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

As I said during last year’s parliamentary debate on Afghanistan, ‘There can be no more serious endeavour for any country or government than to send its military forces into conflict.’ That is why it is appropriate that Australia’s commitment to Afghanistan is the subject of ongoing parliamentary and public scrutiny. As part of this, the government and I are committed to providing regular reports and updates on Afghanistan, including to the parliament.

My report on this occasion includes the recent NATO and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) defence ministers meeting in Brussels, which I attended earlier this month.

It is worth reminding ourselves why we are in Afghanistan and what our goal is. The government’s strong view is that it is in our national interest to be in Afghanistan, not just with our alliance partner the United States but also with 46 other members of the international community acting under a United Nations mandate.

Australia has a responsibility to help stare down international terrorism and ensure stability in Afghanistan. Our fundamental goal is to prevent Afghanistan from again being used by terrorists to plan and train for attacks on innocent civilians, including Australians in our own region and beyond. To achieve that goal we must help prepare the Afghan government to take lead responsibility for providing security for the Afghan people. We must stabilise the security situation and mentor and train the Afghan security forces.

There are signs that the international community’s recent troop surge, combined now with a strong military and political strategy, has reversed the Taliban’s momentum. This progress is incremental and hard-won, but it is apparent. As International Security Assistance Force Commander General Petraeus told the US Congress on 15 March, districts west of Kandahar city—the birthplace of the Taliban—have recently been cleared by ISAF and Afghan troops.

In recent months, there has been a fourfold increase in the number of weapons and explosive caches turned in and found. Around 700 former Taliban have now officially reintegrated with Afghan authorities, with some 2,000 more in various stages of the reintegration process. But I do urge caution. United States Defense Intelligence Agency head, General Ron Burgess, has cautioned that ‘the security situation remains fragile and heavily dependent on ISAF support’ and that the Taliban ‘remains resilient and will be able to threaten US and international goals in Afghanistan through 2011.’

We must expect pushback from the Taliban, particularly in areas recently claimed by ISAF and Afghan troops, when this year’s fighting season commences in April or May. We do need to steel ourselves for a tough fighting season. United States Secretary of Defense Gates was correct when he said in Afghanistan on 8 March that the coming spring and summer fighting seasons would present an ‘acid test’ of whether our gains could hold. As well, the international community must continue to press President Karzai and his government to deliver on his undertakings at the London conference in January 2010 to improve governance, pursue electoral reform, take effective anti-corruption and anti-narcotics measures and create social and economic opportunities for all the Afghan people, including Afghan women and girls.

As United States National Intelligence Director Jim Clapper advised the United States Congress recently, which he repeated to me when I met him in Australia last week, there remains concern about the ability of the Afghan government to deliver on governance. Without progress on governance, security gains will remain fragile.

Leaders of the 48 ISAF countries met at the Lisbon summit last November and resolved that a conditions based transition to Afghan led security begin this year, 2011, with the aspiration of completing transition by the end of 2014. NATO and ISAF members also made an important long-term commitment to support Afghanistan beyond the transition of security responsibility. Good progress has been made since the Lisbon summit, with the first Joint Afghan-NATO Inteqal Board report on transition and the development of ISAF Transition Implementation Principles.

Australia endorses the first Inteqal report and its recommendation to begin transition, as the Brussels NATO-ISAF defence ministers meeting also did, and as announced by President Karzai on 22 March, which I will refer to shortly. The Inteqal report’s commitment to coordinate transition planning with both Afghan and ISAF stakeholders will ensure all partners are consulted throughout the transition process, including on future tranches for transition. It is essential to get this right, to ensure the sustainability of the transition process. As the Prime Minister said at the Lisbon summit, there is no point transitioning out only to have to transition back in later.

The ISAF Transition Implementation Principles emphasise a shared, long-term commitment, a properly resourced mission, and investment and reinvestment in training. I attended the recent NATO-ISAF defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels. Building upon the Lisbon summit, this meeting delivered the message that ISAF partners are committed to achieving a conditions based, irreversible and sustainable transition of security responsibility to Afghan National Security Forces. Working hand in hand with the Afghan government, ISAF intends to complete the handing over of security responsibility to Afghan authorities by the end of 2014. This is an achievable task, and it has already started.

