Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party, Minister for Decentralisation and Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Herbert for his question, for his service to Australia in uniform and also for his subsequent advocacy work for veterans in his area and around Australia. Over the last week, the world has been watching the terrible humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan. This has been a distressing time for many of our Defence Force personnel and veterans who served in Afghanistan with courage, dignity and honour. We will never forget the 41 Australians who made the ultimate sacrifice, including Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney, who lost his life while helping a mate during a firefight with the Taliban on this day 11 years ago. Known as Crash to his mates, Jared was a husband and a father. He was just 28. Our hearts go out to Beckie and Jared's family. Our nation needs to acknowledge the men and women of the ADF and their veterans, but also their families, because their families have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice so much to support their loved ones and their country. We owe those family members an enormous debt of gratitude as well.

Last week I held round tables with ex-service organisations and also with our younger veterans, including many who served in Afghanistan. We discussed veteran support and also how our younger veterans viewed their time in Afghanistan. The consensus from those who were there was clear: our ADF members made a real difference in Afghanistan, and they know that their time was successful and that it meant something. They went to stamp out terrorism and fight for freedom, and they acquitted themselves in the finest tradition of the Australian armed services. We will never know how many horrific terrorist attacks around the world were prevented by their efforts and those of our allies. They made life better for the people of Afghanistan. As one veteran said last week, 'Every single one of us that went knows the difference we made on the ground when we were over there.'

Last week, I directed the Department of Veterans' Affairs to contact the family members of ADF members who'd lost their loved ones in Afghanistan and all veterans who could be suffering adversely from what has happened there. Thirty-three thousand Open Arms counselling clients and 287,000 veterans and family members were messaged, providing them with the support numbers of 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week counselling. I would encourage any veteran or family member, no matter where they served, to reach out for support if they need it. In these times of lockdown and isolation, there is something that we can all do: pick up the phone and say g'day to a veteran. A friendly voice over the phone can make all the difference. We want our veterans to know that our country is proud of them and that we will always be there for them.