Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, this Wednesday, 11 November is Remembrance Day and marks the 97th anniversary of the armistice which ended World War I. In the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, we pause to commemorate all Australians who have died or suffered in wars and armed conflicts. Clearly, the world has changed beyond recognition since the early decades of the 20th century. With the passage of time, we have seen the last of the survivors of World War I pass on. Ninety-seven years may have passed, but their service has not been forgotten. We as Australians owe it to the men and women who enlisted, who served and who gave their lives fighting for our nation to preserve their memory and to honour their sacrifice—and honour them we do. The exploits of Australian servicemen during the First World War have rightfully become part of Australian folklore. In particular, the bravery of the diggers on the shores of Gallipoli came to define the identity of our nation. The Army barracks located in my electorate was renamed Gallipoli Barracks in honour of those who served and died in that conflict. This is just one of many such tributes around the country. I also commend the ongoing work of the Australian War Memorial, under the directorship of Dr Brendan Nelson, in keeping the ANZAC memory alive.

The war weighed heavily on the resources of our young nation. It is fascinating to go back through Hansard to read about the extent of preparations for the war effort. For example, on 14 April 1915 the then Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher, provided a detailed update to the House on the equipment required to clothe and arm Allied forces across the Commonwealth—the requisitioning of the output of 22 mills to provide the wool for the uniforms; and the supply of two million yards of cloth for jackets and more than one million yards of flannel for shirts and blankets, and the supply of one million pairs of boots. Much of this burden was born by Australia—a nation just 14 years old and home to a population of less than five million people; less than a quarter of what we are today.

On 29 April 1915, the Minister for Defence confirmed to parliament for the first time that Australian forces had landed on the Gallipoli peninsula. That minister was Sir George Pearce, a senator from Western Australia and my great-grandfather. On the day of the original armistice, 11 November 1918, he was once again Minister for Defence, albeit under a new prime minister. World War I exacted a terrible human toll on our nation. More than 60,000 men and women lost their lives in the conflict, and a further 156,000 were wounded, gassed or taken prisoner. The death and dislocation caused by the war were so great that the Bureau of Statistics figures show the population of Australia declined in 1915 and again in 1916—the first and to date only years in post-Federation recorded history that this has occurred. I use the term 'recorded history' advisedly because, at the time, most Indigenous Australians were not recorded in census statistics, nor were they permitted the right to vote. Nevertheless, the Australian War Memorial estimates that more than 1,000 Indigenous Australians fought in the First World War. Many more attempted to enlist but were denied on the grounds of race. Those who managed to successfully enlist enjoyed equal pay and generally equal treatment to all solders, a rarity at the time. Sadly, equal treatment was not extended in the postwar period, and it would be five more decades until Indigenous Australians were accorded equal rights under the Australian Constitution.

Mr Speaker, as the motion notes, in terms of the numbers of deaths and casualties, the First World War remains the most costly conflict in Australian history. I am sure that it is the fervent wish of all Australians that its human toll is never surpassed. History recalls that the world did not fully heed the lessons of the First World War and was doomed to repeat the cycle of destruction a generation later in the Second World War. Even in these relatively more peaceful times, war and conflict remains a fact of life for millions of people worldwide. On this Remembrance Day like all others, we should pause to reflect on the memory of those Australians who have died in wars and armed conflicts. A grateful nation honours their sacrifice, and their legacy is a safer and more peaceful world.

Lest we forget.

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