We must remember that transition will be a process rather than a single event. It will take place at different times in districts and in provinces only as security circumstances permit. The pace of this transition will depend on conditions on the ground, in particular the operational readiness of the Afghan National Security Forces.

On 22 March President Karzai announced the first provinces and districts to transition to Afghan authority. These include the provinces of Bamyan (all districts), Panjshir (all districts), and Kabul (all districts except Surobi) and the districts of Mazar-e-Sharif (Balkh province), Herat (Herat province), Lashkar Gah (Helmand province) and Mehtar Lam (Laghman province).

This first tranche of provinces and districts identified for transition has been selected on the basis of an assessment that their security, governance and development conditions are sufficient to commence transition. The decision to commence transition was made by the Afghan government based on the assessment and recommendation of the Joint Afghan-NATO Inteqal Board. In these areas the Afghan security forces have been assessed as capable of taking on additional security tasks with less assistance from ISAF.

Transition is what Australia is working towards in Oruzgan province with the Afghan National Security Forces and our partners in Combined Team-Oruzgan, the United States, New Zealand, Singapore and Slovakia. There was never an expectation that Oruzgan would be in the first tranche of districts and provinces to begin transition. We believe the Oruzgan transition process can occur over the next three years, between 2012 and 2014.

Over the past six months, the Afghan National Security Forces and Combined Team-Oruzgan have expanded security over areas previously controlled by the Taliban. This has been made possible in part through the transfer of several patrol bases from ISAF or Afghan National Army control to the Afghan National Police, which has in turn allowed the Afghan National Army to move into contested areas.

The increasingly competent Afghan National Security Forces, with the support of Combined Team-Oruzgan, are covering more and more ground, extending the reach of the Afghan government throughout the province. Australian mentored Afghan forces are expanding the security footprint from the Tarin Kowt bowl to the Mirabad Valley in the east, Deh Rawud in the west, and north through the Baluchi Valley into Chora. Our task now is to ensure that this progress in security, development and governance and the gains we have made are consolidated and not reversed.

As part of the overarching transition strategy in Afghanistan, Australia is committed to mentoring and training the 4th Brigade of the Afghan National Army (ANA) in Oruzgan province to enable them to take on responsibility for security arrangements in the province between 2012 and 2014. Australia’s assessment of the 4th Brigade’s capacity is that it is effective with assistance and increasingly capable.

A further infantry Kandak has now arrived in Oruzgan to bring the 4th Brigade to full strength. While this 6th infantry Kandak lacks experience, it is trained and equipped for initial tasks, has strong leadership and is a strong graduate of the Consolidated Fielding Centre in Kabul. The 6th Kandak is currently mentored by US forces.

The next rotation of Australian forces—Australian Task Force 9—will be deployed into Oruzgan province in June, and will take on the additional task of mentoring the newly formed 6th Infantry Kandak of the 4th Brigade. As we hand over patrol bases and establish new ones, and see ANA Kandaks conduct more unaccompanied activities, Australian forces can be released for additional training and mentoring tasks, including responsibility for additional ANA forces in Oruzgan. As the Kandaks become more capable and self-reliant, Australian forces can move into an enabling and overwatch role.

Our troops and personnel in Afghanistan are performing extremely well in dangerous circumstances on a daily basis. Australians are proud of the fact that our troops have a well-deserved reputation for their effectiveness and their conduct. Afghan government ministers—including Defence Minister Wardak, whom I met again in Brussels—and ISAF Commander General Petraeus praise the work and reputation of Australians deployed in Afghanistan, including in their engagement with local Afghan communities.

The support and protection of Australian personnel in Afghanistan is, rightly, our highest priority. The provision of new capability is part of the package of initiatives worth $1.6 billion that the government committed to, following the Force Protection Review effected by my predecessor Minister Faulkner, and underlines the commitment to provide our troops with the best available equipment.

