James Paterson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I rise, on behalf of the opposition, to associate us with the statement made by the Leader of the Government in the Senate for Warrant Officer Lachlan Muddle. Our ADF personnel accept that there are risks in their line of service, but none of them should die in circumstances like this. We express our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the warrant officer, who served our country with distinction for decades in uniform.

We of course offer our bipartisan support for all the appropriate investigations and processes that now need to be undertaken to understand how this accident occurred and to ensure that, in the future, ADF personnel and their families do not have to suffer the loss that Warrant Officer Muddle's family are now experiencing today.