Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes the decision to award Ordinary Seaman Edward 'Teddy' Sheean our highest military honour, the Victoria Cross for Australia;

(2) recognises the heroic acts of Ordinary Seaman Edward 'Teddy' Sheean on 1 December 1942 will see him be the first Australian Navy sailor to receive the Victoria Cross; and

(3) acknowledges that an investiture ceremony that befits the magnitude of the award and its significance to Australia will be held at an appropriate time noting current COVID-19 restrictions.

Edward 'Teddy' Sheean was born on 28 December 1923 at Lower Barrington in north-west Tasmania. He was the 14th child to James and Mary Jane Sheean. After working as a farm labourer he enlisted in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve in Hobart on 21 August 1941. Soon after, young Teddy found himself on board the newly commissioned Bathurst class corvette HMAS Armidale. Teddy was the youngest and the most junior sailor on board, and he was employed as a cook's hand and gun loader. The Armidale was deployed carrying out escort duties along the eastern Australian coastline and in New Guinean waters.

On 29 November 1942, HMAS Armidale sailed for Japanese occupied Timor, in company with HMAS Castlemaine and HMAS Kuru. Her mission? To withdraw the 2/2 Independent Rifle Company as well as landing Dutch troops in the area of operations. On 1 December 1942 the Armidale and the Kuru came under sustained attack from enemy aircraft. Despite requests for air support, no support was forthcoming. Soon after 1400 hours the Armidale became separated and her 149 crew were now under direct attack from no fewer than 30 enemy aircraft. She and her crew were receiving effective fire and in an extremely dire position. The corvette manoeuvred frantically as she reacted to contact. At 1515 hours a torpedo struck her dead port side; another struck the engineering spaces; and, finally, a bomb struck aft. As she listed heavily to the port side, Lieutenant Commander David Richards gave the order to abandon ship. The survivors leapt into the sea and were subsequently strafed, or gunned down, by enemy aircraft with machine gun fire.

Our young 18-year-old Tasmanian, Teddy Sheean, was caught in the thick of it. He knew what that meant, he knew where he was and he knew the dire situation he and his mates were in. He had witnessed what was going on from his position at the port side life raft station, where he assisted another sailor, a bloke by the name of Ted Pellet, to cut a life raft free. Pellet would go on to testify as to what he saw and what happened next.

It is at this time, at the port side life raft, with his crewmates being shot at in the water and with a clear escape route in front of him in the raft, that this young sailor's remarkable act of courage and bravery begins. Teddy is at the life raft, with an escape route in front of him. He turns towards the aft deck—which, by the way, is at an approximate 50-degree angle due to the port side sinking fast. Teddy knows at this time that leaving the safety and sanctity of the life raft station will mean almost certain death. But he then climbs up the deck to the aft Oerlikon gun. Teddy Sheean straps himself to the gun, loaded, and begins to engage enemy aircraft which are strafing and killing his mates in the water. In doing so Teddy is wounded, but not before downing two enemy aircraft as well as providing harassing and covering fire for his shipmates in the water. Within minutes the Armidale sinks below the waves, dragging Teddy down with her to his death. Eyewitnesses report tracer fire coming from Teddy's gun as the ship disappears beneath the waves. Just 49 Australian sailors survive that attack.

In subsequent weeks, the Armidale's captain submitted his official report. However, given the circumstances surrounding the compilation of the report, some errors and omissions of critical facts have since been recognised. Teddy Sheean would also be recognised, and to that end Ordinary Seaman Edward 'Teddy' Sheean was awarded a Mention in Despatches for his actions on board the Armidale on 1 December 1942. On 1 May 1999 a Collins class submarine was commissioned the HMAS Sheean, in Teddy's honour. It is the only ship in the Royal Australian Navy to bear the name of a sailor.

