Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges:

(a) the Australian War Memorial (AWM) was built to recognise the service and sacrifice of Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel following the Great War;

(b) the role of the AWM has grown to encompass all ADF service including major conflicts, peacekeeping missions, humanitarian aid and disaster relief;

(c) the AWM combines a shrine, a world-class museum, and an extensive archive; and

(d) its mission is leading remembrance and understanding of Australia's wartime experience;

(2) notes that:

(a) the former Government committed to a major redevelopment of the AWM with early construction work commencing in 2020 and scheduled for completion in 2028; and

(b) the key reason for the former Government funding the redevelopment of the AWM was to provide additional exhibition space to tell the stories of contemporary service in the ADF in a timely and appropriate manner; and

(3) urges the Government to ensure the independent AWM Council remains true to its mission without political interference.

I regard the Australian War Memorial as the most important building in our nation because it lies at the heart of our commitment to remember the 103,000 service personnel who have died wearing the uniform of our Army, Navy and Air Force. It reminds us that the freedoms we enjoy today came at an extraordinarily heavy price. Those who were killed, those who were physically wounded, those who never recovered from the mental scars and the families who supported them in their service are the ones who paid the price for our freedoms, and we must never forget that sacrifice.

It was conceived by historian Charles Bean, who witnessed the bloody battles in Gallipoli and the Western Front during World War I, and the memorial took 12 years to build from 1929 to 1941. Bean's guiding philosophy is captured in this quote from 1948:

Here is their spirit, in the heart of the land they loved; and here we guard the record which they themselves made.

Those words ring true today and explain why the redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial was essential. We are simply adding to Bean's extraordinary legacy. The memorial's purpose is to commemorate the sacrifice of those Australians who have died in war or in operational service and those who have served our nation in times of conflict. Its mission is leading remembrance and understanding of Australia's wartime experience.

The key reason for the coalition funding the redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial, while we were in government, was to tell the stories of contemporary service in the Australian Defence Force in a timely and appropriate manner. Over the past 30 years, more than 100,000 Australians have served in war, conflict and peacekeeping missions. Today, their stories remain largely untold. The Australian War Memorial redevelopment is modernising and expanding the galleries and the stories we tell of Australian service and sacrifice. For the first time, the memorial will have displays dedicated to Australia's efforts to prevent war and to contribute to peace. So, in commending the project, which is due for completion in 2028, I completely reject the critics who claim the memorial is glorifying war or that the money could be better spent on our veterans.

Let's be very clear about this. The $550 million is a lot of money, and I know the director, Matt Anderson, and the council are determined to deliver on the project within the budget and with due respect for taxpayers' dollars, but not a cent is coming from the Department of Veterans' Affairs budget. As veterans minister at the time when the decision was made to proceed with the development, an agreement was reached with Treasury for new funding to be allocated from outside DVA.

During the eight years of construction involving this $550 million, the DVA will spend somewhere around $100 billion on supporting our veterans and their families. It is contemporary veterans and their families who are among some of the strongest supporters of this redevelopment. They want to be able to walk through the expanded Australian War Memorial with their own children and explain their story of service to our nation and not only the service of their parents or grandparents or great grandparents. As the minister of the day, I agreed with memorial's board members that there was a need to increase the size of the exhibition space in order to place more items on display and better tell the stories of our more recent missions. It is part of the healing process for our veterans and their families who have been impacted by military service that their contemporary stories can be told in a meaningful way, and the expanded memorial will allow that to happen in the very near future.

It's interesting that Australians seem to want to learn more about our military history, as evidenced by the raw numbers. According to TripAdvisor, the memorial is the No. 1 visitor attraction in Canberra, and the war memorial is a top rated war memorial in the world. That's a credit to the council, the director and the staff, who do an incredible job to support visitors and respectfully commemorate our military history—most notably, I'd say, by the last post ceremony every evening.

