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

I thank the member for Boothby for her question. Before I continue, I just want to say that the reports out of Townsville this afternoon are extraordinarily tragic. Townsville is a very tight-knit community. I know that I extend the condolences of everyone in this place not only to the family and the friends but also to the colleagues of those who lost their lives this afternoon.

I thank the member for Boothby for her question. I note the member for Boothby has a very proud military history in her family history. I know her great-grandfather served on the Western Front in the First World War, at Pozieres and Bullecourt; was wounded; and was taken prisoner of war for 18 months before returning to Australia, where he settled at Lower Mitcham. I thank her family for that service and also for the member's enduring interest in veterans affairs.

The events last week in Kabul were a murderous atrocity. If anyone were ever in any doubt about the righteousness of the Australian mission in Afghanistan, this was a brutal reminder of the criminals and terrorists that we were fighting and the threats that they posed to the security of our nation and the security of the world. Our country is extraordinarily proud of the men and women of the ADF but also our veterans who served in Afghanistan. Not only did they make Australia and the world a safer place but they helped to make Afghanistan a better place. They built bridges and schools and ran clinics. Since 2002, school enrolments have increased tenfold in Afghanistan. They gave girls education and women the opportunity to work. Access to basic health care increased from nine per cent to 57 per cent when the international community was in Afghanistan. These are the stories that our veterans want told. They served in the finest traditions of the Australian Defence Force, and we owe them a great debt of gratitude.

Last week, I spoke of the support available to our veterans from Open Arms, Safe Zone Support, which is the 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week counselling service that's available to those who want to call anonymously. And I'm about to announce the 112 organisations that will share in the $2.39 million of funding under the Veteran and Community Grants Program, which also supports veteran health and wellbeing. Hopefully, I'll be telling the House more about that soon. But there is something that everyone in the community can do this week to support the families of those who've served and sacrificed so much for our nation. As many of you would know, it is Legacy Week. I urge everyone to go to legacy.com to buy a badge, buy other Legacy products or even just make a donation to help Legacy help the families of those who've given so much to our country.