David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—Over recent years successive defence ministers have reported to the parliament on Australia's commitment in Afghanistan. It is proper that the parliament and the Australian people are informed about major military operations where our men and women are in harm's way. Today I will provide an update on the completion of the Australian mission in Uruzgan province and progress in the transition of security responsibility to the Afghan National Security Forces in Afghanistan. I also intend to address Australia's strong ongoing commitment to Afghanistan throughout 2014.

Conclusion of operations in Uruzgan p rovince

The Australian operations in Uruzgan province are drawing to a close. On Tuesday, 3 December 2013, the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force Regional Command South, Major General Paul LaCamera, announced that the Afghan National Security Forces have assumed responsibility for security in Uruzgan province. Over the coming weeks the Australian Defence Force will complete its mission in Uruzgan and the majority of our people will return to Australia.

On 28 October, I was privileged to travel to Afghanistan with our Prime Minister to be present at the recognition ceremony at Multinational Base—Tarin Kot in Uruzgan province. The ceremony was also attended by the Leader of the Opposition in a show of bipartisan support for the achievements of our men and women in Afghanistan. As is only right, both sides of parliament have been consistent in Australia's support to the mission in Afghanistan, and our long-term commitment to the people of Afghanistan.

The ceremony formally acknowledged the contribution and sacrifice of Australia and our coalition partners to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan and particularly in Uruzgan province. What we have achieved in Uruzgan would not have been possible without the support of our international partners, including our traditional partner the United States and our NATO partners, particularly the Netherlands and Slovakia. We have also been assisted by our regional partner Singapore, which provided valuable support to the mission in Uruzgan.

Key to the success in that province, and Afghanistan more broadly, has been the role and support provided, of course, by the mighty United States. Australia and the United States forces have worked side by side and we have embedded ADF personnel in ISAF and United States based headquarters for some long time.

In addition to recognising the efforts of ISAF members, the ceremony in Tarin Kot was an opportunity to recognise the achievements of the Afghan National Security Forces since we have been in that province. Over the past 16 months, Afghan National Security Forces have taken the security lead in the province. During this period, insurgent efforts to undermine security in Uruzgan have been countered by well-led and increasingly proficient Afghan National Security Forces. Their continuing success is a direct result of the training and mentoring provided by the Australian Defence Force, and other coalition partners, which have helped the Afghan National Army 4th Brigade develop as a capable force.

Supporting this have been successive detachments of the Australian Special Operations Task Group, which have partnered with elements of the Afghan National Security Forces, to deny the influence of the insurgency and to protect the population, thus giving the Afghan government breathing space to progress its own development.

As the Prime Minister said during his address at the recognition ceremony in Tarin Kot: we have done very good work in Uruzgan. This work has been a whole-of-government effort carried out by the ADF and the Australian Federal Police as well as civilians from Defence and the Department of Foreign Affairs who have come together on this difficult task. And they have attended to their work with an extraordinary degree of professionalism and dedication. We can look back on the last few years with some considerable and great pride.

A change in commitment, not an end

Whilst we are on track to draw down our forces from Uruzgan province by the end of this year, this does not mark the end of our commitment to Afghanistan. In 2014, around 400 ADF personnel will continue to be engaged in Afghanistan through training and advising the Afghan National Security Forces in Kabul and in Kandahar. Through to the end of 2014, Australia will provide instructors, advisers and support staff to the UK-led Afghan National Army Officer Academy in Kabul, which will include a force protection platoon.

We will have advisor and support staff working with the Australian-led Afghan National Army 205 Corps Coalition Advisory Team in Kandahar. This commitment will continue to provide valuable advice within the Afghan National Army 205 Corps senior leadership.

We will also continue to support logistics training with the logistics training and advisory team in Kabul and we have committed a small number of Special Forces and other Army personnel to training and advising the General Directorate of Police Special Units up in Kabul.

In addition, the Royal Australian Air Force Heron remotely piloted aircraft deployment will be extended to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to enhance security in Regional Command—South during the lead-up to, and conduct of, the coming elections in Afghanistan.

Throughout 2014 Australia will also maintain its cadre of embedded personnel at ISAF Headquarters, ISAF Joint Command and Regional Command—South, a commitment that is valuable to, and praised by, the United States and our other coalition partners.

