Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Again, I thank Senator Smith. Since 18 August we have evacuated over 1,000 people on 12 flights, including Australian and New Zealand nationals, Australian visa holders and foreign nationals. In the last 24 hours we have evacuated over 450 people from Kabul on four ADF flights.

We have a significant presence on the ground at Hamid Karzai International Airport, including Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officers, Australian Defence Force personnel, Department of Home Affairs officials and Australian Border Force members.

I thank every single one of those women and men for the extraordinary job they are doing. We have evacuated not just our own people but people on behalf of the United Kingdom, the United States and New Zealand as well as Fiji. Many of you know from talking to my office, the Minister for Defence's office, the Minister for Home Affairs's office, the minister for immigration's office and our consular team what a task is being undertaken. I thank all colleagues, members and senators, for their engagement on behalf of so many Australians and Afghanis— (Time expired)