Of the 48 recommendations made by the review, 42 are now complete or on track. They include enhanced counter IED measures, better armour and heavier calibre weapons for our Bushmasters, the placement of medics with each platoon operating in Afghanistan and the introduction of 1,000 sets of lighter combat armour.

Recent media reports of allegations of pre-meditated murder of Afghan civilians by a small number of US soldiers are deeply disturbing. The allegations were first reported last year, at which time the United States launched a criminal investigation into the allegations. Criminal charges were laid following the investigation and are now the subject of United States court martial proceedings.

The United States Army has apologised for the distress the terrible incident and the publicity has caused, saying they stand ‘in stark contrast to the discipline, professionalism and respect that have characterised our soldiers’ performance during nearly 10 years of sustained operations in Afghanistan’.

In this context, the United States Army has restated its commitment to the ‘adherence to the law of war and the humane and respectful treatment of combatants, noncombatants, and the dead’ and acknowledged that ‘when allegations of wrongdoing by soldiers surface, to include the inappropriate treatment of the dead, they are fully investigated; soldiers who commit offences will be held accountable as appropriate’. Australia very firmly believes that strict adherence to rules of engagement is essential on the battlefield.

The rule of law is an essential basis for international relations and for national security policy. The force of international law, and the protection it offers the Afghan people, clearly distinguishes the international effort in Afghanistan from the actions of the Taliban and its associates. On the ground, international humanitarian law—including the principles of military necessity, proportionality, distinction and discrimination—provides the framework for Australia and ISAF’s rules of engagement.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has built a reputation over the years for professionalism and compliance with such rules of engagement. Australian forces take all possible steps to ensure their operations do not endanger the lives of civilians. We have prided ourselves on our high standards and we have a well-regarded international reputation for doing so. When, for example, there are incidents involving civilians, they are always investigated.

In that context, the Registrar of Military Justice has convened a general court martial to try charges against two of the three Australian Defence Force members relating to an incident in Afghanistan on 12 February 2009. Pretrial directions hearings for the court martial are scheduled to commence soon in Sydney and the trial has been set down for 11 July 2011.

It has already been a difficult year for the Australian Defence Force. This year, Australia has lost two more brave soldiers. Corporal Richard Atkinson was killed in an improvised explosive device strike on 2 February. Sapper Jamie Larcombe died as a result of gunshot wounds sustained during an engagement with insurgents on 19 February. Our thoughts continue to be with the families, friends and colleagues of Corporal Atkinson and Sapper Larcombe, as they too come to terms with their great loss. These soldiers served their country well and will always be remembered.

We have lost 23 fine Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. As well, four Australian soldiers have been wounded in Afghanistan this year, with 168 ADF personnel wounded in action since 2002. Our thoughts are also with our wounded and their families. The sacrifice our men and women make is great, as is the appreciation of our nation and our people. Our forces face a resilient insurgency, who, in coming months, will seek to retake ground. In this environment, we must steel ourselves for the possibility of further casualties, of further fatalities. Despite these tragic losses and the challenges ahead, Australia remains resolute.

We are seeing progress in Afghanistan. This progress is fragile. The Taliban know they need to regain momentum, so we can expect them to fight back. The coming fighting season will be tough. As we prepare for it, we are also mindful of the civilian toll of the war. We can expect high-profile attacks by Afghan insurgents to continue and to increase, like the 21 February suicide attack in Kunduz province that killed around 30 Afghans and wounded 36 others. An increasing number of civilian casualties are caused by insurgent attacks and the deliberate targeting of civilians or tactics which result in civilian casualties. These attacks are aimed at undermining Afghan and international confidence in the progress that is being made on security, governance and development and on transition.

Transition has commenced with President Karzai’s announcement earlier this week of the first provinces and districts to transition to Afghan authority. Transition must be conditions based and irreversible. Transition can not be and must not be a signal to premature withdrawal.

The international community must continue to provide a long-term commitment to Afghanistan. That is why Australia has made clear it expects to maintain a presence in Afghanistan after our current training mission in Oruzgan has concluded, either in further specialised training, overwatch or through civilian capacity building and development assistance. Australia is confident that the international community has the right strategy for putting Afghanistan in a position to take responsibility for security matters and prevent it from again becoming a haven for international terrorists. This military and political strategy and the required resources are now, at long last, in place and delivering hard-won progress. We see this in Oruzgan as we see it elsewhere in Afghanistan. Australia stands firm in its continuing commitment to Afghanistan.