Our personnel in these roles will continue the important process of building the capability of the Afghan National Security Forces to take full security responsibility for their own country. In doing so, they will also continue to face personal danger and risks from the ongoing Taliban insurgency which will continue to seek to undermine Afghan security. The government is committed to continuing to provide our personnel with the protection and equipment they will need to do their jobs.

Australia will remain committed to Afghanistan post-2014

We should be very proud about what we and our ISAF partners have achieved in Afghanistan. In 2000, there were 1.2 million students enrolled in schools across Afghanistan; there are now over 10 million students enrolled in schools throughout Afghanistan. Nearly 40 per cent of school-age girls—that is roughly three million—are enrolled in school. Female voting participation rate is currently at 40 per cent. Over the last 10 years, Afghanistan has improved most out of all countries on the United Nations development index. So it is important to note that Afghanistan has come a very long way over the last decade.

Looking beyond 2014, the international community will remain committed to Afghanistan. At the Chicago NATO/ISAF summit in May 2012, the international community renewed a firm commitment to a sovereign, secure and democratic Afghanistan. Leaders acknowledged that beyond the end of the transition period, NATO and Afghanistan will work to establish a new NATO-led mission to train, advise, and assist the Afghan national defence and security forces.

Australia will also remain committed to Afghanistan beyond the end of 2014, when the current ISAF mission in Afghanistan comes to an end. In 2014, we will turn our attention to national-level support and we will remain committed to supporting security in Afghanistan. Australia has pledged to contribute to the post-2014 NATO-led 'train, advise, assist' mission, including at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy in Kabul.

Beyond this coming year, a Status of Forces Agreement is required to provide the legal basis for the deployment of the NATO-led mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan National Security Forces.

NATO and partners have commenced planning for a Status of Forces Agreement with Afghanistan in order to provide the legal framework for the post-2014 mission. NATO has the lead for negotiating a Status of Forces Agreement with the Afghan government for its post-2014 NATO-led mission and any foreign forces operating in Afghanistan post next year would need to do so under appropriate legal arrangements. Obviously, indemnities and other things for our personnel are very important.

To consolidate and build on the security gains, the Afghan National Security Forces will need and require ongoing training support. Australia will stand with them to provide that.

Australian Battle Casualties

The efforts and sacrifice of our men and women in Afghanistan, whether it is the various elements of the ADF, the Australian Federal Police or civilians, will not be forgotten. As most of our troops return home, we will continue to work with them and care for them. And we will continue to work with their families.

We will make sure that their needs are met and that they are given every opportunity to address any potential mental health issues which may have arisen as a consequence of the environment in which they have been operating and in which they have been fighting.

We continue to work closely with Veterans' Affairs on this front and acknowledge the substantial progress which we have made over recent years to improve services and assistance for ADF members, including their families.

So I want to again echo the words of our Prime Minister during his address to our troops in Afghanistan: we have done good work. It has been a very difficult commitment. But still, to be able to help our allies, defend our national interests and uphold our values is just about the best thing that any Australian can do, particularly any Australian soldier.

The truth of the matter is that the Australian Defence Force's sacrifices and those of the Afghans, the United States and other ISAF partners have bought time for the Afghan security forces to build and field a force able to take full security responsibility for their own country. It is now up to the Afghans to take the lead, with the international community supporting them. The efforts of over 26,500 men and women of the ADF who have served in Afghanistan since 2002 have made this possible.

Our people have paid a high price for our achievements in that country—261 Australians have been wounded during our mission. We have lost 40 of our best. We mourn them. Their families and friends mourn them. We continue to work with their families to support them on their road to recovery. We are better positioned than we have ever been to assist them.

Together with Veterans' Affairs, we have built resilience programs and services to continue to assist families of our wounded and we continue to work with the families of our fallen soldiers to provide assistance to them where we can. I was with the families of our 40 fallen in Perth airport as they flew out to attend the closing ceremony at Tarin Kot. I thank CDF General Hurley for providing that opportunity to the families of our 40 fallen. It was a ceremony that was appreciated, solemn and well received by those family members.

We continue to honour our fallen soldiers and acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice they made for their country. We will never forget them. An inscription I saw during my recent visit to Tarin Kot summarised their sacrifice in a few words: All gave some, some gave all. I thank you and I seek leave to incorporate the complete statement in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The incorporated statement read as follows—

Introduction

Over recent years successive Defence Ministers have reported to the parliament on Australia's commitment in Afghanistan.

