Canberra
PM: Yesterday I had the very great honour of attending the opening of the memorial for those lost in Afghanistan.
A memorial put together by families, particularly under the leadership of Gordon Chuck and Susan Chuck who lost their son Ben in Afghanistan.
The opening of that memorial was attended by a number of the families who have lost loved ones in Afghanistan.
You could see on their faces that the sorrow is still there, but so is the pride in service.
It seems particularly cruel that as that service was coming to an end, that we were starting to receive the first news of more death and more wounding in Afghanistan.
Every death, every loss in Afghanistan hits the nation hard.
I think not only will the nation be hit hard today, but for many, this will be a very painful reminder that the risk is not over, the danger isn't gone.
Our last loss was in October last year and I think many have probably lulled themselves into a false sense of security that we would see no more losses in Afghanistan.
This news reminds us that our mission is ongoing, that the danger is ongoing.
We have got work to do and our ADF personnel are over there doing important work for the nation, but work that has real risks.
On behalf of the nation, I offer our condolences to the family and friends of the commando who has been lost.
He was an elite soldier and a very brave man.
We are thinking of his family and friends today and we respect their wishes for privacy at this time.
The nation's thoughts are also with the family of the soldier who has been seriously wounded.
We wish for him a speedy recovery. Our thoughts are with him as he recovers.
And our thoughts too are with the airman who has sustained more minor wounds.
I will take questions but solely on this matter.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the death of an Australian soldier generally sparks some calls to reconsider the mission in Afghanistan. What would you say to those who might question what we are doing here?
PM: I would say what I've always said, and as a Government we have shown a constant sea of purpose about this. As a nation I believe we've shown a constant sea of purpose.
We went to Afghanistan for the right reasons. We went there because Afghanistan had provided a safe haven for the training of terrorists. And that terrorist training was implicated in the loss of Australian lives, including in Bali.
So we are very clear about our mission. We are clear about its end point.
The bulk of our forces will come home at the end of this year.
But we have got more work to do in Afghanistan, and so we will see that mission through.
JOURNALIST: As that drawdown date approaches, do you expect the risk for Australian troops to be heightened?
PM: The risk is always there.
The process of extraction will be a very carefully managed one.
The lessons from other theatres of combat have been learnt about the risks of extraction, and so our defence personnel are working hard on managing those risks.
What has happened here of course is the risk that comes by taking the fight to the insurgents, and we have seen that risk take a toll before and it's taken a toll again.
JOURNALIST: How ready are the Afghanistan security services to take over control when we leave?
PM: All of the advice to me and the view of our Defence personnel who work in Afghanistan is that our mission of training and mentoring has made a real difference and increasingly Afghan local forces are able to step up to security leadership.
And that is the process that we are in now so the Afghan people can provide security for the Afghan nation.
That doesn't mean, though, that our mission will come to a complete end.
We have said that the bulk of our forces will come home at the end of this year when the base in Tarin Kowt is closed.
But we will have a continuing role providing assistance and advice to Afghan local forces, and training.
And as I've consistently said we have also left open the possibility of a continuing role for Special Forces beyond the end of the current mission, the current ISAF mission at the end of 2014.
JOURNALIST: Has the likelihood of a continued operation of the Special Forces personnel increased after this sort of incident?
PM: That decision is not related to events in the field.
It's related to strategic discussions between us and ISAF partners and the nation of Afghanistan.
Thank you.