Almost 80 years after that tragic military battle, and following much scrutiny and investigation on behalf of the government, appropriate recognition will now be afforded to this brave and courageous young sailor. Following the Prime Minister's recommendation and subsequent approval by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Ordinary Seaman Edward 'Teddy' Sheean is to be posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia. In doing so, Ordinary Seaman Edward 'Teddy' Sheean becomes the first member of the Royal Australian Navy to be awarded Australia's highest award for valour. Teddy is the 101st Australian, and the 15th Tasmanian, to receive the Victoria Cross. A proud and grateful state, Tasmania has the honour of being home to more Victoria Cross recipients per capita than any other state or territory in the nation. The award of the Victoria Cross for Australia is our pre-eminent award for valour. The Victoria Cross is the declaration for recording recognition of persons who, in the presence of the enemy, perform acts of the most conspicuous gallantry or daring, or pre-eminent acts of valour or self-sacrifice.

Today this parliament recognises the supreme act of valour and sacrifice from Ordinary Seaman Edward 'Teddy' Sheean. In doing so, I would furthermore urge all Australians to consider the 100 Australian sailors who were killed during that action in this tragic event. I would urge them, also, to consider the bravery and the suffering of those 49 survivors on board the Armidale that day, and, indeed, the torment that they would have endured for the remainder of their lives. Today I urge Australians to reflect on courage, devotion to duty and the sacrifice that all men and women of our Defence Force make in defending our nation.

It is also important to consider that some things in history may be forgotten, but one thing that will always remain in the minds of Australians is the sacrifice made by our sailors, our soldiers and our airmen. Importantly, today, as a proud and grateful nation we collectively bow our heads and think back to that tragic day in December 1942. We remember the devastating loss of life due to war. Today we as a parliament stand united; we as a nation bow our heads. We give thanks for our freedom and our security. We remember that young 18-year-old from a farm in Tassie, that young bloke from the lower decks. We stand together, one and all, and we say: we'll never forget Teddy Sheean.

Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Defence Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to support this motion from the member for Braddon. I note that, like many of his coalition colleagues, the member was a late convert to the campaign for a Victoria Cross for Teddy Sheean. If I recall, he said he was satisfied with the government's initial decision, in May, not to posthumously award the VC and said the Prime Minister had taken the right decision. I think it's pretty clear that, when he saw the huge community backlash, he had a change of heart, which is when he and some of his Tasmanian colleagues started lobbying the Prime Minister. So I'm sure he too welcomed the Prime Minister's backflip on 10 August, when he announced that Ordinary Seaman Edward 'Teddy' Sheean would finally be awarded our highest military honour, the Victoria Cross for Australia. After nearly 80 years, it was the right decision, and overdue.

Teddy Sheean showed extraordinary bravery, sacrificing his own life to save and protect his comrades. He was only 18 when he died on board HMAS Armidale on 1 December 1942. He refused the chance to board a life raft when his ship was sinking, returning to his anti-aircraft gun and going down with the ship while defending his shipmates from enemy attack. What courage. These exploits are the stuff of legend and have been immortalised in Dale Marsh's painting at the Australian War Memorial, and Lee Kernaghan's song 'Teddy Sheean—Forever Eighteen'. And now there are even plans for a movie celebrating his life.

Teddy's family and supporters and our veterans community can be proud they did not give up the fight to see, finally, justice for Teddy. But the reality is that it should not have taken this long and it should not have taken yet another review to do the right thing, and the government cannot take credit for this outcome. Its handling of this whole process has been a complete shambles and a trashing of good process. First, after the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal unanimously recommended that Teddy be awarded a posthumous VC, following its 2019 review, its report was buried by the government for nearly a year. The Minister for Defence Personnel supported the tribunal's recommendation, but he was rolled by his colleagues. Then the Minister for Defence had to correct the record because she got the facts so wrong that the tribunal chair felt compelled to write to her, calling her out in relation to the matter. The Prime Minister said that one of the reasons for not recommending the VC was that he didn't want to offend the Queen. Good grief, what a pathetic excuse by the Prime Minister. There was a robo-poll from the Liberal Party pollster, quizzing Tasmanians on whether it was important to them that Teddy's actions were recognised. Finally, after sustained pressure from Labor, Tasmanians, the veterans community and Teddy's family and supporters, the Prime Minister ordered a review of the review, because he couldn't simply admit that he got it wrong. Labor then revealed that two of his review panel members were paid more than $60,000 for six weeks work to state what was obvious to everyone—everyone except the Prime Minister perhaps. What a saga.