It is proper that the parliament and the Australian people are informed about major military operations where our men and women are in harm's way.

So today I will provide an update on the completion of the Australian mission in Uruzgan and progress in the transition of security responsibility to the Afghan National Security Forces in Afghanistan.

I also intend to address Australia's strong ongoing commitment to Afghanistan throughout 2014 and beyond.

Conclusion of operations in Uruzgan Province

Australian operations in Uruzgan province are drawing to a close.

On Tuesday 3 December 2013, the Commander of ISAF's Regional Command South, Major General Paul LaCamera announced the Afghan National Security Forces have assumed responsibility for security in Uruzgan province.

Over the coming weeks the Australian Defence Force will complete its mission in Uruzgan and the majority of our people will return to Australia

On 28 October, I was privileged to travel to Afghanistan with the Prime Minister to be present at the Recognition Ceremony at the Multi National Base - Tarin Kot in Uruzgan province.

The ceremony was also attended by the Leader of the Opposition in a show of bipartisan support for the achievements of our men and women in Afghanistan.

As is only right, both sides of parliament have been consistent in Australia's support to the mission in Afghanistan, and our long-term commitment to Afghanistan.

The ceremony formally acknowledged the contribution and sacrifice of Australia and our coalition partners to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan in Uruzgan province.

What we have achieved in Uruzgan would not have been possible without the support of our international partners, including our traditional partner the United States and our NATO partners the Netherlands and Slovakia.

We have also been assisted by our regional partner Singapore who provided valuable support to the mission.

Key to the success in Uruzgan, and Afghanistan more broadly, has been the role and support provided by the United States.

Australian and United States Forces have worked side by side and we have embedded ADF personnel in ISAF and United States-based Headquarters.

During my recent visit to Brussels at the NATO/ISAF Defence Ministers, I met with my United States counterpart, Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel and Commander ISAF, General Joe Dunford.

During these meetings I acknowledged our shared commitments in Afghanistan and highlighted our close practical ties.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the professionalism and dedication shown by United States military leaders in Afghanistan.

In addition to recognising the efforts of ISAF members, the ceremony in Tarin Kot was an opportunity to recognise the achievements of the Afghan National Security Forces since we have been in Uruzgan.

Over the past 16 months, the Afghan National Security Forces has taken the security lead in the province.

During this period, insurgent efforts to undermine security in Uruzgan have been countered by well-led and increasingly proficient Afghan National Security Forces.

Their continuing success is a direct result of the training and mentoring provided by the ADF, and other coalition partners, which has helped the Afghan National Army 4th Brigade develop as a capable force.

Throughout the 2013 fighting season, the Afghan National Army 4th Brigade has consistently demonstrated its determination to protect the Afghan population.

With support from the Afghan National Police and the National Directorate of Security, the 4th Brigade has taken the fight to the insurgents through a successful series of well-planned and well-coordinated operations.

These operations have reduced the presence and influence of the insurgents in the most contested areas of the province.

The Afghan National Army's 4th Brigade is operating and sustaining independent operations and proving to be effective against the insurgency.

These operations, which are widespread and ongoing, have provided an increased level of freedom and security for the Afghan population in the province, and have given the Afghan government the ability to expand its presence at the local level, enhancing public confidence both in the Afghan National Security Forces and the Afghan government.

It is important to acknowledge that this success in Uruzgan and elsewhere in Afghanistan has been achieved through significant sacrifices by the Afghan National Security Forces.

They remain staunch and committed.

The ANSF's leadership is exemplified by the Afghan Minister for Defence Mohammadi Khan, who I had the opportunity to meet recently in Brussels and Kabul.

But let me be clear: the Afghan National Security Forces in Uruzgan, and across Afghanistan more broadly, will continue to face many challenges going forward.

To remain effective over the coming years, Afghan forces will require significant financial and institutional support and training from the international community.

They will need to build their capabilities in areas where ISAF currently provides support, including maintenance technicians and spare parts, and a logistics system to resupply units in the field.

Despite challenges, Afghan forces remain on-track to transition to full sovereign responsibility for security across the country by the end of 2014.

Uruzgan province, where the majority of our troops have been deployed during our mission in Afghanistan, was, and still is, one of the poorest provinces in Afghanistan.

But the Australian contribution in Uruzgan has helped to build hospitals, medical centres, schools, roads and bridges.

Hundreds of small infrastructure projects have been completed, including wells and reservoirs.

