Mr SHORTEN (Maribyrnong—Leader of the Opposition) (11:09): I rise to support the moving words of the Prime Minister and to pay tribute to the courage and sacrifice of Corporal Cameron Baird of the 2nd Commando Regiment. Corporal Baird was a real hero, a man who risked his life for his mates. I hope his family here feel that our parliament, all of us here, do some justice to his memory today. Cameron Baird's friends describe him as one of the most iconic figures in the regiment—high praise from members of an elite unit recognised the world over for its professionalism, courage and skill. But even in that esteemed company Corporal Baird's record stands out: eight tours, including East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan; the Australian Active Service Medal, recognising his service in East Timor, Iraq and the international campaign against terrorism; the Afghanistan Campaign Medal; the Iraq Campaign Medal; the Australian Service Medal—Counter-terrorism/Special Recovery; the Australian Defence Medal; the United Nations Medal for work in Timor; the NATO Medal for multiple tours; the Infantry Combat Badge; and the Returned from Active Service Badge. In 2008 Corporal Baird was awarded the Medal of Gallantry, a decoration that then recognised his courage under fire and his willingness to risk his own life to save those alongside him. The citation for that award describes in detail the remarkable courage that Corporal Baird showed in trying to save the life of a wounded comrade while leading his men through deadly fire to safety. Now, with the awarding of the Victoria Cross, Corporal Baird attains a place of the highest honour in Australian and Commonwealth military history. The Victoria Cross is a unique award and one that takes precedence over all other awards, the highest military honour and one available to all ranks. The Victoria Cross holds a special place in our military establishment: all ranks of the Australian Defence Force are required to salute a VC recipient. It has been described as the most democratic and at the same time the most exclusive of all orders of chivalry, proof that there is only one standard, the human standard of valour in deadly peril. Through his bravery Corporal Baird becomes the 100th Australian to receive this honour, the latest in a line of Australian military warriors that reaches all the way back to the Boer War. The Victoria Cross holds a special place in Australia's proud military history. It speaks to the way we see ourselves as a nation. The VC speaks to our best qualities, the way we would like to see ourselves through the eyes of the hero. Above all, the VC is part of our proud military tradition, an Australian tradition that reveres above all the courage to sacrifice one's safety for one's friends—a quality Corporal Baird exemplified to the highest degree. On 22 June last year Corporal Baird's platoon, partnered with the Afghan National Security Forces, was attacked by the enemy in Ghawchak village in Uruzgan province. It was a fierce battle against a fanatical foe. As the Prime Minister's reading of the Victoria Cross citation reveals, it is difficult even in words alone to begin to convey the danger and the heroism of what happened on that day. On that day in June Corporal Baird risked and gave his life to save the lives of his fellow Australians and his Afghan brothers in arms. He was just 32. I did not have the privilege of knowing Corporal Baird but I suspect he was a modest man. I am sure that today he would have wanted us to acknowledge his many comrades who may not have received the same level of recognition, not just the 40 Australians who have died in the mountains and the green valleys of Afghanistan but the hundreds more who have been badly wounded or have come home bearing psychological scars, and all of those upon whom Australia's freedom depends. Today once again we pay tribute to all those who have served. Afghanistan, our longest war, is not the kind of war the Anzacs fought or our heroes of Kokoda. Our men and women in such shifting ground of Afghanistan have been tested by a diplomatic imperative in each village and field as gunshots ring out that are unexplained and those they see in cross-hairs may be friend or foe. In such a war our losses may be less or greater than in plainer conflicts. For the 40 families who have felt them, however, there is no larger feeling of enormous engulfment in a darkness which seems at the time and for years to be without end. Prime Minister Winston Churchill once remarked: Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities ... because it is the quality which guarantees all others. All Australians admire courage. All of us aspire to be strong. We appreciate that bravery and strength are not restricted to those who are decorated and that in fact, along with Corporal Baird, all of his fellow soldiers are heroes. But there can be no doubt that Corporal Baird was the sort of man that every soldier would aspire to be. In parliament today we salute Corporal Cameron Baird. He did good work in his time for a cause and he lived in the injured hearts of those he left too soon. Today the Australian parliament and the Australian people honour the award of the Victoria Cross. We salute the courage of a gallant soldier. We mourn the loss of a true friend, a son who leaves us well before his parents, a brother gone before his time. Most of all our thoughts today are with the people who loved him and the people he loved. To his father Doug, mother Kaye, brother Brendan, nephews Riley and Max, we offer our deep and heartfelt condolences. There is no honour that we can bestow and no medal that we can give you, no words that we can say that will make up for the loss of the man. We understand that there will be a spare seat at the Christmas lunch. We understand that there will be school plays and concerts and sports days and graduations and grand finals that he will miss. Our nation owes Cameron Baird and his family a debt that we can never repay. All we can do in this parliament is to promise that we will remember him always. The award of this Victoria Cross places your son, your brother, your uncle, in Australian military history forever. We promise to honour his memory and his sacrifice. We promise that Australia will never forget your son, your brother, your uncle. May he rest in peace. The SPEAKER: Before I call the Leader of the House, I would like to advise the House that we have with us family members of Corporal Cameron Baird VC, MG. We also have present Chief of the Defence Force General Hurley AC, DSC, Chief of Army Lieutenant General Morrison AO, Chief of the Joint Operations Lieutenant General Ash Power AO, CSC, Warrant Officer Dave Devlin, the Minister for Defence Senator Johnston, the Minister for Veterans' Affairs Senator Ronaldson, the shadow defence minister Senator Conroy, and the official secretary to the Governor-General. I call the Leader of the House.