I have had the opportunity to go behind the scenes and inspect the redevelopment along with the recently opened sections of the war memorial. This is a national endeavour that Australians can be proud of, and I'm pleased to see the current government is continuing with the project. The coalition will always ensure the Australian War Memorial is properly resourced to fill its critical role of respectful remembrance and commemoration. The redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial is a bold endeavour of inter-generational significance, and it helps to sustain the eternal promise that we will remember them. Lest we forget.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the outset, I want to acknowledge we've got two former ministers for veterans affairs in the chamber. We also have a Timor and Afghan veteran, the member for Herbert; my good mate the member for Spence, who also has worn our country's uniform; and a big supporter of our veterans, the member for Makin.

This morning I visited one of our nation's most sacred sites, the Australian War Memorial. When opening the new main entrance in February last year, the Prime Minister referred to it as 'the most important building in the nation'. The Australian War Memorial was founded in the aftermath of the First World War, and the names of 61,721 Australians that lost their lives during the Great War are on the memorial's Roll of Honour. It was a young nation, fewer than five million people, so that loss was indeed profound. The War Memorial was built to honour their service and sacrifice and to ensure that we never forgot the terrible cost of war.

The War Memorial was driven by the vision of Charles Bean, Australia's official war correspondent in the Great War. He believed that, if Australians were asked to serve Australia in harm's way, then the nation owed them not only commemoration but careful documentation. He envisaged not simply a monument but a living institution, a place of remembrance, reflection and rigorous historical research. The Australian War Memorial is unique in combining three essential functions: a national shrine, a world-class museum and an extensive archive preserving official records and deeply personal stories. Through these functions, it fulfils its enduring mission of leading remembrance and deepening understanding of Australia's wartime and operational experience.

On the Roll of Honour, there are now 103,132 names, each one belonging to somebody who has made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, including Private Robert 'Jock' Buchan, who died when they were engaged in a firefight in the Nui May Tao mountains alongside my father but also Kenny Higgins, the president of Mackay RSL—and I give a shout-out to Kenny and Dad—when they were engaged in that firefight in South Vietnam in 1969. Another number of that 103,000 Australians belongs to Private Scott Palmer of the 2nd Commando Regiment, who was killed in Afghanistan on operations on 21 June 2010. Scotty was a dedicated and highly skilled soldier, a proud Territorian and a great mate to many of his comrades. Eight other soldiers from 2 Commando Regiment also lost their lives during the Afghanistan campaign. Their names are also on the wall. Each name on that wall represents not just an individual but a family, a unit and a community forever changed. In Darwin, in tribute to Scott, we're delivering the Scott Palmer centre. It will be a place to support veterans and their families in the Greater Darwin area, a reminder that remembrance is not abstract; it is lived daily in communities across Australia.

Today, the War Memorial encompasses all ADF service from the First and Second World Wars to Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East, peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and training exercises, and it ensures that contemporary veterans are recognised with the same dignity that has been afforded rightly to earlier generations. The major redevelopment of the War Memorial has been underway for some time. Some of it, such as the HMAS Brisbane exhibition, is open now, but full completion will be made in 2028, and it will ensure that there is sufficient space to sufficiently and properly tell the stories of contemporary service. The upgrade includes the protection and preservation of our national collection, improving accessibility and enhancing the education and research facilities. The Australian War Memorial is a sacred place in the nation, and it is right that it is properly developed.

Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank my friend the member for Gippsland for bringing this motion to the parliament. I acknowledge all those sitting in here who served our nation. I also acknowledge the many brave men and women who continue to serve and our veterans and their families.

The Australian War Memorial is one of the most sacred places in our country. It was built after the Great War to honour those who served, the sacrifice of the men who never made it home and those who came back carrying wounds—some visible, many not. But over the years its purpose has grown, as has our nation's understanding of what service truly means. Today, the memorial doesn't just speak to the diggers of the First World War; it tells the story of every Australian who has worn the uniform—every conflict, every operation, every mission where Australians have stepped forward to help others. It recognises the men and women who fought in major conflicts, those who kept the peace in troubled parts of the world and those who have delivered humanitarian aid and disaster relief when people were at their most vulnerable.