The Trade Training school in Uruzgan has also been a major success and has taught a large number of Afghans plumbing, carpentry, concreting and bricklaying skills.

We have seen the number of health facilities increase from nine in 2006 to 29 in 2013.

There are five times the number of students in school in Uruzgan than there were in 2006; 15 percent of these are girls.

And supporting this has been successive detachments of the Australian Special Operations Task Group, which have partnered with elements of the Afghan National Security Forces to deny the influence of the insurgency and protect the population, giving the Afghan government breathing space to progress development.

As the Prime Minister said during his address at the Recognition Ceremony in Tarin Kot: we have done very good work in Uruzgan.

This work has been a whole of government effort carried out by the ADF, the Australian Federal Police as well as civilians from Defence and the Department of Foreign Affairs who have come together on this difficult task.

And they have attended to their work with an extraordinary degree of professionalism and dedication.

We can look back on the last few years with pride.

As our mission in Uruzgan province draws to an end, the redeployment and remediation of our equipment and the redeployment of Defence personnel in Tarin Kot continues apace.

ADF elements, including the Force Extraction Unit, the Force Support Unit, the Force Communication Unit and the Australian Air Component, which includes the Combat Support Unit are charged with carrying out this complex task.

These ADF elements have an enormous task:

For all that, I am pleased to report that the drawdown of vehicles and materiel, and remediation of infrastructure at the Multi National Base in Tarin Kot remains on schedule for closure of the base at the end of this year.

In December 2012 there was approximately 336 tonnes of stores and equipment at the base in Tarin Kot.

There is now less than 26 tonnes remaining.

Site remediation works, including deconstruction, environmental remediation and hand-back or gifting of infrastructure to the Afghan National Security Forces at the base is almost complete.

And as we prepare to leave Uruzgan, we will not forget to assist those locally engaged Afghan employees who have supported us during our mission Afghanistan.

These include the Afghan interpreters and support workers who have provided an invaluable contribution to our mission by breaking down language and cultural barriers.

We acknowledge that as we leave Afghanistan, locally engaged Afghan employees who have supported Australian government agencies in Afghanistan may come under risk of harm as a consequence of their work with Australian personnel.

We are proud, therefore, to offer those employees, including their immediate family, at the greatest risk of harm the opportunity to resettle to Australia.

While this policy is being implemented, I will not comment on details to protect the safety of those locally engaged Afghan employees who are currently working with us.

But as my predecessor said, it is likely that the total number of locally engaged employees who will be resettled to Australia will be in the hundreds.

A change in commitment, not an end

While we are on track to draw down our forces from Uruzgan province by the end of this year, this does not mark an end to our commitment to Afghanistan.

In 2014, around 400 ADF personnel will continue to be engaged in Afghanistan through training and advising the Afghan National Security Forces in Kabul and Kandahar.

Through to the end of 2014, Australia will provide instructors, advisors and support staff to the UK-led Afghan National Army Officer Academy in Kabul, which will include a force protection platoon.

We will have advisor and support staff working with the Australian-led Afghan National Army 205 Corps Coalition Advisory Team in Kandahar.

This commitment will continue to provide valuable advice within the Afghan National Army 205 Corps senior leadership.

We will also continue to support logistics training with the Logistics Training and Advisory Team in Kabul and we have committed a small number of Special Forces and other Army personnel to training and advising the General Directorate of Police Special Units.

In addition, the Royal Australian Air Force Heron Remotely Piloted Aircraft deployment will be extended to provide Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance support to enhance security in Regional Command—South during the lead-up to, and conduct of, the elections.

Throughout 2014 Australia will also maintain its cadre of embedded personnel at ISAF Headquarters, ISAF Joint Command and Regional Command—South, a commitment that is valuable to, and praised by, the United States and other coalition partners.

Our personnel in these roles will continue the important process of building the capability of the Afghan National Security Forces to take full security responsibility for their country.

In doing so, they will also continue to face personal danger and risks from the ongoing Taliban insurgency which will continue to seek to undermine Afghanistan's security.

The government is committed to continuing to provide our personnel with the protection and equipment they will need to do their jobs.

Detainee management

With our redeployment from Uruzgan and the change to a training and advisory mission, ADF detention operations are now also drawing to a close.

However, the ADF takes its responsibilities to treat detainees humanely very seriously, and we will continue to ensure we meet our responsibilities, consistent with Australia's international legal obligations and domestic undertakings.

