Helen Kroger (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to extend my comments to 20 minutes.

Leave granted.

I recently had the opportunity to be part of the Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program that visited Afghanistan, in particular Oruzgan province in the first week of May. This was a unique experience that provided me with a comprehensive insight into the rationale of our operations, along with the scale of the logistics—an opportunity that I wish all Australians could share.

The visit presented the opportunity to understand the complexities of a country beset with the challenges of rival tribes, power struggles and ideological battles for the hearts and minds of its people in a country which is notable for its dramatic, harsh and unrelenting climate and landscape. My short time in Afghanistan, walking in the footsteps of our courageous professional and just soldiers has reaffirmed my pride in being an Australian.

The visit not only gave me an opportunity to assess our involvement in the war on terror but it also brought me into direct contact with our troops of all ranks, and reaffirmed my perceptions and assumptions about the men and women of the Australian Defence Force.

Before I make some general observations, I would like to acknowledge Lynton Dixon, Executive Officer of the ADFPP and Major Micah Batt from HQJOC, our escort, guide and mentor, who ensured that our daily schedule worked and kept us busy and safe. He was pivotal to our safekeeping.

We flew to the ADF's theatre headquarters at Al Minhab, the location of the Joint Task Force 633, where we met with the commander of HQJTF633, Major General Angus Campbell. We were given a very thorough and candid overview by the Major General, along with Air Commodore John Oddie. This was an early indication of the open and transparent approach that was taken by all who we met.

The logistical magnitude of the military presence in the Middle East starts at AMAB, where personnel and supplies are sent for demarcation into Afghanistan. The base is currently home to 550 men and women. It can support twice that number, and conditions personnel in climate and hygiene challenges, and equips personnel for their next stage. We received a shortened drill in the diversity and evolving physical manifestations of improvised explosive devices, known as IEDs, the type of terrain and machinery where they had been found and the invidious damage they cause. A session of weapon training at the rifle range demonstrated, however, why we should focus on influence through the power of the word rather than our prowess with the rifle. In retrospect, I realise that this was a bit like a holiday camp before we were embedded with the troops in the multinational base at Tarin Kot.

Tarin Kot is a stark place—flying in over Pakistan into a landscape of jagged mountains chiselled out of a barren, hard baked earth. Along the meandering brown waters of the Helmand River, subsistence farmers have learnt the ways of past centuries, with irrigation channels effectively carved into the baked earth. The romantic illusion of flower beds dotted along the river banks was shattered with the realisation that the pink flowers were the seeds of the heroin trade. We had arrived at the beginning of Nesh, the harvest season of the opium poppies.

Afghanistan accounts for 90 per cent to 92 per cent of the world's production of heroin—currently a necessary financial imperative for these subsistence farmers. The drug lords demand that the farmers grow the opium poppy as part of their crop, taking 10 per cent of the profits. The sale of opium allows them to invest in seed for wheat or other crops and pays for the fertiliser, so necessary in this desolate part of the world. This continues to be a challenge for the provincial government . The sale of opium delivers a $100 million annual boost to the Afghan economy. To destroy opium crops is to destroy the economic viability of the province. The province needs to be weaned off this dependence with significant support—and, in so doing, breaking the nexus with the drug lords. Some of this manufactured product, as we know, ends up on our streets in Melbourne and Sydney and beyond. It is a socially destructive trade that destroys lives, and its genesis is here in the meandering delta of what is known as the green zone.

In Tarin Kot we were embedded with the troops, where we shared their shipping container accommodation, their mess huts and, more importantly, their views on why they were there, what they were doing and achieving, and the difference they were making on the ground to the lives of the Afghans. There is no Australian equivalent that can be used to describe this backward province. In the words of the Australian Deputy Commander, Colonel Dennis Malone, it is the Tennant Creek of Afghanistan—and I do not in any way wish to impugn the residents of Tennant Creek. Those who live in the area do so largely because it is their traditional home. Running water and sanitation do not exist and hygiene is a challenge, with malaria ever present. The locals live in qualas—a construction comprising of a baked mud wall that encloses a small room where they sleep with perhaps another room used for an animal or agricultural storage. It is subsistence living at its most basic.

Without the work of our troops, roads would be nothing but hardened dirt tracks and they would remain beholden to the demands of the drug lords. The safety of the people was at the whim of the Taliban, many of them warring tribal clans who received the support and encouragement of al-Qaeda to fund their war against Western civilisation through the sale of the opium poppy. It was places like Oruzgan Province that provided safe havens for the insurgents, home to the al-Qaeda training camps—camps that were nothing more than bases for teaching the killing skills of Islamic fundamentalist terrorists.