On top of this, Labor requested government advice and correspondence on this matter under freedom of information, and we received a small number of documents—some of which were heavily redacted or blacked out—but only after the Prime Minister's announcement on 10 August. What a disgrace—and a further breach of process. The documents reveal the Prime Minister and defence department were stubbornly opposed to a retrospective VC for Teddy because they thought there was not enough evidence of his bravery, and it would also undermine the integrity of the honours system and open the floodgates to other applications. For example, as late as May this year, the Prime Minister was writing to the Tasmanian Premier, justifying his decision on these bogus grounds. Of course, I and many others, including current and former tribunal members, have all shown these arguments to be utterly baseless.

Firstly, the tribunal's 2019 review found compelling new evidence of Teddy's bravery which clearly met the standard for a VC—even before the Prime Minister's latest review found even more evidence. Secondly, the Prime Minister ignored the awarding of two posthumous VCs to British naval personnel, and the tribunal found Sheean's actions exceeded those of very similar cases. Thirdly, the expert panel said there was unlikely to be a flood of applications, given Teddy's case was so extraordinary. So, if anything undermined the integrity of the whole honours and awards system, it was the Prime Minister's decision to ignore the tribunal.

Contrary to the member for Braddon's previous claims, Labor hasn't been trying to politicise this issue or say it was parliament's role to award the VC. All we're trying to say is that the government should have accepted the recommendations of the independent umpire, the tribunal. After all, it was Labor that established this body to independently consider honours and awards, outside of Defence, and to keep the politics out of these decisions—and, in government, we've always accepted its recommendations. It was this government that politicised the issue by ignoring the panel of experts on the tribunal and setting up a review of the tribunal's own review. It undermined the role of the tribunal and it sets a dangerous precedent, as its future recommendations could be dismissed at the whim of a future government and future politicians. That's not a good process. So, all up, this was a terrible process with a just result in the end.

As the Prime Minister's panel report admitted, the 'true story of Sheean had always been there'. But, if that's the case, why did it take another review to tell us that Teddy was a hero and deserved a VC? It's clear this was a cynical exercise designed to give the government political cover to back the 2019 inquiry findings as the tide of public opinion in Tasmania and elsewhere swung in behind a VC for Teddy.

Now Teddy is our 101st VC, as the motion acknowledges, and the first Australian Navy sailor to receive our highest military honour. It's worth noting that Australia's Navy community campaigned long and hard for this, and was highly critical of the government's initial snub of Teddy. Former naval officer and military historian Tom Lewis has argued that Teddy Sheean and other naval servicemen had been unjustly overlooked for the Victoria Cross in the past. As Dr Lewis has pointed out, during World War II every approval for Navy gallantry awards had to go through London, while the other two forces had their awards approved here. In Teddy's case, his initial mention in dispatches was based on a 'hastily written' report which failed to do justice to his actions and even misspelt his name. This award will go a long way towards overcoming the manifest individual injustice perpetrated upon Teddy. But it's also long overdue recognition for our gallant men and women of the Navy. It also follows representations from the Naval Association of Australia, representing current and former Navy personnel, who wrote to the Prime Minister over his earlier decision to reject the VC and slammed Defence's attempts to undermine the tribunal.

Finally, I want to congratulate the veterans community; Teddy's family and supporters, and his nephew Gary Ivory in particular; and fellow Tasmanians who campaigned so strongly over many years to recognise Teddy's bravery in the way he deserves. I want to congratulate and recognise my Labor caucus colleagues, especially my Tasmanian colleagues, who worked very hard in seeking justice for Teddy. They include the member for Lyons, who is also speaking on this motion. I know Teddy's birthplace of Lower Barrington falls in his electorate, and he's been a passionate advocate for the young farm labourer turned war hero.