Detainee Management Framework in light of redeployment from Uruzgan

In line with the wider transition of security responsibility in Uruzgan, it is appropriate that we support the Afghan National Security Forces to assume responsibility for detention operations.

ADF personnel will continue to work with the Afghan National Security Forces to develop their capacity to manage Afghan detainees appropriately.

In line with remediation timelines at Multi-National Base—Tarin Kot, Australia's detention facilities have been deconstructed.

The Initial Screening Area operated since 1 August 2010 and provided a safe and humane environment to screen detainees apprehended by the ADF.

International engagement

Our involvement in the mission in Afghanistan has been a shared experience amongst our key allies and other NATO partners.

Australia United States alliance benefits

Through our respective contributions to the ISAF mission, and our work together in Uruzgan province, Australia has forged closer ties with our ally, the United States.

At the Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations in Washington DC last month, I had the opportunity to discuss progress in Afghanistan with United States Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.

Secretary Hagel and I agreed that Australia and the United States will emerge from our shared commitment in Afghanistan with closer practical ties than ever before.

The ADF has worked side by side with United States forces in Afghanistan, leading to improvements in interoperability, people to people links and intelligence sharing.

These improvements are testament to the benefits of our unique Alliance and have enhanced the capability of the ADF.

Australia and the United States will continue to work together to build on the links forged in Afghanistan as we prepare for the post-2014 mission, enhancing and strengthening our enduring partnership as we work to bring security and stability to Afghanistan.

NATO relationship

Through our experience working together in the ISAF operation in Afghanistan, shared values and common objectives to promote peace and stability through cooperation, Australia and NATO have forged a strong and enduring relationship.

Australia remains committed to Afghanistan's long term security and stability and our contribution to the NATO-led post-2014 train, advise and assist mission will help build on the gains achieved over the last decade.

We are also committed to practical cooperation with NATO beyond transition in Afghanistan.

Australia is a nation with global interests, so it is natural that we should maintain links with the NATO Alliance.

The signing of an Individual Partnership and Cooperation Program with NATO earlier this year and a Joint Political Declaration in 2012 underlines the commitment Australia has made to maintaining and building the partnership we have with NATO.

Through senior visits and strategic dialogue, continued collaboration in courses and seminars, participation in NATO exercises and through bilateral exchanges and embedded personnel, Australia will maintain these vital links with NATO.

But it will also be important for Australia to remain agile and equipped to operate with NATO when our interests align.

As a partner country to NATO, Australia brings a number of benefits to the Alliance. Far from home, we have proven to be a steadfast, capable and well regarded military partner.

As we witness a strategic shift to the Indo-Pacific region, particularly the shift of economic weight, Australia is well placed to understand and share insights into the strategic dynamics of our own rapidly developing region.

Australia will remain committed to Afghanistan post-2014

We should be proud about what we and our ISAF partners have achieved in Afghanistan.

In 2000, there were 1.2 million students enrolled in school across Afghanistan; there are now over 10 million.

Nearly 40 per cent of school-age girls – that is roughly three million – are enrolled in school.

Female voting participation rate is at 40 per cent.

Over the last ten years, Afghanistan has improved most out of all countries on the United Nations Development Index.

So it is important to note that Afghanistan has come a long way over the last decade.

Looking beyond 2014, the international community will remain committed to Afghanistan.

At the Chicago NATO / ISAF Summit in May 2012, the international community renewed a firm commitment to a sovereign, secure and democratic Afghanistan.

Leaders acknowledged that beyond the end of the transition period, NATO and Afghanistan will work to establish a new NATO-led Mission to train, advise, and assist the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.

Australia will also remain committed to Afghanistan beyond end 2014, when the current ISAF missions in Afghanistan comes to an end.

In 2014, we will turn our attention to national-level support and will remain committed to supporting security in Afghanistan.

Australia has pledged to contribute to the post-2014 NATO-led 'train, advise, assist' mission, including at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy in Kabul.

Beyond 2014, a Status of Forces Agreement is required to provide the legal basis for the deployment of the NATO-led mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces.

NATO and partners, have commenced planning for a Status of Forces Agreement with Afghanistan in order to provide the legal framework for the post-2014 mission.

NATO has the lead for negotiating a Status of Forces Agreement with the Afghan Government for its post-2014 NATO-led mission and any foreign forces operating in Afghanistan post-2014 would need to do so under appropriate legal arrangements.

