces and handing security over to them when they were ready.

The book of Ecclesiastes says that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. It says that there is a time for war and a time for peace. There is a strategic justification, a time for war, in Afghanistan, and it stems from the first principle of any government, which is national security. In December 2008 the Prime Minister expressed this in the government’s National Security Statement that established the goals for the security of our nation, its people and interests. The goals were expressed as:

Freedom from attack or the threat of attack; the maintenance of our territorial integrity; the maintenance of our political sovereignty; the preservation of our hard won freedoms; and the maintenance of our fundamental capacity to advance economic prosperity for all Australians.

These goals were supported by seven principles, which included, amongst others, the Australian-US alliance remaining fundamental to our national security interests, regional engagement, and support for the UN to promote a rules based international order.

The first objective of Australia’s national security is freedom from attack or the threat of attack. That includes the capacity to protect our citizens and interests at home and abroad. Australia has lost over 100 of its people to terrorist attacks abroad, with all of these attacks linked in some way to the freedom of action that terrorist forces enjoyed in Afghanistan or to wider terrorism activity. It is in Australia’s national interest to remove the safe havens for extreme Islamic terror groups capable of extending their influence into Australia’s region. If Islamic extremists cannot train, cannot access finance, cannot access weapons and cannot access radical mullahs, then they are less likely to turn their radical rhetoric into radical action.

If there is any doubt as to the threat of radical Islamism, the Worldwide Incidents Tracking System, a database run by the United States National Counterterrorism Centre, as at 10 October this year, has logged 17,833 separate terrorist attacks across the world perpetrated by Islamic extremists since September 11, 2001. Indeed, Islamic terrorism appears to be growing more united, with sectarian groups, anti-Indian groups, Afghan Taliban, Pakistan Taliban, al-Qaeda and separatists sharing a joint narrative of extreme Islam and anti-Western sentiment. Afghanistan remains one of the frontlines in the fight to freely enjoy our very way of life.

This is why one of the principles of Australia’s National Security Statement is to support the United Nations in its efforts to promote a rules based international order. The start of any such rules based order has to be freedom. Australia’s National Security Statement is also clear that:

Our alliance with the United States will remain our key strategic partnership and the central pillar of Australian national security policy.

We therefore have a responsibility to join with the United States and its partners to maintain and strengthen this alliance. In simple terms, friends do not desert their friends; they stand by them and support them, knowing that if the positions were reversed they would stand with us. US hegemony within our Asia-Pacific region is fundamental to regional and Australia’s security, particularly given an increasingly engaged China that is focused on disputed territory sovereignty and enhanced regional influence and is committed to a 20-year military build program. This will require a strong and credible US as a counterbalance, not a US damaged from defeat in Afghanistan. Our regional security remains predicated on the US’s capacity to take decisive military action if required.

Finally, seeking and maintaining a degree of stability within the Middle East more generally remains paramount. Failure in Afghanistan would significantly boost the stocks of the Taliban operating in nuclear armed Pakistan. The challenges that an emboldened and unrestrained Taliban would bring upon Pakistan would be substantial and severe. A failing and weak Pakistan would be a significant problem for India and thus a significant regional issue.

The current Australian mission builds on the wider ISAF mission in Afghanistan mandated by the UN Security Council. Our mission in Afghanistan is clearly defined and constrained. Importantly, it is not to kill every Taliban in Oruzgan, it is not to secure the whole of Oruzgan; it is to train the Afghan National Army 4th Brigade to take over security of the population areas of Oruzgan, using our Mentoring Task Force to achieve that; to carry out reconstruction activities as part of the Provincial Reconstruction Team, the PRT; and, with the Afghan National Security Forces, to fight the tough battles that are needed to secure the population centres, using our Special Forces. It is important that the nation realise that we simply cannot kill our way to victory on the battlefield. Only a coordinated military and political strategy aimed at providing population-centric security, building and training the Afghan security forces, creating a functioning government and active civilian led societal reconstruction will achieve our objective in Afghanistan.

Accepting the two- to four-year time frame for the commitment of military forces means that over this time our military must reduce and that the civilian Provincial Reconstruction Team must grow, the overall intent being that the Afghan National Army must assume responsibility for security and Australia’s military forces will withdraw and/or provide a limited overwatch capability. This is not dissimilar to the time lines for Australian forces in Bougainville and East Timor. It is worth noting that we entered East Timor in 1999 and have just deployed another rotation, 11 years later. We entered the Bougainville crisis in December 1997 and left in August 2003 after six years, though Australian forces were engaged as early as 1994. These things simply take time.

We acknowledge that the progress in a counterinsurgency strategy will be very gradual and advances will be achieved village by village and day by day. This assessment was also made by General Petraeus on 14 September 2010, when he was reported as saying that American and coalition troops are nevertheless making headway with ‘hard fought gains’ against insurgents but that it remained tough going.

The current surge strategy has resulted in a large number of insurgents killed and a large number forced to retreat from areas that were formally under strict Taliban control. The net result is that more and more Taliban are being forced into areas where they have not previously been the dominant group.

