Address to Parliament - Afghanistan Motion

Brave Burnie boy Cameron Baird was the fourth Digger to receive the Victoria Cross for Australia during Operation Slipper. He was the 100th Australian VC recipient.

There would be no ceremony at which he would have the highest honour for gallantry and valour pinned to his chest. There can be no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends, and this is what Corporal Baird did. His VC was posthumously awarded. I remember, all too well, when then Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the fact that Corporal Baird would receive this honour. Corporal Baird's parents were sitting just here, to my left. Afterwards, a long line of MPs went up to thank Doug and Kaye Baird for the service and sacrifice of their loved son.

I well remember, through her tears, his mum saying to one of my colleagues: 'No—thank you. Thank you for giving us the honour of having our son represent his nation.' Corporal Baird's actions on his fourth tour of duty—think of that, his fourth tour of duty—in Afghanistan are as courageous as any in that long line of khaki stretching back to Gallipoli and beyond.

There has been a lot of commentary, given the human tragedy unfolding in Kabul over the past week or so, about whether the lives of Corporal Baird and 40 other Australians were lost in vain. But perhaps it's not for the media commentators in the safe sanctity of their television studios, or anyone else for that matter, to have that final say. It probably should be more up to the family and friends of those who laid down their lives for their friends to have that view. I phoned Doug Baird this morning, as I did back on 17 April, the day after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the withdrawal of the troops from Afghanistan. Doug Baird, who's become a friend of mine, said it was a sombre experience. He said:

If my son's life has helped others to have a better life, to have a more secure environment, to protect the interests and freedoms and democracy of Australians, then that's a price he was willing to pay.

To that end, he was very thankful for the Prime Minister making that announcement back in April but also very thankful for the fact that people are saying to him, 'Thank you for your son's service.'

I also messaged Mark Donaldson, another VC recipient. He's also a mate of mine and he's one of the lucky ones who came back. He's now doing some great work with Boeing and some great work with veterans. He often gathers with his friends and his former comrades to talk about their service in Afghanistan, that troubled country. And today, as we reflect on the service and sacrifice, on the blood shed by Australians and others in Afghanistan, we say thanks to those brave men. And we should say thanks, each and every day, not just on Remembrance Day or Armistice Day, not just on ANZAC Day, but every day. We should always remember what they have done for us.

Corporal Baird went through Kapooka. It's the recruit training centre for the Army in my home town of Wagga Wagga. There is a trophy which is given at each march out, in his honour, to the most outstanding soldier. Doug Baird said he looks forward, when COVID restrictions ease, to coming to Kapooka and attending one of those march outs. We should be very proud of those men and women who march out of Kapooka.

Another who has done just that is Corporal Daniel Keighran VC, who now serves in the Australian Army Reserve, posted to Army headquarters. He was on the ABC's Q&A last Thursday, and on the program he gave some timely insights, including this:

… as a veteran myself serving, I know there's a lot of hurt in the veteran community right now. Let me say that your service absolutely was worthwhile in Afghanistan. I know, myself, doing two tours, spending some 16 months outside the wire, as they say, I was fortunate enough to see that change. From my first tour in 2007 to 2010, I saw the change in the smiles on the faces of the kids from going from where they were in 2007 to 2010. The uniforms, the infrastructure projects—there was a real sense the country was turning around, without a doubt.

So it is quite disheartening, I know, as a veteran that has served with the Afghan National Army, that has fought beside them, that has lost mates on the ground over there, fighting for human rights, to see the scenes that are coming out of Kabul and Afghanistan now. So, for those veterans, my message to you is pretty simple: 'Hold your head up high, you should be proud of what you achieved.'

Darren Chester, Member for Gippsland, former Veterans' Affairs Minister, was also on that program.

He talked about the need, the necessity, for veterans to reach out to those various services that are available—Open Arms, counselling for veterans and families on 1800 011 046, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and Safe Zone Support on 1800 142 072, a free and anonymous counselling line for current serving Australian Defence Force personnel, veterans and their families. When people call Safe Zone Support it's up to them to decide how much information they want to disseminate or not. The member for Gippsland also said:

… no Australian veteran, no serviceman or woman who served in Afghanistan, should feel anything other than pride in their mission that they were endeavouring to fulfil. They acted enormously with great integrity, with humility, with compassion, and also had to do a very difficult job, and they should be proud of what they did in their efforts to secure some form of peace in Afghanistan.

He talked about the dedication of our Diggers and others that served in their role. He said:

They were looking to secure whatever an Afghanistan form of peace might look like. But, whether it was an intelligence failure over the last few weeks, or whatever has occurred, the military clearly wasn't capable of withstanding the Taliban, and the speed with which the country was overrun, I think, took everyone by surprise. And those scenes at the international airport, and the scenes we've been seeing on our news all this week would be disturbing for a lot of veterans.

So I'd encourage you to make sure you reach out to your mates. Call a few mates, see how they're travelling. I've had the chance to talk to a couple of family members who lost loved ones, both in Afghanistan, but also post the war – people who lost the battle at home – and they're feeling pretty bruised by what they're seeing on the news, and it's just important that people do reach out and support each other if they're having difficulty at this time.

They are fine words and they were eloquently spoken by the former Veterans' Affairs Minister—and certainly by Daniel Keighran, VC, and also by Doug Baird. He spoke to me this morning about the quickness—that was the word he used—of how the Taliban has resumed control in that country. We know that the situation in Afghanistan is evolving rapidly. It's changing by the hour. It's volatile. It's dangerous. I want to thank those current men and women in uniform who are doing what they can, on the government's instruction and at the Australian people's request, to go in and save what they can and to attempt to get as many Australians and others out as they possibly can.

We acknowledge the more than 40,000 Australian Defence Force personnel and civilians who served in Afghanistan, who must be watching on with horror, as we all are, at the scenes that are occurring in Kabul, in particular.

As the PM has said, Australia, working with others, sought to make a failed state a functional state. We call on, of course, the Taliban to cease all violence against civilians and to retain the rights that women have and have because of the efforts of our Diggers. We say again to our Diggers, to our brave men and women, thank you for your service. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for what you have done in making Afghanistan a better place, and we hope that troubled country can find some peace into the future.