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

Last Friday I was lucky enough to be the substitute for the Minister for Defence, the Hon. Marise Payne, at a very significant event at HMAS Albatross. Two of our very reliable helicopters, called the Squirrel and the Seahawk, were retiring; this was their very last day. We had ceremonial divisions—if people haven't been to a ceremonial division for the Navy, it is absolutely spectacular. On this glorious day of Nowra weather, the white uniforms were shining out there, and the black shiny shoes, and the band was perfectly in time, as was the marching. What they were doing was just awe-inspiring.

I was there to celebrate the Squirrel and the Seahawk retiring. The Squirrel was never devised to be the training vessel that it became, nor was it ever meant to go to sea. But Australian ingenuity took it to sea, and very successfully so. Along with the Chief of Navy, Vice-Admiral Tim Barrett; Commander Australian Fleet Rear Admiral, Stuart Mayer; Commander Fleet Air Arm, Commodore Chris Smallhorn; and commanding officer HMAS Albatross, Captain Fiona Sneath, I said goodbye to these two most amazing helicopters. We now have the Romeos coming in, whose call sign appears to be 'taipan', so perhaps we will be moving away from Squirrels and Seahawks to something a little bit more stealthy, like the taipan. They are amazing helicopters. We've invested over half a billion dollars into this base with the helicopters, and I was so proud to be there with our personnel.