Substantial progress has been made in not only the security situation, where Australian aggressive patrolling with Afghan forces is dominating much of the population areas, but also in improving health, education and other vital infrastructure within Tarin Kowt, the capital of Oruzgan. Over 1,200 Afghan males have been trained through our trades training school, with one man walking 100 kilometres to ensure his son could enrol. Six hundred boys now attend the rebuilt Tarin Kowt boys school. With female literacy in the province at about 0.1 per cent, the picture of hundreds of little girls at school is nothing short of a delight. Progress is measured in stories such as these.

Yet there is also no hiding from the challenges that hinder us, and they are substantial. The Karzai government needs to significantly improve its levels of legitimacy and governance beyond the major cities and into the regional areas where the Taliban still wield considerable influence. This will require political engagement with the Afghan Taliban, warlords and tribal elders that may well lead in the future to political power-sharing to seek consensus. There is much water to go under this bridge. But the recent provision of safe conduct for Taliban leaders to talk with President Karzai is a case in point. Coupled with this is the need for the Karzai administration to rid the country of the endemic levels of corruption at all levels of government.

Mentoring the Afghan 4th Brigade is slow. The 4th Brigade soldiers are on three-year contracts and the majority are northern Afghanis who have limited ability to get home on leave, making the re-signing of these soldiers to further contracts challenging but necessary. This will require banking systems to send money home, transport corridors and roads so that these soldiers can travel home on leave and a significant increase in the literacy and numeracy of soldiers. Frankly, you need to be able to read a map to call in fire support.

With upwards of 80 per cent of the world’s heroin coming from Afghanistan, and over 15 per cent of Afghanis directly involved in the poppy industry, the transition to more standard cash crops and the removal of the poppies, which represent the major source of funds for the Taliban and the warlords, is paramount. NATO will need to agree on a strategy that is acceptable, implementable and achievable.

Let us never forget that Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen in the combat zone are doing an amazing job in difficult and dangerous circumstances. The terrain is inhospitable, the weather harsh, the dust in summer overbearing and the Islamic extremist enemy resilient. Yet, despite all of this, our forces are boxing above their weight. Our Special Forces operations strike fear into the Taliban to the point where the enemy will break contact or manoeuvre rather than face our ‘ghosts at night’. Our troops are meeting the challenge of deploying to remote patrol bases as part of operational mentoring and liaison teams, which include Afghan forces, and they are engaging with the enemy as part of the training and mentoring of these forces. The level of trust we have built up with Afghan forces is substantial.

It is important to note that the best time to withdraw troops is after achieving the mission for which they have been sent, and this is how success will be measured. Success will be measured by a 4th Brigade capable of independent operations in securing the provincial population centres and only requiring a very small ongoing Australian military overwatch, similar to what Australia currently provides in East Timor and the Solomons. Success will be measured by relatively secure population centres where civilian reconstruction teams have a degree of freedom of action. Success will be measured by a well-trained and active provincial response company of the Afghan National Police that can deal with outbreaks of violence. Success will be measured by an active provincial reconstruction team delivering better governance, services and infrastructure.

The coalition accepts the government’s assessment that it will take a further two to four years to see the transition of security responsibility to the Afghan 4th Brigade, to allow the provincial reconstruction to increase and to allow Australian military forces to reduce and pull back to overwatch. The coalition supports this strategy and accepts the government’s view that the military objectives are achievable in the time frame. We accept the assessment of the capability required to achieve the mission as enunciated by the Australian commanders on the ground.

We also acknowledge that Australian forces in Afghanistan are stretched and cannot do more than the current mission without any extra resources. We reiterate our call to the government that the coalition will look to support any and all force protection elements the military, and indeed the government, believes it may need to prosecute the mission. A good example of this bipartisan support is our call for the counter rocket, artillery and mortar system that the government acknowledged and funded in the May 2010 budget. We remain strongly bipartisan in our support for the mission and our troops but we will continue to hold the government to account as the situation dictates. The artificial cap of 1,550 troops in Afghanistan is a case in point and I strongly urge the government to shift any cap to the wider 2,350 deployed troops in the Middle East to allow our Australian commander the flexibility to use his entire force as needed.

Australia’s engagement in Afghanistan is just and justifiable. Our forces operate under a UN mandate in partnership with 47 nations after the invocation of section 5 of the ANZUS treaty. Our mission is defined and constrained and, importantly, is achievable. The next two to four years will see responsibility for security transition to the 4th Afghan Brigade and a subsequent growth in the civilian reconstruction team as the security situation improves. The strategy is working. Our professional military commanders have assured the government and the opposition that our military and civilian force requires no extra resources to achieve the current mission. What is now required is the courage of our convictions to hold the course, achieve the aim and strengthen our national security, which is the absolute basis upon which we have deployed forces to Afghanistan.

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to begin by acknowledging the bravery of the Australian troops, the police and the civilian officers who have served in Afghanistan since 2002. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the 21 fallen Australian soldiers and extend my condolences to their families. These soldiers have served their nation with great distinction and we honour their memory. I also wish to acknowledge and pay tribute to those wounded in this war.

