Tony Crook (O'Connor, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak on this motion before the House. It is a very important motion for my electorate. In particular, this motion is important not only for the city of Albany, in the Great Southern of Western Australia, but also for the nation.

Today I would like to highlight to the House the nationally significant role that Albany has played in Australia's military history and I call on the House to recognise this important role.

I also want to acknowledge the work of the Albany Centenary of Anzac Alliance and the National Commission on the Commemoration of the Anzac Centenary. Finally, I call on both sides of parliament to lend their support to ensuring that Albany plays a focal role in the Anzac Centenary in 2014.

Albany holds a very significant place in Australia's military history. In November and December 1914 Albany served as a gathering place for the first convoy of ships carrying Australian and New Zealand troops to war. For many, it was the last time they stepped on Australian soil before travelling to Egypt to train and, ultimately, to take part in the landings at Gallipoli on 25 April, 1915.

As the National Commission on the Commemoration of the Anzac Centenary pointed out in its 2011 report, the term 'Anzac' is instantly recognisable in Australia and has come to mean far more than just a military acronym. The Anzac spirit encompasses values that every Australian holds dear and aspires to emulate in their own life: courage, bravery, sacrifice, mateship, loyalty, selflessness and resilience. This spirit has given Australians an ideal to strive for and a history to be proud of, even though it was born out of war, suffering and loss.

To this day, the Anzac spirit is still alive and strong in Albany. It is alive and strong at the Anzac service, where each year more and more people turn out to commemorate our fallen soldiers. It is alive and strong among our young people in Albany, with schoolchildren actively taking a role in developing plans for the Commemoration of the Anzac Centenary. And it is alive and strong for many standing atop Mount Clarence and Mount Adelaide in the centre of Albany.

The Mount Clarence war memorial, the Avenue of Honour and the Princess Royal Fortress on Mount Adelaide form a combined Anzac precinct right in the heart of Albany. This precinct is in fact one of Australia's finest outdoor military museums, receiving more than 25,000 visitors each year, featuring restored shore batteries, armouries, barracks, a collection highlighting the role of the 10th Light Horse Regiment and walking trails featuring spectacular views of King George Sound, the gathering place of that very first convoy.

The Albany community has plans to upgrade and enhance this precinct, which includes the development of an Anzac Interpretive Centre in time for the Anzac centenary commemorations. The importance of Albany in Australia's military history is surely clear to any visitor, including Prime Minister Julia Gillard and federal Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Warren Snowdon, who have both stood on top of Mount Clarence in the past year and toured this Anzac precinct.

I would like to thank the Prime Minister and Minister Snowdon for their willingness to engage with the Albany community. The federal government have supported this project, including funding contributions totalling $1.5 million to date. This has been greatly appreciated by the Albany community.

I would also like to acknowledge the work that has been undertaken by the Albany Centenary of Anzac Alliance and the National Commission on the Commemoration of the Anzac Centenary. These groups have been instrumental in putting Albany's Anzac history on the federal government's agenda at a local and national level. Indeed, a 2011 report by the national commission has recommended that Albany play a focal role in the Anzac Centenary, including the establishment of the Anzac Interpretive Centre, which the federal government has already made a significant commitment towards. This interpretive centre would utilise technology to allow visitors to pinpoint ships gathering in King George Sound and to locate information about individual soldiers on board. Visitors would be able to trace the journey of a soldier, from the moment he left Albany through to the conclusion of his service. This centre will be a great educational tool for visitors and schools, and will be accessible both physically and online, allowing people right around the world to access this important chapter of the Anzac story. The national commission has also recommended a re-enactment of the first convoy of vessels in King George

Sound on the morning of 1 November 2014, representing the convoy of almost 100 years ago—the first gathering of the Anzacs and the starting point of the Anzac legend. As I stated earlier, Albany has played a very significant role in the Anzac story and I look forward to seeing both sides of this House supporting Albany's role as a focal point for the commemoration of the Anzac centenary in 2014. I commend this motion to the House.

