Keith Wolahan (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the helicopter crash that occurred on 28 July. Every profession has its own language, and the profession of arms certainly does. There is a term that originates from the Royal Air Force called 'duff'. It was a term that described inaccurate information. When you hear on the radio 'no duff', it means this is accurate and serious. On the night of 28 July, hundreds of young Australians in uniform were conducting a highly dangerous special operations mission in Queensland that had members of the Air Force, the Navy and Special Operations Command in support. It also had members of 6th Aviation Regiment in support. There were lots of complex moving parts. And this was all occurring while most of us slept. At some point, over the radio came 'no duff; fallen angel'. 'Fallen angel' are two words that, if you hear them on operations or in training, your heart sinks because you know what it means when a piece of machinery like that falls out of the sky.

They're called angels because that's what they are—they are the people who take us into a mission, whether it's in training or on operations, and they're the ones that take you home. That's what they were loitering, ready to do—to take other Australians home from a mission. When you hear 'no duff; fallen angel', the exercise ends. Everyone freezes and moves into action to try and save their fellow Australians or, at the time, Americans who were in support, too. And that's exactly what they did. Everyone moved heaven and earth to try and see if there was some hope that they could be saved.

Days later, we knew that hope had faded and that their bodies had been found. I want to say to the families, the parents, the children, the brothers, the sisters and the grandparents—because they were so young—the sacrifice that they have made for this nation means as much to me and to all of us as any Australian name on the War Memorial. When they signed up to the Australian Defence Force, they signed up to a contract that meant they were willing to give their lives for us. There is a saying in the Defence Force: train hard to fight easy. That's what we do in exercises. We train hard, very hard, and it comes with high risk. Again, whether it's on operations or in training, there is a moment when a notification process starts. I've been in that chain.

On my second tour of Afghanistan, two soldiers died. I had a role to play in making sure that information was accurate and passed on. What I remember more than anything is the sense of guilt that I knew that that had happened and their family hadn't got the knock at the door yet. There is a sense of guilt because the people who need to know most are their family and friends. At some point, someone has to knock on a door and give that news, and that stays with those people forever, too. They'll always remember that. And there were those who were waiting on the ground to get onto that helicopter—14 others.

We lost four. I'll say their names in the time remaining: Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class 2 Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs. They come from the 6th Aviation Regiment. The member for Hughes, that's where they worked, but they lived in other areas. Like my friend, the member for Berowra, there's links to his electorate and others throughout this nation and this parliament.

There will be an inquiry, and that won't be easy. And we need to give the families their full support. All of the ADF and other organisations who are wrapping their arms around the families, including the Commando Welfare Trust who I spoke to last week, will be doing their very best to help them and their families. There are tough times ahead for you, and we are here for you—because you are here for this country.