As the Prime Minister yesterday and the Minister for Defence today have stated clearly, Australia has two vital national interests in Afghanistan: to make sure that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists and to firmly stand by our alliance commitments to the United States. The primacy of Australia’s long-term security interests are inherent in the decision to participate in the war in Afghanistan. We are there together with 46 other countries forming the International Security Assistance Force, known as ISAF, and operating under a United Nations mandate. This is therefore an international effort to stabilise Afghanistan and to prevent it from again becoming a safe haven for terrorists. To this end, a combined military and civilian effort is necessary to help build the capability of Afghan national security forces so that they can take responsibility for managing the security of Afghanistan. We are also supporting governance and development efforts that will strengthen the capacity of the Afghan government to deliver critical services.

The purpose of the Australian military and civilian mission is clear and it is resolute. It is to help build an Afghan military and policing capacity able to manage Afghanistan’s security, guard against violent extremism and avoid a return to the conditions that existed before 2001. This will also help protect the Afghan people, who yearn for peace and prosperity but for too long have been held back by protracted war and instability. The fear of terrorists or insurgent violence has, over the years, created both bloody and psychological obstacles to the ability of many Afghans to live a decent life. The Australian Federal Police are making an important contribution to Afghanistan by mentoring, training and developing the Afghan National Police. This is a vital element of the international mission to build stability, establish the rule of law and prepare the government of Afghanistan to take lead responsibility for its own security and policing.

As part of this historic parliamentary debate, I wish to highlight the importance of the contribution of the men and women of the Australian Federal Police to Australia’s civilian effort in Afghanistan and, so it is more widely understood, to outline both the challenges and the progress that has been made since the AFP presence commenced in 2007. My insight into this effort was greatly enhanced by the privilege of visiting Afghanistan in May this year. I was able to personally thank the AFP contingent for their good work and to hear firsthand of local conditions and challenges that confront the military and civilian mission. I was able to learn from them of the Australian troop bravery and the bravery of the Afghan people in their quest to overcome the Taliban insurgency.

On my visit to Tarin Kowt an AFP officer recounted an extraordinary story of a woman currently serving as an officer of the Afghan National Police elsewhere in the country. The woman had been preceded in her role by two other female officers. The first woman to occupy the role had been killed. She was not killed as part of her general policing duties but deliberately targeted and killed by those who do not wish to see an Afghan woman in the workforce, let alone as a serving police officer. This woman was then replaced by another female police officer who was also threatened and subsequently killed. The third woman to take up the role had also been threatened with death but, even knowing of the dangers, she remained in the role. Her courage, quite simply, is astonishing.

Without security in daily life there can be no enduring quality of life. Without a capable local police force, criminals and terrorists will prosper. In too many parts of Afghanistan the effects of the insurgency have restricted the ability of women and girls to participate fully in public life, including to work or study. Without advances in the fundamental rights of men and women there can be no true civil society. In collaboration with international and Australian partners, the AFP is working on the ground to support the development of police and law enforcement institutions that will provide the Afghan people with that basic security so necessary to human wellbeing.

The AFP commitment to Afghanistan began small with an initial deployment of just four personnel in October 2007. Two of these members mentored Afghan National Police as part of the US led Combined Security Transition Command—Afghanistan, while the other two members provided training and mentoring support to the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan. The AFP commitment grew to eight members between October and December 2008 with an emphasis on counternarcotics. Operation Contago, as this mission was called, saw AFP members deployed to criminal intelligence and strategic advisory roles within Regional Command South which included Oruzgan Province.

In April 2009 the government announced a refocus of the strategic objectives in Afghanistan and, in support of this, an additional 10 Australian Federal Police personnel were deployed. This deployment marked the birth of the AFP’s second mission to Afghanistan, namely, Operation Synergy, under which members acted as advisers to ANP training staff at the provincial training centre at Camp Holland, Tarin Kowt. The increased civilian commitment to Afghanistan was in response to the renewed ISAF strategy which increased priority for protecting key population centres and implementing a more effective civilian partnership with the Afghan government. The AFP, together with their colleagues from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, AusAID and Defence, form part of the provincial reconstruction team—under Combined Team Oruzgan,—which coordinates all ISAF civilian activities in the province.

DFAT officials build relationships with key tribal leaders and political actors and assist the coordination of Australia’s whole-of-government efforts. AusAID development advisers engage with the Afghan government to design and monitor a growing suite of stabilisation and development activities focused on health, education, agriculture, water and basic infrastructure. The ADF contribution includes a force protection element as well as personnel for the trade training school and the ADF managed works team.

In July this year, in further keeping with Australia’s commitment to increase its civilian contribution to Afghanistan, operations Contago and Synergy were amalgamated into a single and larger mission, Operation Illuminate. Operation Illuminate provides for the deployment of 28 AFP capacity development and training specialists to various posts throughout the country with a primary focus on Oruzgan province as part of ISAF’s Combined Team Oruzgan. The ISAF that Australia is part of has a clear strategy. It is to protect the civilian population; train, mentor and equip the Afghan National Security forces and the Afghan National Police to enable them to assume a lead role in providing security; and facilitate improvements in governance and socioeconomic development by working with the Afghan authorities to strengthen institutions, deliver basic services and generate income-earning opportunities for its people.