I present a paper providing more detail on Afghanistan and I ask leave of the House to move a motion to enable the member for Fadden to speak for 17 minutes.

Leave granted.

I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Fadden speaking in reply to my statement for a period not exceeding 17 minutes.

Question agreed to.

on indulgence—Before the member starts, I apologise to him in advance. I need to go to a cabinet committee meeting. I will of course very carefully read his contribution. I thank him for his indulgence.

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

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Minister for Defence. The minister should know that he enjoys bipartisan support from the coalition as the government seeks to prosecute their agenda with our fighting men and women within Afghanistan.

I thank the minister for his commitment to provide regular updates to the parliament as to what is happening in Afghanistan and I note the minister has indeed been true to his word in keeping his commitment to provide these updates.

It is important, as we seek to understand where we are going in Afghanistan and what the future holds, that we also look back to truly understand how the fight started and why it is important that the government is indeed supported at a bipartisan level to continue the fight in Afghanistan. I think we all agree that the world changed on September 11. Australia invoked the ANZUS alliance, standing shoulder to shoulder with our friend and ally the United States of America as they launched Operation Enduring Freedom.

On 20 December 2001, the UN approved resolution 1386, a resolution which has been approved annually since that date. There are 48 ISAF nations working within Afghanistan. It is a difficult but just and justified fight in response to an unmitigated act of barbarity. I do not need to remind the House or indeed the entire nation that over 100 Australians have perished at the hands of terrorists, whose support, whose training, whose financing and whose indoctrination can in one way or another be linked back to the insurgents, the Taliban and the other extremist groups operating within Afghanistan.

The minister noted that recent progress in Afghanistan has for the most part been positive, especially following the US troop surge that commenced in mid-2009. There is no doubt that recent ISAF operations have made ground, particularly in southern Afghanistan. In Kandahar we currently have 14 or so artillerymen fighting with British artillery commanded by the CO of the 7th Parachute Battalion, the Royal Horse Artillery. There is a group fighting in Kandahar down in south, where in previous battles they had trained their guns over open sights so close were the enemy, where now there is greater control over the area and greater engagement through shuras with local leaders, and our men are reporting that there is greater trade and commerce between disparate groups within the area. Indeed, the degree of fighting, in their experience, has lessened. A new patrol base has been put outside the main operating area in Kandahar, a testimony to the degree of stability that is being achieved in the southern province.

But let us not lose focus. As the new fighting season approaches, the Taliban will look to reclaim ground it has lost. They are a resilient and hard-fighting foe. In the coming months, as the winter snow melts, the Taliban will push back. It is fair to assume that we are fighting a resilient enemy. The question the nation needs to ask is a simple one: can we or can we not hold our gains? I agree with the minister on the capacity, the capability and the courage of our fighting men and women to hold our gains and, more importantly, to gain even more.

I note the recent report from Major General Mike Kraus, Deputy Chief of Staff Plans at ISAF’s Joint Command Headquarters, where he said:

We believe that we have momentum. We believe we now have the initiative.

However Major General Kraus also noted the fragility of these gains. I know General Kraus. He is not a man loose with his words—a serious war-fighting general who understands the serious nature of our commitments in Afghanistan.

The message here, I believe, is that progress is rarely easy and it is rarely quick. It is incremental. It comes at a cost. Enduring progress is dependent upon coalition forces holding their nerve and, as the minister quite rightly stated, standing firm on their commitment to Afghanistan. In short, if I can quote the previous commander of our deployed forces, Major General Cantwell, not only to the Prime Minister but also to the Leader of the Opposition, and indeed to the parliament, this is ‘not the time to get the wobbles’.

