PM: Well I'm here today with the Minister for Defence John Faulkner. We are in Darwin to attend to funeral of Scott Palmer, a brave soldier, and we've come to Darwin today to mourn his loss with his family and friends.
Overnight I was very saddened to learn that we have lost another soldier in Afghanistan. We pay tribute to him and we mourn his loss. Of course today his family and friends will be feeling the pain of his loss very, very acutely. This is a tragic day for them, full of shock, grieving and sadness. I'm sure the thoughts of the nation are with them as they absorb this dreadful news.
There will be Australians today who are asking themselves in the face of this loss in Afghanistan, why as a country we continue to pursue our mission there. We pursue that mission because Afghanistan has been a safe haven for terrorists, for terrorists who have reaped acts of violence against Australians in 9/11 and in Bali. And we are determined to pursue our mission there, to train the Afghan National Army, to end Afghanistan being a safe haven for terrorists. This is clearly difficult and dangerous work and our soldiers and defence personnel in Afghanistan are at the forefront of this really dangerous task. We have obviously seen the results of that danger here today, Scott Palmer's funeral, we have mourned the loss of two other soldiers during the past week and with this news overnight that we have lost another soldier.
Obviously this hits everyone hard: family, friends, the nation, the people who serve alongside them in our Defence Force. But we are determined to continue to pursue this mission in Afghanistan.
Can I say to the family and friends of the soldier we lost overnight who will be in such difficult circumstances today, our thoughts are with you. As the Minister for Defence and Chief of the Defence Force have made clear, obviously we are not in a position to release details about this soldier or the incident in which he died at this time. Obviously as details can be released they will be released.
There was another soldier injured in this incident, our thoughts are with him and we obviously hope that he will make a very speedy recovery. As I have been advised by the Chief of the Defence Force, he is not badly injured but our thoughts are with him.
I'm happy to take any questions but obviously I'm shortly due at Scott Palmer's funeral.
JOURNALIST: Does this lift the total to 17 people who have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001?
PM: Yes.
FAULKNER: Yes it does. This will be the 17th death of an Australian in Afghanistan. Of course let me also say to you, we've had 143 Australians wounded in Afghanistan as you would be aware.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister can I just ask you obviously are involved in reconstruction and training. Do you feel that they're being protected adequately enough?
PM: I believe our Defence Force personnel are professionals, they go about their task with complete determination and with high skills. I believe led by Angus Houston - who is with me today, obviously also due to attend the funeral of Scott Palmer - that our soldiers are going about this difficult and dangerous task as best it can be done. But there is no degree of skill or training or equipment that can take away the dangers, this is dangerous work and we are seeing the outcomes of the dangers that our soldiers face.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister what effect has it had on you, this news overnight?
PM: Well I've obviously been very, very saddened to learn about this loss overnight. Today I'm here attending the third funeral of a brave soldier that I've attended as Prime Minister, so the danger and loss and sadness that is caused from these incidents in Afghanistan is obviously with me and very present with me.
This is a tough time, a particularly tough time for those families who are mourning the loss of soldiers and for the family that's got this dreadful news today, I'm personally saddened by it and I do want to send the family and friends of this soldier my very, very best wishes at what is obviously a tragic and dreadful time for them.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister how do you think the level of possibilities of success are in Afghanistan now given just with our small effort that we're making along with the Americans. Do we really have a chance of doing what we say our mission is?
PM: Well I certainly believe we are proceeding to acquit our mission, training Afghan National Army members in Afghanistan, which is the mission that we have set for ourselves. As a Government obviously through our Defence Minister John Faulkner and through our Chief of the Defence Force we've always been frank with the Australian people about the difficulty of this task, but we are proceeding through it.
I might turn to the Minister for Defence for some comments on that.
FAULKNER: Thank you very much Prime Minister. I have consistently said that in relation to progress in Afghanistan that we have made steady progress. I obviously have acknowledged that the progress is not as fast as some would like to see but I certainly believe that there has been a change in momentum in Afghanistan.