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science, Technology and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition supports the Albany alliance proposal for an Anzac Interpretive Centre at Mount Clarence. The proposal is to built the interpretive centre within the contours of Mount Clarence using the 270-degree view of King George Sound. An interactive display will show where the ships which formerly carried Australian and New Zealand troops to the Middle East starting on 1 November 1914 were position in the harbour. The first Australian and New Zealand contingent of 28 troopships sailed from Albany, Western Australia, bound for Egypt. The escorts included HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Sydney, the cruiser HMS Minotaur and the Japanese cruiser Ibuki. Only one in three of those who sailed in the first convoy would return physically unscathed at the end of the First World War. It is something that should be remembered. There are also plans to enable families to see which ship their family member was on for the voyage. On 1 November 2014 there are plans to have ships once again in King George Sound to replicate what it must have been like 100 years ago. I think it is an exciting proposal. The alliance has proposed a recreation of the dawn service at Mount Clarence which was originated there by Padre White in 1916 and is widely believed to be the first dawn service in Australia. Its recreation will mark its significant anniversary. There are also plans to improve the facilities at the Light Horse Memorial at Mount Clarence. The total package will significantly enhance Albany's place in the Anzac story and make it a place to visit for any family with a link to Gallipoli and the Australian military story.

My good colleague Senator Michael Ronaldson has visited Albany twice since the election to view the site and get a better understanding of the projects. In fact, Minister Snowdon followed Senator Ronaldson to Albany in July last year to announce the long awaited funding for a scoping study. The project also has wide support from the Liberal candidate for O'Connor, Rick Wilson, who is a passionate advocate of the proposals. The government has also belatedly committed $1.3 million for a scoping study, although there is no financial commitment beyond 30 June for the construction of this centre. This is part of the broader issue of lack of funding for the centenary of Anzac commemorations across Australia. So we call on the government to ensure that this year's budget contains the funding commitments for the centenary of Anzac to provide certainty for the people of Albany.

Alan Griffin (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government supports the motion by the member for O'Connor. I will speak briefly because of the time of day and the circumstances we face, but there are a couple of points I would like to make in the process of that. It is my understanding that the government has been working with the member for O'Connor to look at the question of what can be done here to ensure that we properly commemorate the absolutely important role that Albany played with respect to the departure of our first Anzacs almost a century ago. The circumstances around that involve a process which is very important. The government set up an independent process through the national commission on the commemoration of the Anzac centenary. I know, because I was the minister who set it up. It was a process that was designed to be bipartisan and apolitical and to provide an opportunity for people to come forth from throughout the country with recommendations as to what should be done in order to commemorate this absolutely vital centenary. Through that and through the process of that commission, a range of initiatives have come forward and today we speak briefly about one that was, I might add, a recommendation from that commission as being something that should be central to the commemorations which relate to the centenary of Anzac.

As part of that process from those recommendations, further consideration has occurred through the Anzac Centenary Advisory Board, and the government has committed firstly, as I understand it, $250,000 around a feasibility study and now another $1.3 million with respect to the design and development of the centre. That is that way you do these things. You have to start off properly and work through progressively, and that is what the government is doing and has done. Frankly, it is not a question of who visits first; it is a question of what is delivered in the end and it is about ensuring that this national centenary of some of the most important elements of our national history is done properly in a process which ensures the involvement of the entire nation and that the priorities that are set forward through that process are priorities that meet the needs of the entire nation.

I am particularly pleased with respect to this proposal that there is going to be an educative online involvement, because I think it is crucial that what is done in Albany is understood throughout this nation and in fact throughout the world. I am very confident that as we move forward on this that is exactly what is going to happen. I commend the member for O'Connor for the work that he has done on this. I commend the government for the work they are doing on this. I would urge all members of this House to get behind this as one of what will end up being many initiatives throughout this nation, to ensure that the courage and sacrifice of those who went before us, now almost a century ago, are properly understood by the Australian community today and properly commemorated in the years ahead in an enduring fashion via elements such as this, which will provide an enduring long-term legacy to ensure that that courage and sacrifice are never forgotten.

Debate adjourned.

Sitting suspended from 13:41 to 15:59