Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I know all senators and all Australians are thinking of the families of Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class 2 Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs. As the Deputy Prime Minister said only a short time ago, it is now clear that any hope of finding these men alive is lost.

These four men made the brave and selfless choice to serve our country, to dedicate their lives to keeping us safe. Our first thoughts today are with the people who loved them and the people they loved because, of course, these men are soldiers, but they are sons, fathers, husbands and partners, brothers and friends. Our thoughts are also with all those who served alongside these four men, the members of the 6th Aviation Regiment based at Holsworthy in Sydney. We thank all who serve our nation's defences, many of whom have been involved in the search and recovery effort.

I acknowledge the support that the United States and Canada have provided to the efforts of the Australian Army, Navy and Air Force; and the support of civilian authorities led by the Queensland Police Service and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. We offer them all our strength and all our thanks while their work goes on.

This is a very difficult time for many serving members, their families and veterans, and the government encourages anyone who feels in need of support to seek it. Families can call the Defence Member and Family Helpline on 1800 624 608. Serving men and women, veterans and families can contact Open Arms on 1800 011 046.

As I said in my opening remarks to the AUSMIN meeting, those who serve our country do so knowing the risk. They know the risk that service entails and they demonstrate every day the courage to take on that risk on our behalf, and we thank them for it.

These Australians were taking part in Talisman Sabre, the exercise that brings together 13 nations and more than 30,000 personnel. It is an unprecedented display of strategic cooperation and coordination driven by a common determination to preserve peace in the Indo-Pacific and in the world. As I have said on many occasions, we must ensure that no state will ever conclude that the benefits of conflict outweigh the risks. An exercise such as this is part of ensuring that no country makes the calculation that they can successfully dominate another. This is fundamental to ensuring the safety and security of our nation and of our people. This is the noble ideal that these four Australians volunteered to serve, to uphold and to defend.

All Australians owe a debt beyond measure to the brave men and women who wear our uniform—Australians who risk their lives in order to protect us and our way of life. On behalf of our nation, our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends and colleagues of Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class 2 Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs. I thank the Senate.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I thank the Senate and I thank Senator Wong for her sentiments. On behalf of the opposition and coalition parties I extend our sincerest condolences and thoughts to those affected, and associate ourselves with the remarks of Senator Wong indicating that we—as a parliament, as a Senate and as a nation—are at one in relation to our reaction to these terrible and tragic events.

The tragedy that occurred during Exercise Talisman Sabre last Friday night was indeed a terrible tragedy affecting many. It occurred, as Senator Wong has said, during critically important exercises for our nation and for our role in the region and the world. We salute and thank all members of the Australian Defence Force and all of those who participate in Exercise Talisman Sabre, as we do in all of the operations and preparations undertaken by our defence forces.

The four men we particularly acknowledge today wore the Australian uniform and served our nation with distinction. These defence exercises are critical to the security and peace within our region, but, like all exercises, to be effective, to ensure preparedness for any and all operational circumstances, they carry serious risk and danger. Our personnel acknowledge that, and that is why their courage, their bravery and their willingness to sacrifice is so evident at all times.

We thank in particular those engaged in the search-and-rescue operations that now tragically turn to recovery operations. We acknowledge and thank the government for its indication that investigations will take place, that they will be thorough, and they will help all to understand what happened, particularly to help the families to understand that, and to work to prevent such a tragedy occurring again.

In that moment of disaster off Hamilton Island we lost four magnificent service personnel of the Australian Army: Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class 2 Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs. Australians around the country can only imagine the ordeal their four families have been facing and will continue to do so. We extend every element of our thoughts and love to their families, to their loved ones, to their mates and to all those with whom they served in the Australian Defence Force.

We often say in this place, and elsewhere across Australia, 'Thank you for your service.' We say that to those who have served our nation, to those who do serve our nation and to those who will do so with such courage, bravery and sacrifice in the years ahead. On this occasion, we most sincerely say to the families of these four Australian service personnel: 'We thank you for giving of them. We thank them for their service and for their ultimate sacrifice.'

Sue Lines (President) | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Birmingham. We will move to question time.