Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to put on the record my appreciation and the deep respect I have for our National Servicemen’s Association of Australia Queensland branch for organising an event marking the 55th anniversary of national service in Australia. The event was marked by an inaugural church service in the restored chapel at the National Service Heritage Precinct in my electorate of Oxley, at the former Wacol army camp.

This important event truly represents the values and community connection that our veterans and our nashos have in our local community and the efforts they make to preserve an important part of our history. The event was attended by the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, who is here in the House with us today, along with a number of other dignitaries from the three forces, the Consul of Papua New Guinea, local representatives, church leaders, Air Force cadets and many families and friends.

Making the day even more special was the honour guard provided by our local Air Force Cadets unit. They did a fantastic job in very humid conditions. They are a fine group of young people, committed to carrying on the traditions of military service and serving the local community, and I congratulate them for their efforts.

I also want to thank the President of the Queensland branch of the National Servicemen’s Association of Australia, Colin Bell, for the opening of the Papua New Guinea Volunteer Rifles Museum, a truly wonderful display and a great piece of heritage. We should never forget that a total of 287,000 young men served as nashos in the Navy, Army and Air Force between 1951 and 1972. We should also never forget that 212 of them paid the ultimate price.