Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This week I had the pleasure of hosting Commander Jacqueline Swinton of the Royal Australian Navy in my office here in parliament—and she's in the gallery—as part of the outstanding and, dare I say, world-leading ADF Parliamentary Program.

Commander Swinton joined the Navy as a legal officer in 2007. Since that time she's taken part in operations at home and overseas, including Operation Slipper in 2012 in Afghanistan, Operation Resolute in 2014, Operation Fiji Assist in 2016 and our counterterrorism fight against smuggling in Operation Manitou in 2017. Alongside working on legal and gender matters, Commander Swinton held the demanding role of staff officer to Chief of the Defence Force in 2018, and recently completed the Joint Command and Staff Program in Canada. This week, however, she left all of that behind to join me in meetings with ministers and at Parliament House events. She went along to question time in both chambers and has supported my work with tasks in my parliamentary office.

The ADFPP has given me the terrific opportunity to travel all over Australia and parts of the world to see the professionalism of our service men and women up close. I've seen many dedicated and hardworking leaders who want to push themselves for new challenges. Commander Swinton absolutely fits that description. Jacqui, I hope you've enjoyed your time in my office, and I wish you the best for the future.