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

The 26th of January signifies a special day in any Australian's diary. We love our country and our culture, and so many of us become citizens on this special day. Around Gilmore there are always plans: barbecues, Rotary clubs and Lions clubs involved in amazing celebrations. It is a day when you feel immense pride as you look at our flag and hear the stories of the new citizens and our community heroes. But this year I was in a place where I was especially proud. The Australian parliament has a Defence program where politicians have an opportunity to visit bases here in Australia or the international locations where Australian men and women are working so hard to gain peaceful resolutions, assist with aid or develop a national ethos in an emerging nation.

On Tuesday, 19 January I caught a train to Sydney, arrived at the airport and lugged my army dive bag with its makeshift wheels to check in. My family was not even able to know where I was going. This is the same situation for any of our serving personnel—their families are told merely that the destination is the Middle East. We travelled over with the new deployment of personnel—security, logistics, mechanics, front line, admin, communications—all completely expert in their respective fields.

There was no time to rest up after the flight. It was straight into training, alongside all these amazing men and women—from an overall security briefing to safety issues and ensuring our SIM cards were removed, then learning the skills of blast injury first aid. Yes, the politicians learned to use the special tourniquets and were instructed to use pressure bandages on mock shattered limbs. Following this, we were given a briefing on the formidable array of locally-made trigger mechanisms for blast devices. It is a very great shame that the extraordinary ingenuity, which is scary in its pure destructiveness, cannot be channelled for the betterment of this war-torn community. We participated in mock IED blasts—improvised explosive devices. We ducked for cover after 'incoming' was yelled. There were flares, explosions, smoke and dust, as well as the injured mannequins to rescue—thank goodness, they were only mannequins! Amongst this, we were carrying around at least 17 kilos of battle armour, which was extraordinary. I am just so glad we have redesigned it to make it a little more functional for our current men and women.

We were briefed on every form of intelligence gathering. Australia has an amazing aircraft for intelligence missions. The officers are increasing their skills and applications, devising better and more accurate techniques. Every member of the deployment team, already trained in pistol and rifle use, has to reach a required proficiency, and it is tested in the Middle East. On our third day after arrival, we also participated in this activity.

We became well acquainted with refuelling aircraft which play an integral role assisting the coalition forces on the long-haul flights to the strike zone. These strike zones are assessed over a period of months to ensure accuracy and timing for the least casualty impact. We were involved in bomb construction and all associated activities.

But by far, the briefings in Afghanistan were the most significant. We were shown every aspect of the important role of our servicemen and women. The most poignant moment of all occurred when the commanding officer explained—as we stood on the hills of Kabul, with the snow-capped mountains behind—'Ladies and gentlemen, you are looking over the valley which is the crossroads of emperors. This has been a battleground for centuries.'

One critical step to begin the reduction of conflict is to train the Afghan army to be self-reliant. Most importantly, this is our contribution to 'Duntroon in the dust', as they affectionately refer to the impressive establishment for training the Afghanistan army. The top graduate last year was a woman, who will be returning to inspire and train other Afghan women—what a transformational step that has been and will be.

The emerging nationalism and the care and loyalty for their own country is clear to see when you watch the training platoons. Our professional mentorship and our significant humanitarian and security aid is a major factor in the stabilisation of this region. Our service is essential here; it certainly will not be a short-term solution. The world really needs to help this region to find its own peace and security.

In Afghanistan we needed to travel between venues either by Black Hawk or Chinook helicopters as road travel is still considered way too dangerous. The awe I felt as I stood in the cockpit of the C-130 Hercules as we flew over the border of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan was only dwarfed by my Australian pride as I sat amongst our servicemen and women who were playing cricket and sand volleyball, and singing Australian songs in the middle of the base in the Middle East on Australia Day this year.

We truly are a most amazing community and we have the best service personnel. We will be balancing our security and our humanitarian aid in this area for as long as possible because they have asked for it, they require it, and the people of Afghanistan absolutely need it.