Senator Robert Hill will head up the ministerial team to lead Defence for the next three years.

And he's on record as describing his appointment as 'a great honour and a major responsibility' at a time when Australian personnel were deployed to overseas troublespots.

"I have a great respect for those who commit to a life of service in our armed forces," he is reported to have told a Canberra publication. "Our armed forces have always served Australia proudly and continue to do so."

The Prime Minister announced Senator Hill (SA) as Minister for Defence on November 23 with Mrs Danna Vale (Hughes, NSW) as the Minister Assisting the Minister and Minister for Veterans Affairs, and Mrs Fran Bailey (McEwen,Vic.) as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister.

They were sworn in on November 26.

A barrister and solicitor with Arts and Laws degrees from the University of Adelaide and a Masters of Law from London University, Senator Hill has served in the Senate since he was first elected in 1980.

He was Leader of the Opposition in the Senate between 1990 until the Coalition came to power in 1996 and he was appointed Leader of the Government in the Senate.

A former President of the Liberal Party in South Australia, Senator Hill was appointed Minister for the Environment in the first Howard ministry and served as Minister for the Environment and Heritage from October 1998 until taking up the Defence portfolio on November 26.

He has widespread experience on Parliamentary committees including Legal and Constitutional Affairs; Employment, Education and Training; the National Crime Authority; Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport; Senate Estimates; and Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.

By LEUT Fenn Kemp