We are very focussed on our operational objectives: training the 4th Brigade of the Afghan National Army in Uruzghan Province. We've made clear recently about the latest information that is available in terms of the time we believe it will take to complete our training mission in the province, some two to four years, and indicated that it's likely to see the Australian commitment after that period transition to a support role.
But having said that, ladies and gentlemen, I make the point as I have made on so many occasions, it is a difficult and dangerous mission. The reason we are here in Darwin today to attend the funeral of an Australian soldier, and the news we are speaking about today of the death of another Australian soldier in Afghanistan, I think does indicate to you the risks that are involved in our mission. But let me stress as I've stressed in the past, our troops are extraordinarily well led, our troops are extraordinarily well trained, our troops have the best force protection available to them and of course our tactics, techniques and procedures, our rules of engagement, are such that ensure that our troops are very well protected. But for all that it remains a dangerous and difficult operating environment.
JOURNALIST: Are we seeing more deaths because of the change in momentum?
FAULKNER: I think there's no question that of course we see ourselves now in the fighting season in Afghanistan. It's important to remember, I have indicated just a moment ago, that there have been of course now 17 Australian soldiers who have died in Afghanistan, 143 Australian soldiers have been wounded in Afghanistan.
In 2010 we of course have seen the deaths of six Australian soldiers and 43 of those 143 soldiers have suffered wounds. Don't forget also of course that we had three Australians killed in a helicopter crash and seven Australians wounded in that helicopter crash that occurred not as a result of enemy action. And it's important as we look at the situation that we make frank assessments about that and I've certainly tried to report very frankly to the Australian Parliament and the Australian people about the situation that we face in Afghanistan and the challenges ahead.
JOURNALIST: Can you give your comments in relation to the funeral of Private Scott Palmer today?
FAULKNER: Well these are always very, very difficult occasions for the family and friends of a fallen soldier. I think on an occasion like this the thoughts of the nation are with a devastated and grieving family who've lost a son, and a brother. Devastated friends and of course devastated comrades, regimental comrades particularly, who've provided such fine support for a wonderful family at a very difficult time.
These are always difficult events but my thoughts always go to the people most affected, the families on occasions like this. That's where my thoughts will be today, can I say to you I believe that that's where the thoughts of the nation will be today.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: The funeral service will obviously have addresses from family and people who served with Scott Palmer. I will attend the funeral today with the Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. The fact that we are both here and we have both attended the two other funerals for the soldiers that died in the same helicopter incident that the Minister for Defence has described, I think the fact that we are both here says that the nation is paying its respects to these soldiers through the presence of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.
Having attended two funerals as Prime Minister, and I'm sure this will be true today, what amazes me, impresses me is the grace and bravery of the family and friends in the face of such tragic loss. They are mourning the loss of brave men and the families and friends, obviously devastated, but conducting themselves with a great deal of dignity and bravery themselves in difficult circumstances.
Today we will be with parents who are mourning the loss of their son, with a brother who is mourning the loss of his brother, it's obviously a very, very difficult time and we are there to support but also to show that the nation is thinking about this loss, the nation is grieving this loss, and the nation is sending its respects.
JOURNALIST: Can I just ask one other question sorry, not on the same subject, which is while you're up in northern Australia, will you be, either this evening or tomorrow, taking the opportunity to talk to any other foreign leaders in our region about the possibility of asylum seeker centres?
PM: Look obviously my focus today is on attending the funeral and with this tragic news overnight on this news, so I will be pursing with determination the dialogue with East Timor but that will wait for another day.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned I suppose both of you, about the wider implications of these deaths in terms of public support for the war in Afghanistan?
PM: Well obviously I think for the Australian people this tragic news hits them hard, which is why it is important that we continue to explain to the Australian people why we seek their support for the continuing mission in Afghanistan. This has been a country, a safe haven for terrorists who have reaped violence against Australian citizens occasioning loss of life, that's why we commenced on this mission, and I believe Australians, whilst mourning these losses and are very upset about the news overnight, will understand our continuing determination.
And one of the things I would say about the people who have attended the funerals of the other soldiers, the soldiers that have been lost in the helicopter incident, something that's come through very loud and clear to me is that loss actually increases their determination to get the job done.
Thank you very much.