The AFP mission is a critical enabler to this strategy and has clear goals in Afghanistan, namely to help build a viable Afghan police force and to help build Afghan civil society. The first goal is being met directly by the training and mentoring the AFP undertakes with the Afghan National Police. The second goal is being served through the less publicised AFP contribution to the international counternarcotics effort in Afghanistan and through the collaborative work it undertakes with its Australian civilian counterparts. Working to build police capability both in front line community policing and in combating organised crime is a key goal of the Australian government’s capacity-building effort. Young girls will fear going to school, women will not be able to participate in the workforce and young men will not be able to avoid the lure of violent fundamentalism without an effective Afghan police service that can ensure safety, protect the population, combat criminality and allow legitimate trade and commerce to prosper.

The Afghan National Police face immense challenges. Policing in Afghanistan is limited by a range of factors, including a low education base and very low literacy levels, poor police training, inadequate equipment, poor governance, tribal affiliations and infiltration by criminal or insurgent elements. This also results in lack of public confidence. Our first challenge is to address this lack of public confidence. Our second challenge is that some ANP officers are beholden to corruption and in some cases they are drug dependent. The third significant challenge centres on access to justice. Women in Oruzgan province, where the AFP is mainly based, have almost no access to justice and suffer from poor knowledge of their rights. There are only three female ANP officers in Tarin Kowt province, but this is three more than 12 months ago. In the last three years the AFP have trained a total of 682 ANP officers. These officers are being deployed across the country. While efforts to build public confidence will be slow, we are seeing real progress. In addition to the basic police training, the AFP has also provided advanced investigations training to 143 personnel at the Afghan Major Crimes Task Force in Kabul and it is anticipated that an additional 1,000 ANP will be provided with basic or advanced investigations training next year.

Growth of the Afghan National Police is ahead of schedule, with the ANP having reached its October target of 109,000 personnel three months ahead of schedule. The Afghan Minister of Interior’s goal for the Afghan National Police is that within five years the people of Afghanistan will consider their police to be a valued institution which is honest, accountable, brave, impartial and striving to create a secure and lawful society. Whilst that may be hard to imagine now, growth of the Afghan National Police is ahead of schedule, with the ANP on target to hit its 2011 target of 134,000 officers. While the challenges the Afghan National Police force face are enormous, the reality is that the gains we are making by training and building local police capability will be lasting gains.

The AFP’s secondary but significant effort concerns counternarcotics. The AFP also works to influence the development of strategic policy through involvement and placement in local and multilateral fora. Nationally the AFP participates in the senior police advisory group which provides guidance and advice to the Afghan Ministry of Interior. Regionally the AFP participates in Afghan national security forces development cell, which provides Regional Command South in Kandahar with direction and advice on governance and structural reform of the ANP. Locally, through its contribution to Combined-Team Oruzgan, the AFP shapes, influences and directs police reform in Oruzgan by coordinating training programs and ensuring that all localised training is in line with national programs.

Like its international partners, the AFP recognises that Afghanistan’s narcotics industry poses a major threat to stabilisation efforts by fuelling the Taliban-led insurgency and undermining governance. The impact of the narcotics industry, however, does not stop at the Afghan border. Studies estimate that as much as 90 per cent of global opium production occurs in Afghanistan. The adverse socioeconomic impacts of the narcotics industry extend far beyond Afghanistan’s borders, including to Australia. While it is difficult to state precisely how much of the heroin entering Australia comes from Afghanistan, the fact that such a significant proportion of the world’s opium begins its journey in Afghanistan has a clear consequence for Australia and it is why we are dedicated to the eradication of opium cultivation and associated crimes.

Through mentoring and training, AFP members and coalition partners work to develop an Afghan national investigations capability to target high-level corruption, kidnapping and organised crime, including drug trafficking. In addition to 21 Oruzgan based members, like other Australian government agencies the AFP supports its Oruzgan effort through the strategic placement of members in Kabul, the hub of national police and decision making, and Kandahar, the headquarters of Regional Command South. To this end, four AFP members in Kabul and three in Kandahar are working to effectively shape and influence national policing strategies and policies in Oruzgan province.

One sign of the AFP’s effectiveness is that a number of the Afghan National Police trainers who have been trained by the AFP are now working at the provincial training centre in Oruzgan, providing training to Afghan police recruits. ANP officers who had received training under the AFP program show increased adherence to practices learned following completion of training. In addition, there have been clear quantitative improvements such as higher attendance rates, adherence to uniform standards and retention of staff. Although these achievements may sound small, we recognise that building a local police force is a challenging endeavour, and they are in fact significant when considered within the social and occupational context to which I referred earlier.

The AFP, Australian partners and international partners will continue to promote the rule of law through justice and security reform. Like AusAID, the AFP continues to rely on the provision of security by the ADF. The longevity of Australia’s civil commitment is therefore intricately tied to the training and mentoring of the Afghan National Army. This gets to the very heart of the relationship between the rule of law and the development of a civil society. Without security, there is no development. Without an ongoing international effort to support the challenge of local police reforms, Afghanistan will continue to be inhospitable to its citizens and pose a continuing threat to the global community.

The strategic objective of ISAF is to deny extremists and terrorist groups a safe haven in Afghanistan. The effort in Afghanistan is about simultaneously helping the government of Afghanistan take responsibility for its own security and defending Australia’s security interests. Our support, training and development are critical enablers in achieving these objectives. This government is committed to assisting the Afghan government to assume lead responsibility for governance and the delivery of basic services, including policing, within a reasonable time frame.

