Thank you, Deputy Speaker, and I thank the Member for Herbert for bringing forward this motion.

I’m sure all members remember the chaos of last August, as Allied troops withdrew from Afghanistan and Kabul fell to the Taliban.

Who could forget the images we saw of the airport flooded with desperate Afghans fleeing the incoming regime?

The panic as we raced against the clock to help as many people as possible.

This motion moved by the Member for Herbert is important, to reflect on the efforts of soldiers from the 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, along with other military attachments, who worked to rescue Australian passport holders and those loyal Afghans who supported our nation for 20 years.

There were about 700 ADF personnel working heroically in a desperate situation to rescue as many men, women and children as they could.

They worked tirelessly to save as many lives as they could.

They were brave, and they were selfless.

They evacuated over 4,000 people on 32 flights in one week.

And I’d like to share with you some reflections from a soldier on the ground on what those rushed weeks were like.

He said, and I quote:

“It was extremely mentally fatiguing operating within that environment.

“Thousands of people shouting at us, babies getting crushed and young people getting injured, people getting shot.

“It’s a little known fact is that our guys were involved in a contact when a suspected vehicle-borne improvised explosive device rammed the North Gate.”

He goes on to say:

“Our combat medics were treating multiple casualties with everything from heat illness, gunshot wounds, respiratory injuries from the non-lethal ammunition fired by coalition partners, and crush injuries to name just a few.

“We also had the heartbreak of having to tell family members that although some of them qualified to come to Australia, other family members did not.

“Having to explain that and watch the families say their perhaps final goodbyes to loved ones.

“Some of those family members begged us to shoot them then and there rather than go back outside the gates to the Taliban.

“All of this has left a big hole in our hearts and a large moral injury on the young men and women that served in Kabul.”

He is completely correct.

The former Government inflicted a huge moral injury on our troops when, despite months of warning from the United States, the failed to plan for our withdrawal.

They failed to process visas for our loyal Afghan colleagues, who saved so many Australian lives at great risk to their own.

Their inaction and incompetence is what caused those scenes, as I’ve just described.

It is not right and it is not fair that those brave Australians on the ground in Afghanistan should have to bear the moral weight of failed government policy.

It cannot be understated that the decade of neglect on the Locally Engaged Employees visa program by the former government has left many loyal interpreters that assisted our diggers in Afghanistan stranded.

It has been heartening to see some interpreter families reunited, with some visas coming through in July and August this year.

That still took a year.

The Albanese Govt have wasted no time in engaging with stakeholders to address visa issues and reunite families, and I commend the Immigration Minister for his efforts.

I know it is appreciated by many Australian troops and veterans, especially those who served or worked in Afghanistan over the past two decades.

Many Afghans Interpreters that remain have a range of circumstances that make it challenging for them to leave Afghanistan, even if they have been or are to be issued a visa.

These issues include: not having a valid passport; being in a neighbouring country without a valid visa; or their immediate family members such as their wives and children not being included in the evacuation visa.

There are many challenges ahead.

The Member for Herbert has also called on the Government to honour the 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment with the appropriate battle honours to highlight the unique operation that was conducted in the most hazardous, chaotic and challenging circumstances.

I agree.

This type of operation hasn’t been conducted by Australian soldiers under those types of conditions in our history as a defence force.

It would be appropriate for some form of acknowledgement of the uniqueness of this operation, and they should feel proud of their involvement and efforts.