Alex Somlyay (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House:

(1)

commends the people of Hungary as they mark the 50^th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, which set the stage for the ultimate collapse of communism in 1989 throughout Central and Eastern Europe, including Hungary, and two years later in the Soviet Union itself;

(2)

expresses condolences to the people of Hungary for those who lost their lives fighting for the cause of Hungarian freedom and independence in 1956, as well as for those individuals executed by the Soviet and Hungarian communist authorities in the five years following the Revolution, including Prime Minister Imre Nagy;

(3)

welcomes the changes that have taken place in Hungary since 1989, believing that Hungary’s integration into NATO and the European Union, together with similar developments in the neighbouring countries, will ensure peace, stability, and understanding among the great peoples of the Carpathian Basin;

(4)

reaffirms the friendship and cooperative relations between the governments of Hungary and Australia and between the Hungarian and Australian people; and

(5)

recognises the contribution of people of Hungarian origin to this nation.

It is my great pleasure and honour to move this motion today, and I am pleased that my jet-lagged colleague Michael Danby, the member for Melbourne Ports, is going to second the motion. This motion mirrors a similar motion debated in the US congress earlier this year. I recommend that people read Mr Danby’s article in last week’s Financial Review and also the Hansard record of Prime Minister Menzies and Dr Evatt’s responses in 1956 to get a proper historical context. I acknowledge all members of the Hungarian community present in the gallery, many of whom have travelled a long way to be here today. I know that my friend Laci Kovassy has travelled down from Noosa.

As the motion indicates, the people of Hungary and Hungarians everywhere are commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Last week, the member for Melbourne Ports and I attended a special commemoration ceremony in Budapest organised by the Hungarian parliament which involved tributes by 21 speakers representing parliaments around the world. Following the ceremony in parliament all participants travelled by bus to a wreath-laying ceremony at the national memorial. Delegations laid a wreath at the memorial and on two graves: firstly, on the grave of former president Imre Nagy—the heroic leader of the revolution, who was executed by the communist regime—and, secondly, on the grave of the unknown heroes. As we lined up to lay the wreaths, we took an emotional walk past scores of graves and headstones depicting dates of death in the years immediately following 1956. It is estimated that over 2,500 Hungarians lost their lives in the revolution. They became martyrs in the cause of democracy and freedom. A further 1,200 Hungarians were executed by the post-conflict communist government.

The events of 1956 are well documented, and time does not permit me to go through the chronology of events of the revolution. Two hundred thousand Hungarians escaped the country—and probable imprisonment and possible execution—as refugees to be resettled in host nations worldwide. Australia agreed to accept 14,000 Hungarian refugees, a most generous humanitarian response. The people were the second wave of Hungarian refugees from communism to migrate to Australia. My own family was part of the first wave that escaped communism in Hungary in 1948 and came to Australia on the USS General Harry Taylor, one of the many wartime vessels used to transport refugees from Europe to other places in the world. One of my earliest recollections as an infant is of being inside a refugee camp in Italy looking at the outside world through a barbed wire fence. My family was one of the thousands from the first wave of refugees who settled in Australia before 1956.

1956 was a significant year in Australia. It was the year of the Melbourne Olympics. It was the year when television was introduced. That was an era when news came to people via print or radio. As a 10-year-old child in 1956, I remember the impact on Hungarians in Australia of events in Budapest in October. There was an air of joy, excitement and anticipation as many people prepared themselves, some to return to Hungary to join those who stayed to rebuild their nation. That joy and anticipation turned to despair and disappointment. Instead of Hungarians returning, as I said earlier, Australia indeed resettled some additional 14,000 refugees of the second wave, after the Soviet repression of the brave and courageous revolt.

In 1956 the world of communications was different from 2006. For Australians, the only visual media in relation to international events was the film news in movie theatres before the showing of the feature film. I remember vividly sitting in a theatre in Sydney with my mother as tears rolled down her face as we watched the film of the Soviet tanks rolling back into Budapest, the city she loved passionately. Hungarians in Australia were angry with the West for not intervening. The people of Hungary felt betrayed. I know the Hungarians in Australia felt betrayed and felt, as a consequence, that many sacrifices had been in vain.

There are about 23,000 Hungary-born people in Australia. There were two major waves of Hungarian migrants, post World War II and in 1956. It is my pleasure, on behalf of the parliament, to convey our warm wishes to the people of Hungary. (Time expired)

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