The multinational base here has made extraordinary progress in securing so much of the area, restoring stability and enabling the Afghan people to return to a more normal life. We were provided open access to the members of the Combined Team Uruzgan under the command of US Colonel Jim Creighton, who gave us a high-level account of the strategy in securing the province and the impressive military intelligence and hardware tools that they employ. The camp is home to 3,000 troops and most of the Australian deployment. Whilst the senior commanding officers provided us with a great insight, it was the informal discussions with so many of our soldiers that I found so productive.

I have always had a great respect for the men and women of the ADF and their choice to fight for our democratic freedom and the protection of Western civilisation values. My admiration and respect grew exponentially as I moved amongst them, listening to them and observing them. Their professionalism, integrity and courage were carried like a mantle around their shoulders. Never before have I been so proud of my fellow Australians. The leadership skills that they have learnt through their education and training in the ADF were on full display and I was truly humbled to spend time with them.

My experiences demanded that I reflect on the numerous inquiries launched by the Defence minister in response to alleged offences that happened recently in ADFA. Whilst I do not condone stupid, puerile, sexist or immature behaviour of a few undergraduates, it would be a terrible injustice to judge and ascribe unprofessional behaviour to the rest of the ADF. The men and women I saw demonstrated that the recent concerns raised in Australia do not apply to them. The comradeship and mutual respect shown to each other underly the gender equality, integrity and professionalism that they apply to their daily lives. Given the harsh environment of the base, its size, the close proximity of the environment that they share and the military challenges they face, they conduct themselves in an exemplary manner. The Hercules pilot tasked with flying us into Tarin Kot was Liesl, a wonderful example of a capable woman in a demanding job. It was a very symbolic way in which to arrive in Afghanistan.

The advances that have been made and are sustained in the province were implicit in the activities that we participated in. One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to a number of the reconstruction projects that are managed and funded through the financial support of AusAID. These reconstruction projects are critical as they build on the local capacity for independent endeavours and underpin the strategic approach of the coalition forces in removing the insurgents and practically enabling the locals to resume lives free of fear, intimidation and reprisals. There are nine AusAID officers in the country, who oversee the rebuilding of basic amenities. With military escorts, we visited an impressive Australian-built mosque and a school currently being built for 500 girls. In the province, the literacy rate for women is only three per cent—for men it is not much better; it is only eight per cent—so the construction of a girls' school is significant progress that is supported by the locals. We also travelled to a trades centre school, where men and boys, some as young as 12 or 13, are taught the critical skills of building, plumbing and painting—all skills that provide a meaningful way in which they can earn a living.

The Australians have also assumed responsibility for the training and mentoring of the Afghan National Army and the Afghan Police. This undertaking is without question the most compelling contribution that can be made in helping them develop the capacity to sustain relative stability when coalition forces are withdrawn. The Afghanis are recruited from within and outside the province, which also assists in breaking down the allegiance to local tribes. The locals are proud of what they are achieving with our support, with close to 100,000 people recruited to date.

The most impressive visit, however, was to Patrol Base Wali, where we were briefed by Intelligence Officers Captain Jim Wallace and Captain Chris Stuart. This visit was made on a Black Hawk flight located some 30 minutes from the main base, an area that has been secured in only the last six months. The courage, leadership, strength and resilience that these men showed was awe inspiring and I salute them. We also had a flight to Kandahar, meeting with senior Australian embedded staff, including the Deputy Commander, Brigadier Bruce Scott, and a tour of the Heron Intelligence Coordination Centre and control centre, amongst many other site visits. These visits only reinforced my view that our contribution to this war against terror is a necessary and important one.

The successful covert operation by US forces to remove the head and symbolic face of the Taliban, Osama bin Laden, the terrorist responsible for the death of thousands of men, women and children, should only serve to reinforce our resolve to stay the course and ensure the stability of Afghanistan. We must be resolute in ensuring that the country does not return to its former status as a safe haven for terrorists, whose mission in life is to destroy the democratic principles of Western civilisation and the values that we uphold.

In closing, I would like to acknowledge my appreciation to the ADF for their support of the program and to the many people who gave their time and provided the logistical support to ensure our safe keeping. I salute our men and women in Afghanistan who are fighting on our behalf. They have my unqualified support and admiration.

Senate adjourned at 21:04