What makes the Australian War Memorial so important is that it is there to make sure that our brave men and women have a place to reflect. It's a shrine where we honour those who gave their lives. It's a world-class museum preserving our military history. And it's one of our nation's most extensive archives, holding the records, stories, letters and memories that help us make sense of what war does to people and to our country. All of this supports its mission to lead remembrance and deepen the understanding of Australia's wartime experience.

That mission has never been more important. But, for that mission to stay relevant, the memorial must evolve. That's why the former coalition government made the decision to commit to a major redevelopment, with work beginning in 2020 and set to finish in 2028. The reason was simple: our veterans, those who have served on all operations, deserve to have their stories properly told. This redevelopment wasn't about politics. It wasn't about monuments or buildings. It was about people: our veterans. It was about ensuring that the next generation understands what our service men and women have done and what they've seen—what they've carried; what they've sacrificed.

For me, it's deeply personal. Every time I walk into the Australian War Memorial, I don't do it as a politician; I do it as a veteran. I walk in as a soldier. I walk in as someone who has stood beside mates in uniform—in training, on deployment, in combat—in some of the hardest moments of our lives. When I stand in the memorial, I think of my mates who never came home: those whose names are etched on the wall. I also think about those who made it home physically but continue to fight battles. Too many of them lost that fight. Their names aren't engraved in bronze, but their sacrifice is just as real.

For veterans, the Australian War Memorial is not just history; it's a mirror. It forces us to confront the cost of service. It reminds us that we're a part of something bigger than ourselves, and it gives families, friends, loved ones and everyday Australians a place to understand what service truly demands. No government of any side or any colour of shirt should ever try and shape or distort the stories told within those walls. These stories belong to the men and women who served, not to politicians. We owe it to the next generation of veterans to tell their stories honestly. We owe it to the families who sent their sons and daughters to war, and we owe it to the Australian people to help them understand not just why we fight but what fighting costs.

The Australian War Memorial belongs to all of us, but for our veterans it holds a special place. It reminds us of mateship, sacrifice, courage and grief. It is a place of remembrance and, for many, a place of healing. As we look to the future, let us make sure that the memorial remains a place where every Australian veteran, past, present and future, is honoured with dignity, respect and truth.

Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Gippsland for bringing forward this motion today—an important topic. I also thank the member for Herbert and the member for Solomon for their contributions as well.

The Australian War Memorial is a sacred national space where a grieving nation can gather and a place of commemoration for those who returned and for those who did not. From its earliest days, the memorial has stood as a solemn place of international standing, telling the story of Australia's military history and as a vast archive preserving official records, artefacts and deeply personal accounts. Together these functions fulfil its enduring mission to lead remembrance and deepen understanding of Australia's experience of war. That mission is not just for ceremony; it is central to education in this country.

Each year the memorial is a focal point for school excursions, particularly for year 5 and year 6 students travelling from across Australia. For many young Australians walking through the galleries, standing in the commemorative area or watching the Last Post ceremony, it is their first direct encounter with our nation's military history. It transforms textbook learning into lived understanding. It connects names on a page to real lives, real families and real communities.

The memorial also serves as a vital research hub. Tertiary students studying history, international relations and military studies rely on its archives and collections. Letters, diaries, operational records and personal artefacts provide the primary source material that shapes serious studies across the country and worldwide. In this way, the memorial does not simply preserve history; it actively informs how history is written and understood. Over time, its scope has expanded to reflect the full breadth of Australian service, from the Boer War and the World Wars to Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East, from peacekeeping missions to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. It ensures contemporary veterans are recognised with the same dignity afforded to earlier generations.