There does remain a significant challenge, and we need to be realistic about the speed and consistency of progress. As the Prime Minister said yesterday, ‘we should be cautiously encouraged’ by progress to date. Helping to build an effective and legitimate Afghan national police force is now part of the core of our efforts in Afghanistan. Without security there can be no flourishing of a civil society. Without freedom of movement there can be no economic development, no access to services and no opportunity to be transformed by education. Without stability, people are denied their fundamental right to participate in social, economic and political life. Put simply, the absence of security and stability makes it impossible to build a safe and functioning nation. These are not easy tasks, but they are tasks that we can and should continue to support.

I never had an opportunity to ask that Afghan police officer why, despite knowing that the two before her had died, she was willing to risk her life. But I can imagine her response. Until that police officer and other women like her are no longer targeted because of their gender and because they want a peaceful and just society, we still have work to do. The Gillard government’s primary responsibility is to defend and secure Australia and its citizens. Helping to develop the rule of law in Afghanistan is consistent with this objective, and the Afghan people deserve no less.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I welcome this opportunity to make some comments, following those of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition yesterday, about Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan. After nine years of war, it is quite remarkable that this is the first time that this parliament has had a comprehensive debate on our commitment in Afghanistan. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that the Australian people do not have a good understanding of why we are in this fight, what it means for Australia, why it is vitally important for our national interests and why this is a commitment that we must see through to its conclusion.

Firstly, I acknowledge those Australian soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in our name. These brave men died doing what the Australian military has always done—that is, standing up for the weak against the strong and standing up for the very best of Australian values. All our men and women do us proud, and our troops in Afghanistan join a long honour roll of Anzacs, who have always done what has been asked of them by the Australian people. Because the government and the parliament are asking our soldiers and policemen to take these risks and, of course, to pay such a significant price, we as a parliament owe it to them to display a clear understanding of why they have been asked to undertake this mission and to fully explain it to the nation. I hope this debate today will go some way towards accomplishing that.

I also want to acknowledge the more than 100 Australians who have died in terrorist attacks in the past decade: those who died in the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, in the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005 and in the Jakarta bombings in 2004 and 2009. These people had done nothing to warrant being murdered in such a callous and evil way, and we must remember that the perpetrators of these crimes had been trained by and received funding from terrorist elements in Afghanistan. I believe that most members of this House support our commitment of troops and policemen to Afghanistan, although I know that this is not a unanimous view, and of course every member is entitled to form their own conclusions. However, I want to outline why I think it is vital that we define what an end point in this conflict is, that we commit to it wholeheartedly and that we see our commitment through to a conclusion. Australia first committed to fight the war in Afghanistan in 2001 after the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York. The former Prime Minister, John Howard, happened to be in Washington at that time, and the Australian government was quick to denounce and respond to the attacks with the Prime Minister’s offer of condolences to the American people on behalf of Australia. On 14 September 2001, he stated:

The Australian people have been shocked and outraged at the enormity of the terrorist attacks on the United States. These heinous crimes have caused catastrophic loss of life, injury and destruction. We anticipate that a significant number of Australian nationals are included among those who lost their lives.

…            …            …

The Government has decided, in consultation with the United States, that Article IV of the ANZUS Treaty applies to the terrorist attacks on the United States.

…            …            …

This action has been taken to underline the gravity of the situation and to demonstrate our steadfast commitment to work with the United States in combating international terrorism.

The Australian parliament supported this decision on 17 September 2001. At that time, Afghanistan hosted significant terrorist training infrastructure, including camps and the leadership of the al-Qaeda terrorist network. The majority of that country had been ruled for the previous five years by the Muslim fundamentalist Taliban regime. The terrorist camps and infrastructure there had been targeted previously by the United States, during the Clinton administration in the late 1990s, in response to proof that they had been used to make terrorist attacks on United States interests. But, sadly, the missile attacks never actually eradicated this infrastructure. The existence of these camps made Afghanistan terror central. It became a hub of terrorist activity that spread its tentacles globally. Hambali, the terrorist who is now in Guantanamo Bay but who masterminded the murder of 202 civilians in Bali and planned the attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta, was trained in Afghanistan during this time.

The Taliban regime unleashed a wave of terror on the Afghan people during their five-year rule. According to Human Rights Watch, the abuses include summary executions, the deliberate destruction of homes and the confiscation of farmland. The Taliban massacred noncombatants when they made military advances, often in the most brutal ways. They subjected women to barbaric totalitarian laws that banned them from education and work and even from appearing in public alone. Ethnic minorities were subject to systematic abuse by the Taliban regime. The regime allied itself with the al-Qaeda terrorist network, and this alliance remains in force to this day.

Ensuring that the Taliban can never return to power in Afghanistan and allow Afghanistan to once again become a safe haven for terrorists is the primary goal of Western involvement in Afghanistan. It was from these camps that terrorists trained, planned, funded and then launched attacks that killed thousands of innocent civilians in the United States, in Indonesia, in the United Kingdom, in Spain and in other parts of the world. Many of these victims, the people who have been killed, were Australian. The intervention of the West in Afghanistan and the change of regime has closed this terrorist infrastructure down and it has severely limited the ability of al-Qaeda and its affiliates to kill and maim more people. A premature withdrawal would allow these organisations to re-establish their infrastructure and to again threaten our interests, so we need to be very clear that Australian troops who are undertaking operations in Afghanistan are directly protecting Australian lives from terrorist attack. They are doing this specifically by securing Oruzgan province, by defeating and dismantling al-Qaeda and its allies and by training the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police to successfully do the same once Western forces eventually withdraw.