Progress made by Australian forces should not be underestimated. Australian forces are doing an amazing job in incredibly difficult, dangerous and arduous circumstances. General Petraeus, the commander in Afghanistan, has consistently commended the work of Australia’s fighting men and women. In terms of military progress, it is undeniable that the southern provinces, including Uruzgan where the bulk of Australia’s fighting forces are based, is a comparatively safer place than it once was. In Uruzgan, Australia, along with other members of Combined Team-Uruzgan, have made significant progress both in training Afghan 4th Brigade soldiers and in the reconstruction work through the Provincial Reconstruction Teams. I recognise that the Afghan 4th Brigade’s capacity to operate independently of assistance is increasing—slowly, but it is certainly increasing. Having been to Afghanistan twice last year and having seen for myself the progress they are making, I can provide testimony to that fact.

I note that with the next rotation of Australian forces they will also be taking responsibility for the 6th Khandaq of the 4th Afghan Brigade. Australia will therefore be responsible for training the entirety of the brigade. It was also pleasing to see the brigade’s heavy weapon support Khandaq actually fire their D-30 artillery pieces, bringing on line another capability they have got to engage with to seek to destroy the insurgency within Afghanistan.

I also note that we continue to supply a surface vessel operating in the Gulf and the Red Sea region, which does an excellent job in enforcing the restriction zones there, doing counterpiracy and other support activities. I note our substantial aviation assets are flying out of both Afghanistan and, indeed, the wider Middle East, continuing to provide a range of significant resources and platforms desperately needed for the fight to continue. We can as a nation be proud of our some 2,350 men and women currently deployed in the wider Gulf region. As I have said consistently in this place, and I say again to the minister: the only thing I would ask is that currently there is a cap of 1,550 men and women in Afghanistan and it is our contention that that cap would be better placed  on the 2,350 in the wider Middle East area of operations to allow the greater force commander to surge men and women troops as he sees fit. I certainly reiterate that to the minister.

In terms of transition, the minister has said consistently that a transition of Australian forces out of Afghanistan will take place over what is now three years, sometime between 2012 and 2014. This has the support of the coalition. The PM has also stated, during her address on this issue leading the debate in the parliament, that Australia will maintain a capability after the training role of the 4th Afghan Brigade has ceased with an overwatch capability, a training capability, and perhaps a civilian capacity-building and development assistance capability. The coalition again supports this. We do, however, ask the minister to provide an update as soon as that would be available as to what the overwatch capability or that training role or civilian capability would look like in terms of personnel, equipment and the length of time it would be envisaged that they would be in Afghanistan beyond 2014. We appreciate that it may take some time for the minister to work through the details of what that overwatch or training capability may look like.

In terms of the transition arrangements, we understand that progress has taken place since the London Conference on Afghanistan in January 2010, especially with respect to improving the governance within the Karzai regime. Whilst many steps have been made with respect to improvement within the regime, the world understands that there still needs to be improvement with respect to the legitimacy and the standards of governance and the fight on corruption that the Karzai government brings to its administration in Afghanistan. Certainly taking those issues of governance beyond the major cities and into the regional areas where the Taliban still have considerable influence remains a priority as the Karzai government moves through the London conference initiatives to seek to improve the governance within the area. In terms of endorsing the NATO report and the transition for wider Afghanistan and especially the ISAF Transition Implementation Principles, they are indeed welcome news and are supported as they emphasised a shared, long-term commitment.

I note the minister said that the transition will be conditions based, irreversible and sustainable, with ISAF intending to complete the handover by the end of 2014. I also note the announcement by President Karzai on 22 March of the first provinces to transition. They are Bamian, all districts; Panjshir, all districts; Kabul, all districts except Surobi; and the districts of Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat, Laskargah in the Helmand province, and Mehterlam. In the transition section, though, it has constantly been said—and the minister has made these statements—that the transition would be one based on metrics and command, where data and commanders’ judgment drive the transition. The coalition support that. We support the view that transition may well take place in Oruzgan district by district, valley by valley, village by village, re-entrant by re-entrant. As I said, the government has the support of the coalition for a metrics and commander judgment based transition that adequately ensures that the Afghan National Army’s 4th Brigade has the training, resources and equipment to do the job, and that in ensuring the transition occurs Australian soldiers’ lives are not put at any greater risk than they normally are.

