Minister for Defence – Press Conference, Task Group Taji Farewell Parade, Darwin, NT

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Senator the Hon Marise Payne

Minister for Defence

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  • Henry Budd (Minister Payne’s office) 0429 531 143
  • Defence Media (02) 6127 1999

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11 November 2016

MINISTER:

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. It is an extraordinary honour for me to be here this evening for this farewell parade for the fourth rotation to Task Group Taji. I’ve had the opportunity to speak to a large number of the young men and women who have been on parade here this afternoon. I heard the Chief of Army say it was one of the finest parades he’d seen in a very long time and I was certainly very impressed.

What these young men and women are going to do makes a serious and real difference to Australia’s engagement in and effort in the fight against Daesh in Iraq and Syria and more broadly. I’ve been with the third rotation in August of this year and have some idea of what these young men and women are going to do when they’re there. I’m incredibly proud of them, I’m incredibly grateful for the service that they give and for the support that they receive from their families. They wouldn’t be able to do it without their husbands, wives, kids, mums, dads, siblings and friends and that is what makes an extraordinary difference. It’s probably apposite to make that observation on Remembrance Day itself. As we know, the eleventh day of the eleventh month at the eleventh hour, when the guns fell silent on the Western Front in the Great War, in 1918. Around the nation today, we’ve commemorated that Remembrance Hour, that moment. Around the nation today we’ve acknowledged the service; the sacrifice of mind and body and life of tens of thousands of Australians in World War One and all those who have fallen in service since.

It’s an incredibly important observation, I think, on a night like tonight, as we farewell these young men and women, to wish them Godspeed, to tell them to stay safe, to tell them to take care, and to thank them and honour them for their service.

So, it’s a great pleasure to be here and I’m happy to answer a couple of questions.

JOURNALIST:

Minister, first, the ABC understands heavily armed commandos are being sent to intercept a suspected drug-smuggling ship off the northern New South Wales coast. Can you confirm what’s happening and the location of the vessel?

MINISTER:

My understanding is it’s a police operation with ADF support and as they are operational matters I won’t expand on that, but that is my understanding.

JOURNALIST:

Does the election of Donald Trump throw any uncertainty over the deployment for these soldiers, given the uncertainty that’s around about what the US foreign policy will be from here?

MINISTER:

I think that the work of international coalition against Daesh is well-established and well-functioning. I’m confident that these young men and women are going to become part of that international coalition in Iraq in the same way as the first three rotations have engaged. It’s very important for me; I’ve spoken to some of the young men tonight who are involved in force protection. It’s very important to me that all of those activities remain in place, there is no question that they won’t, and I think we can all wish them very, very well without any concerns about that.

JOURNALIST:

And what about the US Marine rotations here in the Top End? What can you tell us- will they continue next year as planned?

MINISTER:

I’ve no reason to think not. We have recently signed the agreement in principle, as you know, under the Force Posture Agreement in relation to the cost arrangements, there is a great deal of planning underway, and I’m confident they will continue.

JOURNALIST:

Will it grow next year?

MINISTER:

Well these are matters, of course, for the United States, they’re their troops as they deploy them. It’s been building gradually since its inception, it’s working towards a maximum of two thousand five hundred Marines, I think by 2020 if I recall correctly. That will happen gradually, as it has been, and I expect that to continue to be the case.

JOURNALIST:

Can you comment on plans for a deal with the US to resettle refugees on Manus Island and Nauru?

MINISTER:

As you’d be aware, we already have a number of third country resettlement options available for those who are currently on Manus and on Nauru. They include Cambodia, for example, Papua New Guinea in relation to Manus. In terms of other options, I’m not going to make any further comment, these are matters for the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. But most importantly, we have been very clear that for people who are currently on Manus and on Nauru that those other third country options do exist.

JOURNALIST:

How real is the threat of ISIS to Australians? Why should we be deploying our armed forces?

MINISTER:

I think if you’re a member of the ADF, a member of any law enforcement agency in this country, and you have seen the horror and violence that has been wrought by those purporting to be part of Daesh, those invoking Daesh as their so-called inspiration in cities all around the world, in Europe, in the Middle East, in Africa, and individual acts of violence and terror on our own streets, if you’ve seen that, if you’ve observed that, then in many ways it speaks for itself. I’ve been a Senator of Western Sydney for almost 20 years and not very long ago, a police civilian employee was murdered, in cold blood, in the street just up the road from my office. Those sorts of acts of heinous terror, of violence and of extremism, are not welcome in Australia. We are making a contribution, we are – with the service of the sorts of young men and women who are here this afternoon – we are making a contribution to that international fight, as part of the international coalition. It’s important for us domestically, it’s important for us regionally as we look at the threat of returning foreign fighters in many countries around our region, it’s important for us internationally and the stance that Australia takes and the contribution that we make is one which goes to our values, goes to what is important to us as a nation, and in fact goes to our future.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER:

Great, thanks guys.

MINISTER:

Thank you all very much.

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