Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week in Fremantle I attended a wreath-laying ceremony for the Allied Merchant Seamen’s Association. Australia has used merchant ships in peacekeeping and wartime operations since 1885, but it was in the Battle for Australia period of the Second World War that the merchant navy played its most extensive and heroic role. Unfortunately it is a role that has gone largely unrecognised and unappreciated in Australia until now. The Rudd government has delivered on an election commitment to promulgate 3 September as Merchant Navy Day, a day that is also commemorated by Canada and the UK.

During wartime all mariners, even though not enlisted in the armed services, were expected to serve or continue to serve without question on merchant ships engaged in war activities. They carried weapons, vehicles, munitions and food, they evacuated civilians from threatened areas and they transported troops to and from areas of conflict. Merchant seamen were not provided with uniforms, leave or medical and pension benefits, yet they were directly aiding the war effort and were the target of attacks from enemy ships, submarines and aircraft. Four hundred and thirty-five Australian merchant seamen are known to have lost their lives serving in the merchant navy. It is time to pay tribute to the heroism and sacrifices of the Australian merchant navy.