As I said earlier, to consolidate and build on the security gains, the Afghan National Security Forces will need ongoing training support.

Australia has a vital national interest in supporting Afghanistan's stability and security after transition.

Australian Battle Casualties

The efforts and sacrifice of our men and women in Afghanistan, whether it is the various elements of the ADF, the Australian Federal Police or civilians, will not be forgotten.

As most of our troops return home, we will continue to work with them and care for them.

And we will continue to work with their families.

We will make sure that their needs are met and that they are given every opportunity to address any potential mental health issues which may have arisen as a consequence of the environment in which they have been operating in.

We continue to work closely with Veterans' Affairs on this front and acknowledge the substantial progress which we have made over recent years to improve services and assistance for ADF members, including their families.

So I want to again ech

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement in response to the Minister for Defence's ministerial statement.

Alan Ferguson (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted.

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the absence of the shadow minister for defence, who is attending a select committee as the Senate seats, I want to say on behalf of the opposition that, first of all, the continued practice of reporting on events in Afghanistan is appreciated. It is appropriate that the minister is doing so and do so frankly. He is right to stress with the parliament that the welfare of our service men and women is uppermost in our minds, as the ISAF mission in Afghanistan evolves and changes in a very fundamental way.

He is right to identify that many challenges will remain for those returning from Afghanistan and, of course, for those families who have suffered the loss of a loved one. Forty Australian soldiers have made the supreme sacrifice in Afghanistan. Those sacrifices must never be forgotten. It remains and will remain a great responsibility of this parliament to ensure the welfare of those returning from Afghanistan, particularly the 261 Australians who have been wounded in the service of our nation. I suspect that in the future many others will bear the marks of their service in Afghanistan. We must always keep uppermost in our minds that we have a responsibility to those returning servicemen and -women and their families. I know that that sentiment is shared on both sides of the parliament. It is a responsibility that we must meet into the future.

Given that Senator Conroy is now able to speak on behalf of the opposition, I merely thank the Senate for the opportunity to make these brief remarks. I thank the Minister for Defence, as he at times thanked me when I held that office, for providing the Senate and the Australian parliament with an ongoing update of Australia's service in Afghanistan.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I firstly thank the chamber for granting leave for me to speak and I thank Senator Faulkner for filling in. I was chairing a committee upstairs. I start by thanking, as Senator Faulkner has done, Minister Johnston for providing the Senate with this update, his first update as a minister. I appreciate his commitment to keeping the Senate and the Australian public informed on the war in Afghanistan.

Minister Johnston is the seventh defence minister who has overseen our involvement in the war in Afghanistan. The role of Minister for Defence is one of the most solemn responsibilities which any member of our parliament can hold, and never more so than when Australian servicemen and -women are fighting in a war. The minister has inherited a strong legacy of bipartisan support for our deployment in Afghanistan, something which continues today.

Twenty-six thousand, five hundred Australian Defence Force personnel have conducted and supported operations in Afghanistan and the Middle East. They have been wonderful ambassadors for our country and they have made a real and lasting difference to the lives of millions of people across the region. I would like to acknowledge the 40 Australian soldiers who have lost their lives in Afghanistan. Each and every one of them will be remembered by their nation, as they are by their family and friends. I acknowledge their service and their sacrifice. The professionalism and skill of our servicemen and -women across the services does us all proud.

I also want to thank our Defence families. They should never be overlooked when it comes to the ADF's achievements. The sacrifices they make are immense and I acknowledge them today. I was heartened to hear the minister express the government's commitment to looking after our returned troops and their families, including the 261 personnel injured in Afghanistan. As the minister acknowledged, we have made substantial progress in recent years but this important work is never finished. We must continually strive to improve the way we look after ADF members and their families. I am sure the minister knows that he enjoys universal support for this endeavour.

For more than a decade, the ADF and our ISAF partners have been involved in the fight to remove the Taliban government, degrade the military capability of the Taliban and create a stable and secure environment to allow the Afghan government to establish itself. In recent years, the ADF has worked closely with the Afghan National Army to improve their capability so that they can take on the responsibility for protecting their people and their government. In both of these missions, we have been remarkably successful. The Afghans can now field effective combat forces and, while there will no doubt be setbacks in the future, I am confident that our troops have given the Afghans every chance to build a stable and prosperous country.