The mission is a hard one. Afghanistan is a very tough country with a very difficult history. As has been widely acknowledged, the Afghan government is far from perfect, but we must remember that in the context of Afghanistan it is far superior to any alternative. We have so far sustained significant casualties and the truth is that we will certainly sustain more if we remain committed to the task. But progress is slowly being made. Terrorists can no longer operate with impunity to threaten Western interests and lives. The capability of the Afghan government and Afghan forces continues to improve. Over time, they must and they will take more responsibility for their own security. General Petraeus, the distinguished commander of the International Security Assistance Force and the general who oversaw the successful surge strategy in Iraq, has confirmed that progress in Afghanistan is slow but is happening. He has compared it to watching paint dry or watching grass grow. Australian commanders on the ground confirmed to the Leader of the Opposition and also, I understand, to the Prime Minister on their recent visits that the West and the Australian forces are making gains. ISAF tactics are constantly evolving and we are learning to be more effective both militarily and politically as time goes by and the commitment continues.

For those who would say that we should end our contribution to this conflict, I would ask them to consider the consequences of leaving without completing this difficult job. Defeat or a perceived defeat would have significant consequences, not all of which could possibly be identified today—firstly for the Afghan people who would be abandoned by their allies to their fate at the hands of the Taliban, who would no doubt continue to brutalise them and no doubt take retribution on those Afghans who had allied themselves with Western forces in the belief that we were committed to helping them to stabilise their country. Terrorist elements would be able to re-establish themselves to again menace our people and our interests. There are wider strategic issues that would come into play. Australia would be seen as an unreliable ally. Fundamentalist Muslim groups across the whole globe would be boosted and the enemies of the West would be emboldened. It is impossible to say what would result from this, but it is a reasonable assumption that the consequences of just upping and leaving could be felt on Australian soil and on the soil of other Western nations.

In the time I have left, I want to turn specifically to the commitment that the Australian Federal Police are making in Afghanistan, and I acknowledge the comprehensive account that was given by the Minister for Defence prior to me of the great work that they are doing there and the fact that he has visited and seen firsthand the contribution that the Australian Federal Police are making to the rebuilding of Afghanistan. Whilst a lot of the attention given to our involvement there has been on the ADF deployment, the AFP are providing vital assistance to our Afghan allies in other crucial areas. The Australian Federal Police’s International Deployment Group manages the deployment of Australian and Pacific Islander police overseas on peacekeeping and capacity-building operations for both the AFP and the United Nations. Since it was established in February 2004 the International Deployment Group has played a vital role in meeting ongoing regional security requirements and has deployed members to Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cyprus, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Sudan, East Timor, Tonga, Vanuatu and the United Nations.

The work the AFP does in Afghanistan is an important element of the overall international effort to build stability and to establish the rule of law in a country that has been torn apart by decades of conflict. They worked alongside a team of professional Australians, including Australian Defence Force personnel, as part of Australia’s contribution to the effort. The AFP have been involved in training over 600 Afghan National Police officers in the Oruzgan province. The additional AFP officers who have recently been deployed will be assisting in the development of the provincial training centre in Tarin Kowt.

As well as police training and mentoring in Oruzgan, the AFP in Afghanistan are involved in activities designed to contribute to the development of the Afghan National Police capacity and in reinforcing the rule of law through placements in Kabul and Kandahar. The Afghan police come in to these training programs for approximately six weeks. They are taught a range of policing skills and also issues around human rights and the way that the rule of law should be enforced.

Since 2007, the AFP have also been involved in Afghan counternarcotics efforts. More than 90 per cent of the world’s opium is cultivated in Afghanistan and, according to United Nations reports, poppy production continues to increase. The large-scale production of opium in Afghanistan continues to fuel the Taliban-led insurgency, threatening regional and international security, and is the cause of human suffering around the world.

The AFP are a world-class police force and they possess policing skills that are proving valuable to the mission, including strong leadership, management, planning and police operational experience. Their contribution will help to provide the foundations of a democratic and civil society for the Afghan people. It takes a well-trained and dedicated police force to protect basic human rights and deliver safety and security to its citizens. The creation and maintenance of peace will allow the Afghan people to establish their homes and families without risk.

As a member of the international community we have an obligation to promote and maintain peace through promoting the rule of law in Afghanistan. The AFP deployment demonstrates the strength of our commitment to Afghanistan and ensures their wealth of knowledge will be passed on to a country that desperately needs it. What the AFP are doing in Afghanistan will have a significant impact on the ability of the Afghan National Police to implement good governance and policing practices now and into the future, once the AFP and other Western elements come home.

The AFP have a wealth of experience and expertise in this field. They have hundreds of members deployed to peacekeeping and capacity-building missions around the globe. The AFP’s previous experience tells us that it is possible to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan. The AFP’s involvement in East Timor, for example, has slowly but surely helped people get on with the business of improving their lives after a period of terrible and destructive violence. Similarly, in the Solomon Islands the experience of the AFP is another example of how a concerted whole-of-government effort can have a positive impact on improving the rule of law and improving peoples lives. Whilst there is still work to do in both of these areas, as a result of the AFP’s efforts, governance practices are improving, jobs are being created and investors and economic activity are starting to return to these locations.

