Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program offers a unique opportunity to parliamentarians like myself to gain a better understanding of the roles our ADF play in supporting Australia's national interests in the world.

I was joined by my parliamentary colleagues the member for Bruce, the member for Solomon and the member for Dunkley, as well as Senator James Patterson and Senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore, in visiting our ADF personnel recently on operations in the Middle East. The ADF currently have four major operations in the Middle East, undertaking missions on land, in the air and at sea. These include Operation OKRA, Operation HIGHROAD, Operation MANITOU and Operation ACCORDIAN. In the short two-to-three-day briefing and training we received on arrival—which everyone deploying into the Middle East theatre of operations is required to undertake—it quickly became obvious to me that there is a great deal of complexity and skill involved in Australia's ongoing contribution to these operations. The ADF leave nothing to chance, and I witnessed their professionalism and commitment to ensuring our deploying troops have all of the training, preparation and support to undertake their missions safely.

Seeing firsthand the main logistics hub for the Middle Eastern region gave me a great deal of insight into the scale of support needed to ensure that Australia's success occurs in the offshore operations. As we visited the various missions, I was struck by the range of different roles our people are conducting in these joint operations and the diverse range of skills inherent to our Defence Force personnel.

I would particularly like to mention the ADF personnel I met who are supporting the air campaign in Iraq and Syria. Their commitment to assisting the Iraqi forces in the fight against Daesh is a significant Australian contribution to the coalition effort. What especially struck me was the seriousness and professionalism with which they undertook their duties. These personnel clearly understood the grave consequences of their actions, always holding themselves accountable, constantly considering all of the second- and third-order effects on the civilian population before making operational decisions. This was an overwhelmingly proud and humbling experience for me that I was able to hear about firsthand.

I would also like to mention 7 RAR, who are based in my home state of South Australia at Edinburgh. The regiment is playing an exceptionally important force protection role for our military, mentoring teams in Afghanistan. I was surprised to learn that several of the young 7 RAR soldiers that I spoke to were undertaking their first operational deployment overseas. It was surprising because I could not fault their professionalism and the pride they took in their mission. I also spoke personally with our military mentors who are helping to rebuild and professionalise the Afghan army officer corps training at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy in the Qargha area of Kabul. Our mentors are doing an excellent job to train the trainers at the academy, ensuring that these officers are equipped to provide military and leadership training to future Afghan army officers. This initiative will clearly enable the government of Afghanistan to have a professional and well-trained army to ensure the future security of their country. There was an overwhelming sense of gratitude from the Afghan trainers, who expressed to me their appreciation of the guidance our Australian officers provide them. In concert with the deployed UK forces, it is clear to me that our military mentors are making a valuable contribution to the future of a safe and secure Afghanistan.

The time spent on the ADF PP enabled me to see firsthand the investment Australia is making in the Middle East, and our efforts and contribution are significant. Most importantly, I would like to acknowledge how hard our ADF personnel are working, both in Australia and on deployment, to support and prosecute the mission we have set them in the Middle East region. Their ongoing commitment and sacrifice—and that of their families—does not go unrecognised by this parliament. I pay tribute to them. Being away from loved ones is extremely difficult and we thank our ADF personnel for the sacrifice they make. I would like to thank Major Gregory Cranswick and Major Briana Sterling for their support. The experience was incredibly humbling. What I can honestly say to this House is that, witnessing our ADF personnel, I have never been more proud to be Australian.