Mr CLARE (Blaxland—Minister for Defence Materiel) (18:33): As I was saying before the debate was interrupted yesterday: there is a lot more to do, particularly in the area of countering the threats posed by IEDs, improvised explosive devices, or homemade bombs that the Taliban dig into dirt roads and plant on pathways. In September this year the Minister for Defence and I announced an agreement with the Canadian government to loan three new IED clearance systems. These systems include two Husky vehicles. They are protected mobility vehicles, fitted with ground-penetrating radars that drive at the front of convoys to detect IEDs that are buried in the road. The systems also include one Buffalo mine resistant ambush protected vehicle, which is fitted with an interrogation arm and a Girocam camera to help our combat engineers defuse IEDs more safely. These vehicles are on loan, and they will be on loan for about 12 months from the beginning of 2012. Work is also underway to assess the possible acquisition of a permanent system for Defence. We are also rolling out a new, unmanned aerial vehicle system in Afghanistan called Shadow 200 and Diggerworks, during the course of next year, will also roll out more equipment to assist and protect our troops.

War is never popular, and we should not expect it to be. It is understandable that when an Australian soldier is killed or injured we will question why we are there. This debate is an important opportunity to remind the Australian community why we are there, what we are doing and the progress we are making. We are there to make a dangerous place safer, both for the people who live there and for those who do not. As I said in this debate last year, we cannot pretend that what happens in Afghanistan does not affect us here in Australia. It does, and because it does it is right that we are there. The work our troops are doing in Afghanistan makes us all safer. That is something we should all keep in mind this Christmas as the sun shines over us and the snow falls over the men and women who do this work in our name.