While there is still much work to do, Afghanistan has improved significantly in recent years. Australian personnel have built or reconstructed schools, hospitals, medical centres and more than 200 kilometres of roads near Oruzgan province. This is part of a reconstruction effort across Afghanistan, which has transformed the country. As the minister mentioned, school enrolments have gone from 1.2 million to 10 million, including 40 per cent of school-aged girls. Life expectancy has gone from 37 in 2000 to 56 now. And much of the important infrastructure is improving, from airports and bridges to internet and mobile phone coverage. So, as announced by the Labor government in March, the time is right for us to transition into a new phase of our mission in Afghanistan. This decision is in line with an agreement in Lisbon in 2010 between ISAF countries and the Afghan government to adopt a conditioned based approach to transition.

But our important work in Afghanistan is not complete. As agreed in Chicago in May 2012, Australia and other ISAF countries will continue to support the Afghan National Army with training and support after the transition period. To support this agreement, Australia will continue to base 400 ADF personnel in Afghanistan after the transition. Seventy of those troops will be based at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy, where they will continue to pass on their professionalism, skill and anti-insurgency knowledge to our Afghan counterparts. This is an important contribution that we can make now and into the future.

Strong and competent leadership of the ANA will ensure that they remain a vital link in the global effort to stamp out militant extremism around the world. It is also important that Australia and our allies continue to support the Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process. This process will be long and complex, but it will be a core component of a lasting peace in Afghanistan.

As the ADF transitions out of Afghanistan, it gives us an opportunity to look to the future. I recently read comments made by General Hurley in his address to the 125th anniversary of the Royal United Services Institute of New South Wales held here, in Parliament House. He stressed the importance of training 'hard' and training 'excellently' when our personnel are not deployed. He noted that, despite not being deployed between 1975 and 1990, we had a defence force that could perform with the best of them when they were called upon to serve in Somalia and Rwanda in the nineties. It is now time for Defence to reset itself and remain vigilant for future challenges. We must always be ready for what is next. I have every faith that the Australian Defence Force has the people, the equipment, the know-how and the spirit to make that happen.

Before I conclude, it is important to reflect on what our deployment in Afghanistan has meant for our alliance with the United States. I believe that our joint deployment in Afghanistan reflects our ongoing commitment to work closely with the United States, to further the interests of democracy, freedom and human rights around the globe. We must ensure that our shared values continue to shape our great friendship—a friendship which has underpinned the stability of our region for decades. The minister was absolutely right to highlight the support provided by the United States to our troops in Afghanistan and the key role that it played in our success. Working side by side with US troops in Afghanistan and across the region has had some very tangible benefits for our service men and women, and it is something I know the ADF is looking to build on in the future.

Again, I thank the minister for taking this opportunity to update the Senate.

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

( by leave—I thank the Minister for Defence for his update on progress on the withdrawal from Afghanistan and pay tribute to the 40 service people from Australia who have lost their lives in Afghanistan. I want to extend our sympathy to their families and of course offer our support to the 261 who have been wounded in action and to all of the service men and women who have returned and are coming back from Afghanistan. The Australian Greens absolutely honour your contribution to our nation, and we commit to supporting you on your return. Mental health issues are very real and need to be addressed, and the Australian Greens will be here to support whatever efforts are needed to look after families, those who have been wounded and those who are suffering as a result of their engagement.

I need to point out that when you consider a war you need to think about what has been achieved, why we were there and who made the decision to go—because people lost their lives. The Greens did not oppose Australia joining military action under the auspices of the United Nations in Afghanistan in 2001 following the horrific September 11 2001 attacks. Like so many others, we hoped that swift military intervention under the auspices of the UN to capture and bring to justice the leaders of Al Qaeda could help make the world a safer place and prevent the loss of so many more lives. But we did not support the withdrawal in 2002 and the redeployment to Iraq and then the lost opportunities in Afghanistan, or the 2005-06 redeployment of the Special Forces to Afghanistan.

Over that period we have sent men and women to risk their lives, but the reason they were there was never clear after 2005 and 2006. Mission creep with no clear outcome was the result. Major General Cantwell says in his book Exit Wounds:

… we need to have a crystal clear understanding of why we're getting into the fight, how long for, what we hope to achieve, how we will leave, and what conditions might prompt us to change strategy—this has let us down in Afghanistan. Human beings die as a result of warfare.