Now, a major redevelopment is underway, scheduled for completion in 2028, to ensure there is sufficient space to properly tell the stories of modern service. Remembrance must evolve as service evolves. The redevelopment also supports broader historical reflection, including recognition of frontier conflict and the organised violence that occurred during colonisation. That inclusion strengthens understanding of Australia's full historical experience. The project incorporates significant upgrades to protect the national collection, improve accessibility and create better educational spaces. Central to this is the new Charles Bean Research Centre, a facility designed to expand archival access support and rigorous scholarship and to continue the careful documentation that Charles Bean championed.

The Albanese Labor government has ensured the resources are available to complete this redevelopment and secure the memorial's future. This is an investment not just in infrastructure but in education and remembrance. It ensures that the future generations of Australians will continue to learn from and reflect upon the service of those who have worn the nation's uniform. It has been encouraging to see the progress achieved, and I commend the memorial for remaining open throughout construction so students, researchers and families can continue to engage with its spaces. I thank Matt Anderson, the director, for his engagement over that time with myself and many people in this parliament.

As the expanded galleries take shape, there is also value in taking time to reflect on ongoing operations close to home such as Operation Resolute, the Australian Defence Force's standing mission to protect our maritime borders. It brings together Navy, Army and Air Force personnel working alongside the Australian Border Force. Through maritime patrols, aerial surveillance and interception tasks, it safeguards Australia's sovereignty. It is sustained, demanding service often carried out beyond public view. Thousands of ADF personnel have contributed to Operation Resolute over the years. Their professionalism and endurance deserve thoughtful recognition. As new exhibition spaces are developed, there is merit in considering an installation that acknowledges Operation Resolute not as a commentary on policy but as recognition of service—recognition that the defence of Australia takes many forms, from historic battlefields abroad to ongoing vigilance in our own region. The Australian War Memorial stands as a promise that those who serve will be remembered, from Tobruk to Timor, from the Boer War to Baghdad and in operations like Resolute. The redevelopment ensures that promise endures, that the memorial continues to educate, commemorate and inform. Lest we forget.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian War Memorial stands as one of our nation's most sacred institutions. It's not simply a museum; it is a place of remembrance, reflection and national identity. Every Australian schoolchild who walks through its doors learns what service and sacrifice truly means. We owe it to those who served to ensure their stories are told properly, completely and without political distortion. The War Memorial combines a shrine, a world-class museum and an extensive archive. Its purpose is clear: to commemorate the sacrifice of those Australians who have died in war or on operational service and those who have served our nation in times of conflict. Its mission is leading remembrance and understanding of Australia's wartime experience.

That mission traces all the way back to Charles Bean, Australia's official war correspondent in the First World War. Bean did not want a monument to victory. He wanted a place that honoured the ordinary Australian—the digger, the nurse, the airman, the sailor—and he wanted it to record their stories faithfully. His concept of a shrine, a museum and an archive was uniquely Australian.

More than a century later, that founding vision still guides this incredible institution, and the scale of the memorial's impact is extraordinary. It attracts around a million visitors each year, even during what is a huge redevelopment. More than 100,000 Australian students participate in its education programs annually. Its national collection contains over 40 million items. The Roll of Honour commemorates more than 103,000 Australians, one of whom was my great uncle Murray Davies, men and women, like him, who have died in service under our nation's flag. The Last Post Ceremony that is conducted every evening at the War Memorial has been conducted more than 4,000 times since 2013. Those figures are not just impressive; they reflect the central place the memorial holds in our Australian story.

The character of Australian service has evolved. Since the Second World War, more than 100,000 Australians have served in modern conflicts and operations, including Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and in numerous peacekeeping missions and humanitarian missions. Their service deserves to be recognised with the same dignity and space as those who served in the First and Second World Wars. That's why the coalition, when we were in government, committed more than $500 million to the redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial.

Early works commenced in 2020, with completion scheduled for 2028. The purpose was straightforward: to provide additional exhibition space to properly tell the stories of contemporary service in a timely and appropriate manner. This was about ensuring that veterans of Afghanistan, those who served in Iraq, those who've deployed on peacekeeping missions or those who've provided disaster relief at home and abroad see their service acknowledged within the national narrative.

