Yesterday I had the enormous honour of speaking at the Australian War Memorial to mark 25 years since the beginning of Operation Slipper, the dawn of Australia's mission in Afghanistan. In New York, fires were still burning at Ground Zero from the September 11 attacks a month earlier when Australia came to the aid of the world. The world at that time felt upended. All of us can remember where we were at the time of September 11. Though it would change so devastatingly a year later in Bali, it wasn't directly our fight at that time. Yet what Australia did was so resolutely in our nature. We went to support our friend and our ally. We went because of what was at stake, and we went on the principle that September 11 was an attack on a way of life that belonged just as much to us as Australians. The very freedoms at the heart of who we are as a people and a nation were under threat, and the enemy that had so devastatingly declared itself in opposition to those freedoms was al-Qaeda.

As then prime minister John Howard put it at the time:

If we left this contest only to America, we would be leaving it to them to defend our rights and those of all the other people of the world who have a commitment to freedom and liberty.

Over two decades, more than 35,000 Australian defence personnel served in operations relating to the war in Afghanistan. They made an invaluable contribution to a complex multinational mission, upholding the finest of Australian military traditions in the process. Their courage, the strength of their character and the bonds of their camaraderie are a beacon to us still. I acknowledge those present here today who also served, and, likewise, every single Australian who served in what amounted to a whole-of-government mission. Members of the Australian Federal Police and civilians from DFAT, including AusAID, were also there on the ground. It was an environment in which vigilance had to be as relentless as the dust was, where every footstep could feel heavy in the landscape sown with explosives, where any crowd might hold a suicide bomber and where the threats came from without and sometimes devastatingly from within.

We also honour the courage of the many Afghans who stood against their oppressors and put their own safety on the line to help. Our nation respects and thanks all who have served in our name—the fighters for peace, the keepers of peace. We honour all who went and all who fell. We honour those who came home wounded in body or wounded in soul, their hearts changed forever by the fight. We honour the families, those who have felt both the pride and weight that comes when a loved one puts on the uniform and those who have lived with the grief that is the pain of love wrapped around an absence that can never be filled.

As we look to Afghanistan, we are reminded again of what Australians in war have faced and the difference they have made in humanity's truest spirit. What Australians in Afghanistan embodied is something we must never lose. Lest we forget.

I join the Prime Minister in commemorating the 25th anniversary of Australian service in the war in Afghanistan, and, of course, I was privileged to be there yesterday at the War Memorial, at that commemoration. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, in America's darkest hour, Australia stood by our ally and our dear friend. On 14 September, showing moral clarity and leadership, John Howard invoked ANZUS, and, soon after, Australia joined a multinational mission to take the fight to al-Qaeda. For 20 years, under Operation Slipper and Operation Highroad, Australian warfighters achieved many things. They helped deny the terrorists a safe haven. They helped destroy al-Qaeda. They did lead-up work that helped US Navy SEAL Team 6 take out Osama bin Laden in May 2011. And they helped prevent further terrorist attacks from being carried out around the world and on our soil. It was right for our nation to join the war on terror.

My thoughts and deep gratitude are with the 35,000 men and women of the Australian Defence Force who served in Afghanistan and especially with the families of those 47 Australians who made the ultimate sacrifice. Their service made a difference and made our nation and the world safer. Can I acknowledge the members for Canning and Herbert—patriots, who were there on the front line. We thank all our veterans of Afghanistan for their service and sacrifice. Many still bear the wounds of their service, seen and unseen. We owe them a debt that can never be repaid, but our nation will never forget and will always honour what they achieved. I thank them most sincerely for the role they played in fighting Islamist extremism. We must never relent in that fight, inspired by the spirit and service of our veterans of Afghanistan.

Five years after the war in Afghanistan finished, Islamist extremism remains a real threat, a civilizational threat. It has evolved, taken many forms and been called many things. We must continue that fight with resolve, both at home and around the world, with our allies and partners. And fight it we will, because we love life more than those extremists love death. Lest we forget.

As a mark of respect for those who lost their lives during that conflict, I ask all present to rise in their places.

Honourable members having stood in their places—

I thank the House.