As we move towards that transition, it is instructive to look at the toll in Afghanistan. In this year alone, two of our great soldiers have been killed in action: Corporal Richard Atkinson on 2 February, from an IED blast; and Sapper Jamie Larcombe on 19 February, from gunshot wounds he sustained. Our thoughts are with their families, and I join with the minister in thanking those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. I cannot begin to understand the pain that their families are going through. We have now lost 23 brave Australians in combat in Afghanistan. Four more have been wounded in action this year, bringing the total number of wounded, since 2002, to 168. The coalition join the government in their commitment to care for these soldiers and their families. We must, and we will, do everything possible to support them.

I note with interest that the Army has recently embarked on a campaign to better educate and care for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder upon their return from the battlefield. I note the great DVD they have made, called Dents in the Soul, and I commend the Army, particularly the Chief of Army, General Gillespie, for their work in tackling this difficult issue and their efforts in embarking on what amounts to a significant cultural change program within the Army and, more widely, within the ADF.

We on this side of the House continue to expect the government to continue to look after our troops’ welfare, and their families’ welfare, not only in the short term but also in the longer term. We expect them to deliver on their promise to support our returned troops, particularly those who have sustained physical injuries or mental conditions.

I call on the wider nation to remember that our fighting men and women fight for us; they fight for you. They fight for the safety and freedom that we enjoy. I call on the nation to remember them and perhaps, if the opportunity arises, to show your appreciation in a tangible way by writing to them. Australia Post will send a two-kilogram parcel free of charge—send them some decent coffee, send them some Tim Tams, send them a letter. The joy your family will get from receiving a letter back from one of our fighting men and women is truly something to behold. Our soldiers have a great sense of humour. A digger from Cairns writes back and says he is used to the tropics but he is now in minus 15 degrees in the mountains at Chora and he is freezing. I encourage Australians to remember our fighting men and women—send them a care package—not just in Afghanistan but right across the theatres of influence where our men and women serve.

The Minister for Defence also provided an update on the new C-RAM, the counter-rocket artillery and mortar early warning system installed to help protect Australian soldiers from attacks in Afghanistan. It is a critical system. It was called for by the coalition, and I thank the previous Minister for Defence for heeding that call and bringing the system forward. Certainly, it is better late than never. It performs a vital role, providing precious seconds warning for our troops.

I also thank the minister for providing an update on the court martial proceedings relating to three ADF personnel. It is no secret that the coalition remain concerned about the length of time it has taken to bring these charges, noting from the minister’s comments that only two court martials have been arranged, with the third pending. We will continue to monitor closely the amount and quality of representation these soldiers are afforded. I note the minister and CDF have promised the finest advice and representation that can possibly be provided, and that is indeed welcome.

I note the minister’s comments with regard to detainee management. I am in lockstep with the minister insofar as we agree that the first priority of the detainee management framework must be to ensure insurgents are removed from the battlefield. Naturally, we will continue to monitor very closely the whole range of issues currently before the ADF regarding detainee management. I also note, though, that ADF troops, most notably our special forces, are becoming frustrated with Australia’s limited current framework. My understanding is that ADF troops can still only hold suspected insurgents for a maximum of four days, whereas our ISAF partners can hold them for 14 days. I would argue that that length of time does not allow for the extraction of valuable information by Australian troops. It is difficult to assess the intelligence value of information extracted within just four days. I believe it is having an impact on troop morale, especially when insurgents are caught, released and then caught again. It is my understanding that the minister is reviewing these arrangements, to his credit. I therefore ask the minister in good faith: can he provide a firm time line for that decision and update; and will any recommendations be made public?

In conclusion, I thank the Minister for Defence for providing the House with this update. He has been true to his word and provided an update, as he said he would. I sincerely hope that he will consider the points that I have raised today on behalf of the coalition. We join the government in thanking our professional military commanders, who have assured the government and the opposition that our fighting men and women are doing everything they need to do to ensure success in the campaign in Afghanistan. We must steel ourselves against the future as we enter the fighting season. We remain in lockstep with the government, as there is bipartisan support for the mission and for our troops.