David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am honoured to have the opportunity to speak in this House on the sacrifices of the greatest Australians and on the events in my electorate to commemorate them. Before discussing the local commemorations on Anzac Day in my electorate, it is important to reflect on why those commemorations took place. I was born in the 1970s. To be born in the 1970s in Australia is to draw a tremendous hand from fate: our lives have been free and secure. Fascists have not murdered us. Communists have not enslaved us. Tyrants have not set one group of us against another. Criminals have not locked us up. We have not been killed because of our race. We have not been imprisoned because of something we wrote. We have not had to risk our lives to practice our faith. We have not had to meet in secret to talk about what we believe. We have not had to pay a corrupt official to get a job. We have not had break the law to provide for our family. We have been allowed to be our true and best selves. These things are true in our nation for two reasons: firstly, we have had the wisdom to know that there is nothing more important than freedom; and, secondly, we have had the courage to fight for it. That courage has been shown by generations of Australians, but nowhere more than at Gallipoli.

In our area, we commemorated the extraordinary events of Gallipoli through many local functions. On behalf of our community, I would like to thank the hundreds of people who were directly involved in organising these events, and the many thousands who attended. The largest commemoration in my community was held at Oatley, with at least 5,000 people in attendance for the dawn service. It was organised jointly by the RSL sub-branches of Oatley, Penshurst and Mortdale.

The day commenced with a performance by the St George group of Sing Australia in advance of the dawn ceremony. Though there were thousands of people in attendance, the atmosphere was one of quiet reflection. During the service, Sing Australia members gave a moving rendition of the national anthem. The group's conductor, Hayden Bowles, also sang a solo performance of the New Zealand national anthem, which was a moving and dignified tribute to the role of that great nation at Gallipoli. Thank you to everyone at Sing Australia for what you did on that day.

The service itself was extremely well organised by the local sub-branches, and I would like to pay tribute to them today. There were too many people involved to name them all but, in particular, I would like to pay tribute to the chairman of the organising committee, John Hoban; the President of Oatley RSL Sub-Branch, Mike Tiddy; and the President of the Mortdale RSL Sub-Branch, John Delaney. These gentlemen are all very well known in our community for their local service, and that commitment was to the benefit of all of us on Anzac Day.

I would like to thank the local community organisations that helped to make the Oatley services on Anzac Day so successful. My part of Sydney is very fortunate to have strong and active Lions clubs, and these clubs ran a very popular sausage sizzle after the dawn service concluded. Thank you to everyone from the Lions Club of Lugarno, the Oatley Lions Club, and the Georges River Lioness Club for making this happen.

At Riverwood, the Riverwood legion ex-services club and Club Rivers held a joint service later in the morning, which I was fortunate to attend. A moving video tribute to Australian soldiers was played, and the young men from the Riverwood Australian Air League band performed exceptionally well, as they always do. I would like to thank Dick Matthews, the president of Riverwood legion ex-services club, for all of his efforts in organising this event. In addition, President Michael Free and CEO Stuart Jamieson from Club Rivers deserve thanks for the substantial effort they put into organising this important event.

Several other events were held on this most important day. At St George Masonic Club, a service was held commemorating the service of Australian and New Zealand soldiers, which I attended in the afternoon. I thank the club for organising this event, and I also thank Mr Ron Haira, the honorary president of New Zealand Veterans in Australia, for attending this ceremony. Club Grandviews is an important part of our area, and serves as a hub for my community in the Peakhurst-Lugarno region. Although Club Grandviews is not a service club, it nonetheless pays tribute to our fallen soldiers through a service each year on Anzac Day. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend this year, but I know from previous attendance that it is always a well-organised and well-attended event. Thank you to CEO Paul Nicholls and the club's board for their ongoing commitment to honouring our veterans.

I would also like to thank Padstow RSL sub-branch for the commemorations they held both on Anzac Day and on April 19, the preceding Sunday, which I attended. On April 19, a service was held at the war memorial on Cahors Road, followed by a march to Padstow RSL. At the RSL, a stirring service was held. Numerous local children performed, and the assembled crowd heard a powerful address on the nature of sacrifice. I would like to thank Padstow RSL Sub-Branch president, Bruce Knox, for organising these events, and for the ongoing leadership he provides to our community.

I would also like to acknowledge Bill Wright of Oatley RSL, who prepared a remarkable publication to commemorate the centenary of Anzac Day. Mr Wright, through research over a number of years, compiled a list of veterans from the Oatley area who had served in the First World War, and then he had the persistence and dedication to put that altogether in the form of a book. The book talks about the men who served in the First World War and it is an important commemoration to their extraordinary service.

Anzac Day is a very important event every year. This year was an extraordinarily important day. Those of us of our generation are extraordinarily fortunate to live in this country. The burdens and sacrifices that we have been asked of us are, frankly, negligible next to those of previous generations. We would not be here but for them. We must never forget that, and on the centenary of Anzac Day my community came together to remember that very important fact.

See this speech in context