I want to specifically acknowledge the leadership of the current director, Matt Anderson, and the leadership of the former director, Brendan Nelson, in their work guiding this complex redevelopment and safeguarding the memorial's mission throughout this process. The professionalism of the memorial's leadership and staff has ensured that even during construction, the institution has continued to operate at the highest possible standard. The Australian War Memorial must remain above politics. Its council was established as an independent statutory authority. Its role is to preserve history, not reinterpret it through the lens of the government of the day. Remembrance must unite Australians, not divide them.

This redevelopment was a clear commitment by the former coalition government to honour contemporary service. It was funded. It commenced. And it is being delivered. It is important that the historical record reflects that commitment accurately.

The memorial belongs to the Australian people—especially to those who served and, importantly, their families. Lest we forget.

Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week I shared a wonderful story celebrating a little corporal called Horrie. It was on the war animals remembrance day, and Corporal Horrie was a tiny, flea-bitten desert dog that was found by Australian soldiers in Egypt. He was hardly the image of a soldier, you might say, but the men who found him saw something worth saving. They took him in. They fed him. They trusted him. And, before long, he became one of them. He became a mate and a fellow soldier.

Horrie travelled with them across the Middle East and the Mediterranean. He served. He survived shipwreck. He endured hunger, heat and hardship. And he had a gift: he could hear enemy aircraft long before the human ear could. That gift saved lives. And, when the war ended, his mates couldn't bear to leave him behind. They smuggled him home to Australia, where he lived out his days surrounded by the men who knew what service really looked like. Horrie reminds us that service comes in many forms. Sometimes it's courage in battle. Sometimes it's loyalty. Sometimes it's a tiny, flea-bitten dog that saves lives with his ears.

Not only was Horrie afforded the rank of corporal, but also he was fashioned a uniform, and that uniform now is in the Australian War Memorial. And that's what the War Memorial captures. It's not just battles. It's not just dates. It is the humanity of service.

The memorial was imagined not simply as a building but as a sacred national space—a space where a grieving nation could remember those who'd served and those who never returned. It is a national shrine of remembrance, a world-class museum and an archive preserving official records, artefacts and deeply personal stories for generations to come. Through these three functions, it leads remembrance and—potentially, the most important—it deepens our understanding of Australia's wartime experience. I'm a great believer that, if you understand the history, you've got a far better chance of understanding the future and charting a better course.

Right now, the memorial is changing. A major redevelopment is underway, scheduled for completion in 2028. It's about more than walls and galleries. It's about ensuring there is space to tell the stories of contemporary service too—of the men and women of the Australian Defence Force who serve today, in our time. That includes the 3,500 dedicated serving members at the Williamtown RAAF base in my electorate and at bases across the country.

The Albanese Labor government has provided the resources to make this possible, ensuring the memorial continues to stand as one of our nation's most important cultural institutions. And, just like Horrie's story, this redevelopment is about more than bricks and mortar. It's an investment in remembrance itself. It's about making sure that future Australians can continue to learn, to reflect and to honour the service and sacrifice of those who've worn our nation's uniform.

I want to applaud the Australian War Memorial for staying open throughout this redevelopment. Australians can still walk the halls, see the exhibitions, explore the archives and remember—because remembrance is not paused for construction. It continues. It persists. It matters.

When I think of Horrie—who was affectionately known as 'Horrie the wog dog' back in those days—I think of the way the memorial tells his story and the story of every soldier, every nurse, every airman, every sailor and every family left behind. It reminds us that service is not about uniforms or medals. It's about courage. It's about loyalty. It's about sacrifice. And, quite frankly, it's about love. And that is why we invest in the memorial. That is why we ensure its sustainability. That is why we make sure future generations can hear these stories, feel these stories and be inspired by them—just as we are inspired by Corporal Horrie and the thousands of others whose service defines who we are as Australians—particularly those young school children who, I know, visit the memorial and are greatly impacted by the experience that they have there.

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) 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.