We hope an investiture ceremony befitting the magnitude of the award and its significance to Australia can be held at an appropriate time, noting the current COVID-19 restrictions. I note Garry Ivory said he hoped the event would be live streamed or televised—and I think that's a terrific idea—so that all Australians can celebrate Teddy's extraordinary achievements.

Teddy Sheean is a great Australian hero, and this is a VC for all the Australian people. Teddy embodies courage, mateship and self-sacrifice, and in these challenging times his example should be inspirational to all of us. As a nation we will be forever grateful for his service, dedication and sacrifice. I commend the motion to the chamber.

Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This year we mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. It is fitting that, with this anniversary, we look to the lives of the men and women who fought and died for our country. There wouldn't be many in our country, and especially in my home state of Tasmania, who would be unaware of the valour of Ordinary Seaman Edward 'Teddy' Sheean. I've spoken here before on his extraordinary actions.

Today I want to speak of the beloved son, brother and friend who lost his life at the tender age of 18. He is a hero, but the threads that reach back through history to his valour and his loss are the memories of those who loved him. Who better to tell that story than those who knew him best. I'd like to share the words I received from June Hale, daughter of one of Teddy's elder sisters. June says:

Edward (Teddy) Sheean was born in Barrington Tasmania on 23 December 1923. He was one of 16 children, born to James and Mary Sheean.

Teddy and his brother Thomas, otherwise known as Mick, joined the Navy while Bert, Fred, Bill and Albert, otherwise known as Janie, joined the Army. Two other brothers, Allan and Jim, were equally hard working, staying behind to work the land.

His sisters were Florence Shea, Amy Gillam, Ivy Hayes and Nell Ivory. Four more children younger than Teddy did not survive.

June goes on to say:

Teddy's photo sat on our mantelpiece our entire lives—it never left. It was only taken down to dust, but was always put back in the same place.

It remained there until the day his sister Ivy Hayes passed away, when it went with her to her final resting place.

Ivy, along with her remaining brothers and sisters, was told Teddy would never receive a VC so they just relished that he would have a submarine named in his honour.

And so on 1st May 1999 the HMAS Sheean was launched in Adelaide. Our mother, who was becoming quite frail by then, made it to the launching along with her only surviving brother Bert, and astounded everyone with her resilience at not only being able to make the trip, but addressed the crowd with a heart rending speech, which not only stunned the gathering, but her family as well.

Almost three years later, on 23rd February 2001, the HMAS Sheean was commissioned in Fremantle along with the Collins Class submarine Dechaineaux and once again, Teddy's sister Ivy Hayes, now 90 years of age managed the long flight to Perth WA.

Ivy was a very humble lady, and struggled with the title of 'Commissioning Lady' because her younger brother Bert was by her side, but she was informed it had to be a woman to commission the submarine.

So at the ripe old age of 90, with no notes, nor practice, she delivered a speech straight from the heart that is still spoken about in Naval circles.

When the HMAS Sheean made its inaugural trip into Devonport, Ivy stood on the banks of the Mersey River and watched it sail into port. She said she felt Teddy had finally come home.

June goes on:

Teddy's mother was given an oak leaf when he was mentioned in dispatches, a tiny medal that our mother held in her hand, saying it didn't seem very much for someone who had given their life for their country.

The painting which now hangs in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra was too painful for his family to view every day, but depicted the heroic deed of this young man.

How would Teddy feel about all of this? From what we know, he would be extremely humbled, unlike his siblings, if only they had been around. They will be having one huge celebration at a deed well done.

The fight began over 30 years ago to award Teddy a VC.

Thank you, Garry Ivory and Guy Barnett for your never give up attitude, your resilience when it appeared all hope was lost and your true meaning of the HMAS Sheean motto 'Fight on.' You have done yourselves and Teddy and his family proud.