The point he is clearly making is not that our troops have not done us proud—they absolutely have in Afghanistan and we thank them for it—but that responsibility lies with parliaments and with governments. From the beginning of the conflict in Afghanistan we in the Australian Greens were calling for a parliamentary debate on our deployment. It was nine years from when the government of John Howard first committed our forces in September 2001 until the parliament officially debated our deployment, in October 2010. That is not good enough. If we are to honour and truly respect the sacrifices that our troops make, we have to be very clear about why they are being deployed and we should have the support of the parliament, not just the government of the day, in committing those troops.

Major General Cantwell asked the hard question, 'Is it worth it?' He went on to talk about that in some depth:

But will our efforts, no matter how impressive locally, significantly influence the myriad problems afflicting the government and people of Afghanistan? Ten years from now, will anyone in Afghanistan remember that Australians shed blood for them? For a man like me, a lifetime soldier inculcated with a sense of duty and service, these are difficult questions to confront.

He went onto say that, in his view, it was not worth it. He said:

I cannot justify any one of the Australian lives lost in Afghanistan.

That indeed is a tragic statement but it goes to the heart of this mission creep and why we were there and the increasing view around the world that Australia was committed in Afghanistan more to its alliance with the United States than to have an outcome that was achievable.

So at this point, out of respect for people who have served there, who have lost their lives or have come back injured physically and mentally, we need to now make sure that we do try to maintain the advances that have been made that were set out by the minister in his speech. This goes to the heart of Australia's deployment of aid in Afghanistan, to make sure that we continue to support the education of women and girls in particular, but it also means that we use our best efforts to make sure that the media remains interested in Afghanistan post the withdrawal of the troops so that the rest of the world comes to see what is actually going on there. There is a very real concern from NGOs in Afghanistan that they are not going to be able to continue to enable women to access medical facilities—for example, girls to access school—because, as one of their long-time activists and former parliamentarian Malalai Joya has said, history proves that these values cannot be imposed by foreign troops. She goes on to talk about the need for the countries that were engaged in the war in Afghanistan to now stand up to the administration in Afghanistan and insist that women's rights, that human rights, are upheld in Afghanistan. That is a critical issue for all of us in this parliament.

In closing, I want to acknowledge not only our own troops who have died and been injured but also the cost to the people of Afghanistan. A large number of civilians have died in Afghanistan in that violence. This has been a human tragedy at every scale and the Australian Greens, in paying tribute to the service of our men and women, ask that the parliament thinks very carefully about changing the way we deploy our troops to war in the future. It should use a reflection on this period in Afghanistan to change the law in this country to make sure that it is parliament which actually backs deployment of troops and not just the government of the day.

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I want to acknowledge the families of those who have fallen in Afghanistan. As you know, Mr Deputy President, I am based in Townsville, the home of Australia's largest Army base and a significant Air Force base, and many of the troops who have fought in Afghanistan left our shores from Townsville. The Townsville community is part of the military commitment wherever it is and certainly in relation to Afghanistan.

I also want to mention in passing the Avenue of Honour which was established at Yungaburra on the banks of Lake Tinaroo, where 40 trees have been planted as a living memorial to the 40 soldiers who gave their lives in Australia's honour during the Afghanistan conflict. I want to quote from Mr Gordon Chuck, who initiated the Avenue of Honour at Yungaburra. It is a very moving area which was officially opened in June last year in the presence of the then Prime Minister, Ms Gillard, Mr Abbott and General Hurley. Mr Chuck, the father of one of those killed, Private Ben Chuck, and who initiated the memorial, said during the opening:

Although dedicated to the fallen in Afghanistan, I guess it's a representation of the commitment and courage of the Australian digger over generations. It's here to remind people that the freedoms and liberties we seem to hold so dearly, and yet often tend to take for granted, come at a terrible price—we mustn't forget that.

That memorial does, forever, commemorate the lives of soldiers who gave their lives in the defence of our country in the Afghan war.

The Roll of Honour at the opening ceremony was read by General Cantwell, and that in itself is a very difficult thing to do. It was a very moving ceremony and there would not have been a dry eye as General Cantwell read out the names of those who had given their lives in Afghanistan. I simply say to my colleagues that, if you ever have the chance, if you are ever in North Queensland on the Atherton Tableland behind Cairns, one of the things you must see is the Avenue of Honour. It is a magnificent living memorial to the efforts made by our soldiers in Afghanistan.