Alan Griffin (Bruce, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in the House today to talk briefly about the situation regarding attempts being made to recover from Vietnam the bodies of two of the remaining six Australian servicemen missing in action there, believed killed. I speak of Peter Raymond Gillson and Richard Harold John Parker, who were both missing in action, killed in action, on 8 November 1965. They are two of the remaining six people who have not yet been found. I want to read from a newspaper story in the Daily News which described the action the two soldiers were involved in:

Both were members of the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) involved in Operation Hump on November 8, 1965. Mr Bourke, a retired lieutenant colonel, was also a member of 1RAR involved in the same operation.

Mr Bourke was a man who recently led a mission searching for the remains of the two veterans.

This was a combined Australian-US attack on a feature known as Hill 82, 17km north-east of the city of Bien Hoa, under overall US command.

As Lance Corporal Parker patrolled into a small clearing, he was cut down by at least four Viet Cong machine-guns. He was heard to fire his rifle several times but then fell silent.

Massive incoming fire barred the immediate recovery of his body but his colleagues organised an assault.

Private Gillson, carrying an M60 machine-gun, was climbing over tangled tree roots when he was hit. He managed to kill two enemy soldiers but was struck repeatedly by enemy fire.

On three occasions, platoon Sergeant Colin Fawcett crawled forward but each time recovery of the body was thwarted by intense enemy fire.

The Australian infantrymen then withdrew to regroup but the US commander forbade any further recovery attempts. That decision reportedly caused great dissatisfaction among the diggers.

Presumably the bodies were subsequently buried by the Viet Cong, probably not far from where they fell.

Efforts being made to find the bodies of these brave young Aussies revolve around Mr Bourke and other members of his group in Operation Aussies Home, one of whom is a local resident in my electorate, Gordon Peterson. The work that they have done in trying to establish the location of the remains in order to allow repatriation and proper treatment of the dead has been quite significant. They have funded their own trips to Vietnam to search in an endeavour to contact witnesses and otherwise ascertain the location. The previous Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, the Hon. De-Anne Kelly MP, in a press release said late last year:

Mr Bourke of the Operation Aussies Home organisation has met with me and has kept me informed during his team’s visit to Vietnam. The team met with Australian and United States officials, including former soldiers who were involved in the military actions, about the possible location of the Australian servicemen’s remains.

While the passage of time has made the task in finding the remains of those missing more difficult, Mr Bourke’s team will shortly present the findings of their investigations. The report will then be considered by Defence to determine the best way forward.

Mr Bourke and his team should be commended for their unstinting efforts in trying to bring closure to these missing in action cases.

I agree totally with the previous minister with respect to the need for action to be taken. However, I am a bit concerned about recent reports about where this investigation is up to. My understanding is that Mr Bourke has recently heard back from Defence that at this stage there is an unwillingness to fund any efforts to recover the bodies because of concerns about the issue of location. An article in the Courier-Mail just last Monday said:

Veterans’ Affairs Minister Bruce Billson said while the Government was happy to provide ‘in-kind support’ it was unable to expend public money until a location was identified.

That has left the mates of the two men in a situation of now needing to find some $50,000 to fund a search of the area, when they basically believe they have settled on the locations where the remains would be found.

I urge the new Minister for Veterans’ Affairs to reconsider what he has said. I urge him to meet Mr Bourke and representatives of his group to ascertain what can be done in order to proceed further with this investigation. In a Defence budget of some $17 billion, $50,000 is not a lot of money at all. When you look at the sacrifice that these young Australians made in a conflict so many years ago, a resolution is important for closure for their families, I am sure. It is certainly important for their colleagues and comrades to try to bring this matter to a conclusion and to bring these young Australians home where they belong to be honoured for what they did.