cHECK AtnAiNn 1uzymy EMBARGOED UNIL DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
OPENING OF COUNTER-TERRORIST TRAINING FACILITIES
SPECIAL AIR SERVICE REGIMENT
SWANBOURNE " 3 OCTOBER 1991
General Grat: Lon,
Colonel Lewis,
distinguished guests,
ladies and gentlemen
It gives me great pleasure to be here today to open the
Special Air Service Regiment's counter-terrorist training
facilities. Over the years I have heard a great deal about the
Regiment's capabilities and it is reassuring to see at
first-hand your high level of skills and expertise.
As we are all aware, there is a certain aura about the
Special Air Service Regiment.
The Regiment is recognised as a highly trained force that
Australians will be able to rely upon in the most
exceptional of circumstances. Its worldwide reputation has
been earned t: he hard way, through years of training and
commitment, and from the numerous sacrifices which are part
of becoming a highly dedicated and professional military
force.
This Government regards terrorism as a horrifying and
senseless phenomenon which is beyond justification,
regardless of the circumstances.
Australia must be prepared to act resolutely where terrorism
threatens innocent life, and, as a final resort, to sanction
the use of force.
While Austral~ ia has, in many ways, been lucky in avoiding
terrorism, we have not escaped unscathed. We cannot assume
on the basis of geography or some misplaced sense of
optimism that: Australia is removed from the world of the
terrorist.
And as the Gulf War demonstrated, the threat of terrorism is
with us and will remain with us for a long time to come. As
a Government we must, and will, continue to face up to this
threat and ensure that Australians are protected from
terrorism.
We will continue to work towards the peaceful resolution of
conflict, wherever it may occur. We will continue to be at
the forefront of nations seeking international co-operation
in the fight against terrorism. We will continue to support
international moves to ensure that terrorists are held
accountable for their actions. And we will continue to
ensure that Australia has a balanced and effective defence
against terrorism.
And in particular, we will continue to look to the Special
Air Service Regiment to provide a counter-terrorist
capability that is the equal of any in the world.
Australia has come a long way since the tragic Hilton
bombing incident in 1978. The Commonwealth, in close cooperation
with the States and Territories, has worked
solidly at developing sensible and balanced counterterrorist
arrangements. This was clearly demonstrated
during the Gulf crisis, when Australia's counter-terrorist
authorities operated effectively at a higher level of alert
for an extended period of time.
It is of great satisfaction to the Government that no
Australian suffered injury as a result of terrorism during
the Gulf War.
These Special Training Facilities form an important element
of Australia's counter-terrorism arrangements. Their very
existence and the skills which they hone may well contribute
in a measurable way to deter an act of terrorism. They are
also concrete evidence of this Government's continued
commitment to deal firmly and realistically with the threat
of terrorism.
And while I sincerely hope that the skills of the Regiment
will never be called upon for this purpose, I recognise that
a highly trained and suitably equipped counter-terrorist
force is an unfortunate necessity in an unpredictable and
often violent world.
Ladies and Gentlemen
These world class training facilities represent, in many
ways, a quantum leap in technology. They are a tribute to
the ingenuity and imagination of the designers and engineers
from both the Australian Defence Force and the Australian
Construction Service.
3.
We must never~ forget, however, that these facilities are
secondary to the men and women of this Regiment. It is to
you that Australia will look, as a last resort when
everything else has failed, to resolve a terrorist incident.
In such circumstances this country will need your expertise
and your professionalism.
I am confident that, should the need ever arise, you will
live up to these high expectations.
I am also confident that as Australia moves towards the
twenty-first century, we will continue to have a
counter-terrorist capability that is amongst the foremost irk
the world.
I am confident of that because of two key qualities which
are character~ istic of the Australian Defence Force as a
whole, but which are particularly reflected in the Special
Air Service Regiment, and among that elite most clearly in
the Tactical Assault Group. Those two characteristics are
the real foundations of the fine new facilities we are to
open here today.
The first of those characteristics is great dedication to
technical expertise. Throughout the ADF, technical
expertise is a matter not just of pride but of life and
death. But as we have seen here this morning, nowhere is
that more literally true than in the Tactical Assault Group.
My government places confidence in the SAS because we know
that it can do its supremely difficult job so well. This is
a profession of perfectionists; near enough is simply not
good enough. These buildings are a testament to their
commitment to perfecting the skills which we in the
Government, and which all Australians, rely on them to
maintain at a razor pitch.
But like perfection in any field, the extraordinary skills
of the men and women of the Special Air Service Regiment are
not perfected without great cost. To all of them, the
effort in sheer hard work, punishing training, demanding
exercises, and the psychological strains unique to their
profession constitute an extraordinary price to pay. So all
of them, all of you here today, show to an extraordinary
degree the second of the two characteristic qualities of the
ADF which I mentioned the quality of dedication and
sacrifice. But as Colonel Lewis has said for some the sacrifice has
been even greater. Their dedication exemplifies your
commitment. Their spirit animates your regiment. It is
therefore alt~ ogether fitting that this new facility should
bear the name of one of their number: Sergeant Ewan Miller.
I am honoured to declare open the Sergeant Ewan Miller
Special Training Facility; and to those of you who will work
here, my best: wishes, and more importantly the best wishes
of the people of Australia.