PM: (audio break) and was from the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment based in Townsville. He was on his first tour of Afghanistan. He was supporting a mentored patrol in Uruzgan province when he was killed by an improvised explosive device. An International Security Assistance Force soldier, not an Australian, was wounded in the same incident. At the request of the family the soldier's name has not been released at this time but we don't need to know this soldier's name to know that we've lost a brave man and we don't need to know this soldier's name to know that there is a family in the depths of grief tonight.
As Prime Minister I offer them the nation's condolences, our most loving thoughts are with them as they absorb this, the most dreadful of news.
I also want to not that this would be a very hard time for this soldier's mates, his comrades in arms and particularly his fellow soldiers at 2RAR in Townsville. We're also thinking of them tonight.
I did want to say a few words about the role that our mentoring taskforces play in Afghanistan. Members of our mentoring taskforces do very difficult and very dangerous work, but it's also vitally important work. Indeed it's the work of these very brave Australians that is one of the foundation stones that will enable us to transition in Afghanistan. Without an effective and capable Afghan National Army, security post-transition cannot be guaranteed and consequently we could not realise our goal of an Afghanistan that will not again become a safe haven for international terrorism. So what these mentoring taskforces do is patiently, carefully and with all the superb professionalism we've come to associate with our Defence Force, they build a capable Afghan military force. Now that's difficult work, it's dangerous work, and we've lost a soldier doing that work today. But that is work that needs to be done so the Afghan people can take security leadership of their nation.
On behalf of the nation I want to thank the members of the mentoring taskforces for their dedication and their bravery as they continue to perform this critical task.
This fighting season in Afghanistan has been a very hard one for our nation. We've grieved for too many lives lost, too many young lives lost. As I've said before I can't promise the Australian people that there won't be another day like this, but I can promise that we're making progress, that Australia's national interests are served by being in Afghanistan, that we have a clear goal, a defined mission and a timeline of the end of 2014. That transition is already beginning to occur in the first areas of Afghanistan and that in Uruzgan, the province where we work, we are on track to achieve transition by no later than the end of 2014. We remain determined to see this mission through, we remain determined to ensure that Afghanistan does not again become a safe haven for terrorists, but this is a difficult day, a difficult night, particularly for one Australian family. My condolences go to them.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister when can we expect the next update to Parliament about Afghanistan?
PM: It will be before the end of this year.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister is there any information on the nationality of the other soldier who was injured?
PM: I'm not in a position to take that any further than the Chief of the Defence Force did.
JOURNALIST: It appears we are still losing several soldiers to improvised explosive devices, is there anything else that you can do to secure or to ensure the safety of our soldiers in Afghanistan in relation to them?
PM: We take the best of advice from our Defence Force about the force protection against IEDs. Every incident is of course analysed and looked at to see if there is anything further we can learn or do to protect our forces but we have responded to the very best of advice about the force protection we can provide.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister what have you been told about this man, anything about him that you haven't already said?
PM: Look I'm not in a position to give personal details, this is at the request of the family that needs some time to absorb this news before personal details are made public.
Thank you.