Mission accomplished.

Thank you, June, for sharing your personal memories that help add to the story of Teddy's life. I am sure he could not have imagined how his story would play out almost 80 years later. The Victoria Cross awarded to Teddy rightfully bestows appropriate recognition of his acts of gallantry. Lest we forget.

Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Braddon for moving this motion, and it does give me great pride to stand here to speak to it. This private member's motion follows my own in June this year on the same subject, in which I made the following remark:

The matter of whether Teddy Sheean deserves a Victoria Cross is settled. The 2019 report of the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal outlines in comprehensive and compelling detail why the Tasmanian 18-year-old should be awarded the Commonwealth's most distinguished military honour.

I am pleased to be able to stand here just three months later knowing that Teddy Sheean has finally been awarded the Victoria Cross that his selfless actions merited.

The member for Braddon and I share Teddy Sheean. Teddy was born in Lower Barrington in the north-west of my electorate, but he grew up in La Trobe, a few short kilometres away from his birthplace but just over the Lyons border in Braddon. It is fair to say that the people of Latrobe claim Teddy as theirs, and I am sure that in the years is to come an appropriate memorial will be erected in the town to mark the fact that he has now been awarded the Victoria Cross. I look forward to that day.

The campaign to see Teddy Sheean awarded the Victoria Cross has been one of decades. None has waged it longer than Garry Ivory, a nephew of Teddy's, and Guy Barnett, a former Tasmanian senator and now a minister in the Tasmanian Liberal government. Without the tireless efforts and dedication of these two men, Teddy would not have received the Victoria Cross that his actions had merited. It is right that Garry and Guy be acknowledged as the primary drivers of this campaign. But it is necessary to point out that this day would not have arrived if it had not been for the dedication to duty of the independent Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal, which recommended that Teddy be awarded the Victoria Cross; it would not have arrived if not for the efforts of tens of thousands of ordinary Australians who put their names to petitions and postcards demanding that the Prime Minister reverse his initial decision to refuse to abide by the tribunal's recommendation; it would not have arrived if Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie had not, in her own unique and less than subtle way, shamed the government and its Tasmanian MPs; and it most certainly would not have arrived if it had not been for Labor leader Anthony Albanese declaring that a future Labor government would abide by the recommendation of the independent tribunal and grant the Victoria Cross to Teddy Sheean if this government did not.

These combined efforts, some led by the community and others by elected parliamentarians of all stripes, resulted in the Prime Minister revisiting the issue. As a face-saving exercise, he did not reverse his refusal immediately but constituted a new panel to review the appeals tribunal's recommendation—an appeals panel of an appeals panel. The findings of the new panel, headed by former Liberal leader Brendan Nelson, were never in doubt. This time the PM accepted the recommendation and made the request of Her Majesty, and Teddy Sheean finally was granted the VC his actions merited.

On the day the Prime Minister made the announcement, I was in Triabunna, a small town on the east coast of my electorate. I was sitting in my car just before heading to a meeting, and a man tapped on my window. You never know what you'll get when someone taps on your window, but this was a good one. He wanted to thank me for my efforts in the Teddy Sheean campaign and the thousands of postcards I'd collected and forwarded on to the PM, and he asked, 'Has there been an update?' I was delighted to let him know that, just 30 minutes beforehand, the Prime Minister had announced that he would recommend Teddy for the VC.

Last week I received two cards from constituents who had sent in postcards asking the PM to reverse his initial refusal. Catherine thanked me for giving her the opportunity to be involved in the cause, while Lynn said she was over the moon at the result. Neither of these women knew Teddy. They have no links to him other than being Tasmanian. The same can be said for most who signed and sent in their postcards. People often included small notes and personal touches, and many were from veterans who included their service numbers and records. Every single person who sent in a postcard was invested. They cared enough to fill in the details, pay for a stamp and put their postcard in a letterbox. Their request was a simple one—that the Prime Minister abide by the recommendation of the independent tribunal. There was nothing in it personally for the 2,000 Tasmanians who sent in their postcards—no prize, no recognition. They just wanted to right a historical wrong. They knew down to their guts that an 18-year-old kid born in Lower Barrington who'd died a hero, thousands of miles from home, firing a gun aboard a sinking ship and saving his shipmates, deserved the Victoria Cross. Lest we forget.

Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Teddy Sheean is no ordinary hero. His story is an extraordinary one, highlighting the courage, sacrifice and bravery of many of our service men and women. The decision to award Ordinary Seaman Edward 'Teddy' Sheean our highest individual honour, the Victoria Cross for Australia, is well deserved. I thank our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, for his leadership in ensuring that Teddy's case was thoroughly examined and justice was ultimately done and for honouring another man of honour. In doing so, I pass on the appreciation of so many in our community to the Prime Minister for his tenacity to see this through, even as he leads our nation through very challenging times. It's a privilege to be part of a government whose leader has made a recommendation to the Governor-General for the award of the Victoria Cross for Australia to such an extraordinary man.

Teddy was heroic, and he deserves to be remembered for his incredible courage. Following in the footsteps of his four brothers, Teddy joined the armed forces at a young age, serving aboard the newly commissioned HMAS Armidale as an anti-aircraft gun loader. In December 1942, HMAS Armidale came under attack from Japanese bombers in the Arafura Sea. The vessel was struck by two air-launched torpedoes, and the order was given to abandon ship. As the crew leapt into the sea, Teddy assisted in freeing a life raft and was hit by two bullets, wounding him in the chest and back. Scrambling to get across the deck, he began shooting at the Japanese to protect his fellow sailors. With these actions the Japanese aircraft were kept at bay and were unable to effectively strike those in the water. As HMAS Armidale continued to sink, Teddy maintained fire, managing to shoot down one of the bombers and damaging a further two aircraft before HMAS Armidale's stern was immersed by the sea. Teddy fought until he tragically disappeared beneath the waves. These actions are why Teddy will become the first Australian Navy sailor to receive the Victoria Cross, a truly distinct honour.

The service and the sacrifice shown by Teddy Sheean is truly honourable. Whilst he had the opportunity to save his own life he instead placed others before himself. This is an incredible example of the character displayed by so many Australians who have fought for us—for our nation—in World War I, World War II and other wars that followed. It reflects the sacrifice of those who did not have the opportunity to return home to their loved ones and it reflects the courage displayed by all who have served our nation and who have fought for the freedoms we all enjoy today.

There's broad support for this decision from the service men and women in my electorate. Greg Mawson from Gosford RSL referred to the superhuman acts demonstrated by Teddy. He said: 'Teddy knew he faced a certain death but still went above and beyond for his fellow sailors. His acts of courage elevate him to this prestigious category. Teddy deserves this recognition.' John George, from Brisbane Water Legacy, spoke of the immense pride by those in the veteran community that one of their own would be recognised with the Victoria Cross. John told me of the efforts of Teddy's family, other returned veterans and many, many others in the community, as referred to by the member for Lyons, who campaigned for this outcome. John said that this is tangible recognition of the courage and sacrifice that so many Australians have shown when the chips are down in combat: 'No greater love can be shown than when a man lays down his life for others. In war this happens frequently, but only a few are recognised.' John said that Sheean's award not only recognises him but all his shipmates and all who served our nation, including in World War II, a war that ended 75 years ago. Terry Saxby, from Terrigal Wamberal RSL, wanted to pass on his personal thanks to all those who made this award possible and said that Teddy's family could be rightly proud of him and what he did.

It is clear to all of us that Teddy's actions represent the very best of what it means to be human, what it means to serve and to sacrifice for the sake of others, what courage and mateship ultimately mean and what it means to be Australian. I commend the recommendation of this distinct honour and its approval by Her Majesty the Queen, and I look to the day in coming months when Teddy's family can accept the award of the Victoria Cross for Australia on Teddy's behalf from our Governor-General. Lest we forget.

Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.