Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is 9.25 pm. The place is London. Seven nervous men sit in various positions in a Lancaster bomber, waiting for take-off. It is dark and the flames from the exhaust stubs of the four Merlin engines can be seen flashing in time with the syncopated rhythm of the engines. It will be a terrifying experience, flying essentially alone, swallowed by the darkness, relying on astronavigation in their primitive Gee radio navigation systems to find their target. It is freezing cold in the night sky of Germany, a great deal below zero. The seven will be over Germany for hours, knowing that at any second a Luftwaffe night fighter could riddle the Lancaster with cannon and machine-gun fire: death with no notice. Further, there is the ever-present danger of being caught by searchlights and shot down by flak. If they were shot down, only 15 per cent of the men would get out of the aircraft, on average. The Lancaster had a notoriously difficult egress. This terrifying ordeal was not a one-off event. It happened night after night, weather permitting, until the crew was either shot down or completed their 30-mission tour of duty. They had, roughly, only a one in two chance of survival.

What would drive a man to slap self-preserving logic in the face? Remember, these heroes were not old. They were young men, with everything ahead of them. But they were willing to put everything on the line to defend the gift of freedom. It was irrational when so many of their mates were being blown to pieces. Bravery is irrationality in the right place, at the right time, for the right reasons.

Today, as the voices of that generation fade from our world, their actions will continue to boom through the pages of history forever. This notion of selflessness, mateship and duty is what the men of Bomber Command were all about. Duty is what every single member of our armed services is about. So let us honour the heroism of 70 years ago by honouring the heroism of our forces today.

The legacy of 70 years ago is that we in the international community and the West resolved on the creed 'never again'. But what we are doing is telling our soldiers, 'Never again will you be satisfied that you have everything you need to do your job.' The boys and girls in Afghanistan today, and in our other forces overseas, just want to do their job. That is it—nothing more. They want to have all the equipment necessary to complete that job, but the government is cutting the defence budget. By cutting the budget, the government is saying, 'Never again will our country value or hold you in the highest esteem.'

I would like to say to every member of Bomber Command: let not the stains of time lessen our debt to you. So many today are preoccupied with sovereign debt and private debt, short-term debt and long-term debt, but the debt we owe you is a debt you won through death. Today is a down payment on that debt of honour—our simple and heartfelt gratitude for your service and sacrifice. You of Bomber Command paid a heavy price for our freedom: 10,000 Australian mates, brothers and sons went to our British cousins' aid. While not deeming themselves august and inspirational—though they were—they would have been more comfortable to be known simply as good Aussie blokes, ordinary men doing extraordinary things, because they knew, as we should today, that freedom is never free. One such hero is Brian Walley. Mr Walley lived at the RAAFA estate in my constituency of Tangney in Perth. He ditched in the water twice, once in a training mission when he had an engine failure and once over the North Sea after sustaining battle damage over Germany. He was in the water—and this was in winter—for days. He was the only survivor, despite four of them having survived the initial ditching—the other three died of exposure. Ever with deliberate and careful discrimination and unflinching zeal, Mr Walley and his mates at Bomber Command, undaunted by odds, unwavered by the constant challenge, brought a terrible justice to the abodes of the guilty. I have met this silent hero. The song passed to me from that time goes like this and the boys of Bomber Command would ditty: 'Let us pray for a solution, pray for resolution, pray for absolution, pray for retribution.'

I think of a tail gunner I know who was in a Lancaster when he was shot down over occupied Europe. His crewmates were captured and became POWs and so receive benefits. This tail gunner evaded capture and fought with the Dutch Resistance for the remainder of the war, so no benefits for him. How stupid are bureaucracies at times. When I walk around that RAAFA Heritage Museum in Tangney I look to the pristine Lancaster bomber that lives there. I am extremely concerned by the knowledge that the government do not have any real resolution, and certainly no solution, to the present-day security needs of our country. Never can they or we be certain of soundness of sleep when we know of the real and growing tensions in the South China Sea and the ever-present reality of modern wars against a faceless and stateless enemy.

The government's response is wrong. Is it right that we mark the memory of Bomber Command by cutting defence spending? Dr Mark Thomson from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute invokes an iconic moment from the 1930s, the Munich peace marches, for the last time spending was at this level. The fall as a proportion of GDP, the measure that matters, is far more serious than the government has admitted. In 2012-13, defence spending will fall to below 1.6 per cent of gross domestic product. This has short-changed defence by $4 billion. Alan Dupont from the University of New South Wales Institute for International Security and Development warns the best time to invade Australia will be between 2028 and 2030, because of delays in replacing Collins submarines. The men of Bomber Command risked their lives, many paying the ultimate price to ensure our freedom. We dishonour them in not maintaining the constant vigilance and paying for said vigilance to ensure the freedom that they fought and died for is a continuing and enduring one, one that we will pay for at the very least with defence spending.

As much as I question the JSF decision, is it right to delay the delivery of 12 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and scrap plans to equip the Army with new self-propelled artillery in order to make 'an important contribution to the government's fiscal objectives', as the Prime Minister stated on 3 May? On the same day the Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, announced $200 million for another study, a study that will decide if submarines should be bought from other countries or designed from scratch in Australia. Is it right that it is easier to get more support staff in the Department of Defence than supporting fire in the field? Is it right that delays to delivery of vital new technology and capability cost lives? It is a slap in the face for defence at a time when Australia's maritime security—as we know with the boat people scenario and with oil and gas, coal and minerals exports—is utterly dependent upon maritime security.

In the final analysis we stand and salute the men of Bomber Command. Your gallantry is legendary. Tears are ever there for the 3,486 men who did not come home and for the 650 men who died in training. For them it was the highest cost in a time of the highest stakes. It is wrong that it has taken us so long to fully recognise the efforts of Bomber Command. To those who did everything for us, our grandparents and parents, we can do more for them. Never has so much been owed by so many to so few, though few remain. Their legend will endure and this I, as an MP, will ensure for evermore.

See this speech in context