Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

On indulgence, I join the Prime Minister, the minister and the shadow minister in conveying very best birthday wishes to Jack Ross. One hundred and ten not out! That is a very big score in anyone’s language. The generation that defended Australia in the Great War was the greatest generation for the greatest war our nation has ever fought. None of us who have been around Australian country towns can fail to be amazed at the war memorials there and the enormous lists of names—name after name, often of brothers, and sometimes three brothers, all dead. It was an extraordinary toll that this nation paid in the First World War. It was a price paid in blood. It made a nation of Australia. Our national identity was forged in that war, and it was forged with the courage and the perseverance of men like Jack Ross. He is the last of that generation and as we salute his birthday—as we salute your birthday, Jack—we salute all of his comrades; all of our grandfathers, fathers and great-grandfathers that served in that war. We salute all of those men and women who were so brave. So many of them—like you, Jack—served in the Second World War as well. They were brave in two wars, defending Australia and making us the nation we are today. We are humbled by your service. We are in awe at your longevity, and we congratulate you on your 110th. Well done and happy birthday.

See this speech in context