The successes of the AFP in both Timor and the Solomon Islands show that it is possible for them to create tangible benefits for the people of countries that have been affected by devastating conflict. I am confident that those abilities that have been shown on these other international deployments can continue to make a real difference to the lives and the individuals who they meet during their deployment to Afghanistan. On behalf of the opposition, I acknowledge the AFP for their efforts and to wish all the officers who are deployed on that mission a successful mission and a safe return home.

Through the efforts of the Australian Defence Force and the Australian Federal Police, Australia is demonstrating its capacity to play an active role in enhancing international security, both with our allies and with the wider international community. This important and overdue debate that we are having in the House today should also honour the Australian casualties that have occurred so far. We owe it to them to remain confident that the cause for which they have sacrificed is a worthy cause. We must also acknowledge the Australians who died in the September 11 attacks, the 88 who were killed in the first Bali bombing and the eight Australians who have been killed in other acts of terrorism since then. Our soldiers and AFP officers are in Afghanistan because terrorists train there and then from there they target innocent people, including Australians. The premature withdrawal of the mission and the return of the Taliban government would swiftly restore Afghanistan to being a sanctuary for al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremists.

The opposition is committed to helping Afghanistan transition to become a country that has the capability to supply its own security. Our commitment cannot be open-ended. If that were the case it would amount to a Western takeover rather than to helping the Afghan people to create the conditions for security for themselves. At the same time, I believe it would be a mistake to set a withdrawal date in stone as this would allow the Taliban simply to wait it out and wait patiently for the day when Western forces withdraw to a predetermined timetable, rather than withdrawing once they had completed their mission. We must complete the task of training the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police, and we must help to ensure that the central government in Afghanistan is capable of containing and defeating the insurgency. In doing so, we will be able to leave at some time in the future, but we will be able to leave secure in the knowledge that we have made Afghanistan a better place and also, very importantly, that we have secured vital Australian national interests.

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me begin by thanking the Prime Minister for extending to the House the opportunity to debate the progress of our forces deployed in Afghanistan and to reaffirm the cause for which they are fighting. It is in our national interest to be in Afghanistan. We are there as part of a United-Nations mandated international stabilisation effort. We are there to prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a safe haven for terrorists to recruit, train and plot attacks against Australia, our friends and our allies.

The mission in Afghanistan is to build the capacity of the Afghan government and the Afghan national security forces to lead and manage their own security. It forms part of our enduring alliance with the United States. It is built on the belief that we build a better world not by clinging to our shores and looking inwards but by working together with those who would fight for the same things that we do. We do not forget the circumstances of our joining the Afghanistan mission: the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which Australians were killed by terrorists given shelter by the Taliban regime. We do not forget that those attacks were followed by the Bali bombing of 2002 in which 88 Australians were murdered and many more were injured. We do not forget the four Australian lives that were lost in the second Bali bombing in 2005 or that our embassy was bombed in Indonesia. We owe those who serve and their loved ones a special duty to put them in harm’s way for only the most substantial and worthy of reasons, armed with the best protective equipment we can provide and using the safest, most effective tactics that we can devise. It is a very big responsibility and one that I know everyone in this place takes more seriously than anything else.

Most of us here, whether our families have been in Australia for half a dozen generations or indeed just one generation, have had our family histories touched by war. Knowing what fate befell our relatives and what pain it can inflict on those who survive, we cannot and do not take the deployment of our soldiers lightly. My grandfather, who fought with Monash and died younger than necessary with his health broken by mustard gas and shrapnel, and my father, who served with the Americans in the Pacific, were such men. The effects of war on those now in Afghanistan and those who have already returned is just as far-reaching as it was to previous generations of Anzacs and we must be conscious of that at all times. Australian personnel deployed in Afghanistan are putting their lives on the line. As all honourable members know, our troops in Afghanistan have paid a heavy price since we first sent in special forces in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Twenty-one Australians have lost their lives. For each of these 21 families that is a profound, personal and irreplaceable, loss. Many others have been wounded or have had their lives changed forever. So it is important that we keep asking ourselves why we are there, what we hope to achieve and whether we actually are achieving our goals.

Our mission, as part of the International Security Assistance Force, is a worthy and important one. Our goal is clear: to deny terrorists a safe haven in Afghanistan. We did not choose this war and we do not fight it alone. In accordance with international law, many countries supported the Afghan people’s efforts to free themselves from Taliban rule and the elements of the terrorist effort they had permitted. Australia joined this battle and we fight for the very best of reasons. Like many others we are making our contribution as part of the International Security Assistance Force. We recognise the regional dimensions. We need to work with Pakistan, Afghanistan and others to counter the terrorist threat.

Failure in Afghanistan would only embolden al-Qaeda and its allies and give them more space to operate. Instability in Afghanistan would only risk feeding instability in Pakistan, and that is why we are working with the Afghan army and police to train them and to help them take responsibility for Afghanistan’s security. That is part of our job. Our work in training and mentoring the Afghan National Army 4th Brigade and the Afghan National Police is helping build the capacities of the Afghan national security forces to be able to lead and manage Afghanistan’s security. We do this alongside the United States, New Zealand, Singapore and Slovakia. It is in Australia’s national interest to support this goal because it has a direct bearing on our national security and the safety of our people.

After nine years it is clear that the work our troops and civilians are engaged in is making a difference for the future of the country. With the increase in troop levels, insurgents are being challenged and civilian leadership is being trained. But military force will not be enough. The international community recognises that a political solution is also needed. We continue to encourage Afghan-led processes of reconciliation that can reintegrate into the community those individuals who are prepared to lay down their weapons, renounce violence and support the Afghan constitution. Since the international community began to increase their forces a much more systematic effort has been mounted to reduce the capacities of the Taliban to hold territory and to intimidate the population. These campaigns have not yet achieved all their objectives but in recent months General Petraeus has reported important progress. And the international community is working closely with Pakistan. Stability in Pakistan and dismantling of terrorist networks in the heartlands of both countries is critical to achieving stability in Afghanistan, so it is essential that we continue to engage with Pakistan to address the violent extremism in the broader region consistent with the international strategy.

We know our troops are engaged in dangerous work. That is why the government committed, through the 2009 defence white paper, to ensuring our men and women in uniform have the capability, training and protection they need. We want them to do their job as safely, as effectively and as efficiently as possible. That is why in the 2010-11 budget the government committed an extra $1.1 billion to enhanced force protection measures for Australian troops deployed to Afghanistan. That is aimed purely at saving the lives of, and reducing injuries to, our serving ADF personnel. The government has also committed to real growth in the defence budget of three per cent per year on average to 2017-18, followed by a 2.2 per cent real growth on average through to 2030. This commitment gives defence the long-term funding stability that it needs.

Our role in Afghanistan goes beyond the support we give our military forces on the ground and our international alliances. Military success is an aim but it is not our only goal. Our purpose is to enable Afghanistan to look after its own security and prevent it from becoming a safe haven for terrorists. Part of the International Security Assistance Force’s civilian and military strategy is to support governance and development. We are helping to give the Afghan people a chance to develop institutions and opportunities that will ultimately free them from fundamentalist oppression. We are helping to give the Afghan people a chance to gain the education, health and developmental opportunities that years of war, political instability and fundamentalist prejudice have denied them.

I would like to talk a little about what that means. Since 2002, Afghanistan has begun an enormous political, economic and social transformation after more than two decades of conflict. In 2001, about one million Afghan boys were in school. Afghan girls did not go to school. Today, around six million Afghan children, including around two million girls, go to school. Under the Taliban, less than 10 per cent of the population had basic health services. Now 85 per cent do. Economic growth has averaged 11 per cent a year since 2002, according to the World Bank.

Australia has only played a small part in these early transformations, but our work is critically important. Oruzgan province is one of the least developed provinces in the country. The literacy rate among males is only 10 per cent; among females, it is less than one per cent. Even compared with the rest of Afghanistan, that is extremely low. Our aid program, administered through AusAID, has grown from $26 million in 2001-02 to $106 million this financial year. In 2010-11, our aid will increase to $20 million in the province alone.

Of course, while progress to date has been encouraging, tremendous challenges do remain. GDP per capita remains one of the lowest in the world. Life expectancy is just 44 years. Only 27 per cent of Afghans have safe drinking water and five per cent have adequate sanitation, according to the World Bank. Infant mortality remains high: 111 per 1,000 live births in 2008.

No-one pretends here that there will be a sudden transformation in the lives of people in Afghanistan, but change is occurring. If we were to pull out now and leave our work unfinished, we would unwind nine years of progress and leave Afghanistan once again exposed to the return of Taliban control. The Afghan people would face an even bleaker future. So we provide capacities to degrade the fighting capabilities of their enemies, to train their security forces for the long term and to build social, economic and political infrastructure.

We are in Afghanistan in defence of our own interests, in support of our ally and to deny terrorists safe haven. We are also helping to provide an opportunity for the Afghan people to create a better life for themselves. The young men and women of the ADF who lay their lives on the line need to know how seriously we take this commitment and how seriously we take their commitment. All Australian personnel deployed in Afghanistan are operating in a dangerous environment. They honour our nation by their sacrifice. We honour their sacrifice by pursuing significant purposes.

Our critics are wrong to argue that our objectives are unachievable. The strategy in place is achievable, and we are committed to it. At the centre is the understanding that, in the final analysis, the fate of the Afghan people is properly and exclusively in their own hands. We want to prevent a return to the situation prior to 2001 in the terrorist threat emanating from Afghan soil. Beyond that, the objectives are directed towards empowering the Afghan people to provide for their own security, to develop their own economic and social capacities and to create and sustain their own political systems and processes. It is our earnest hope that, in time, arms can give way to the tools of peace, combat troops to civilian engineers, military aid to ever-increasing amounts of civilian reconstruction aid, and the clearing of roadside mines to the building of more village schools, health centres and places of work. Ultimately, it is our aim that the service of our young men and women overseas will be replaced by their return to their families and their homes in the cities, the suburbs and the country towns here in Australia. I thank the House for the seriousness and the maturity with which this debate is being conducted.

Debate (on motion by Mr Shorten) adjourned.