Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As this is the last sitting week before Anzac Day, I would like tonight to talk about honouring military service. I would like to make some remarks about the importance of honouring the service of the Anzacs and Australian Defence Force personnel who have served or are currently in theatres of war, in conflicts and in peacekeeping operations. Australia has had its own share of conflict and bloodshed throughout the history of European settlement and although, fortunately, little of it has taken place on Australian soil, it has had an enormous role in shaping our nation and making Australia the place it is today.

It may sound cliched but some of the best aspects of Aussie culture, like mateship and egalitarianism, are deeply ingrained in the Anzac spirit. Anzac Day, 25 April, commemorates the day in 1914 when the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps landed at the Gallipoli peninsula. The objective was to open up the Dardanelles to allied forces and to capture Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany in the First World War. The Gallipoli campaign was abandoned towards the end of 1915 and the allied forces withdrew. Over 8,000 Australians had been killed and this had a profound impact on Australians at home.

Anzac Day was first commemorated in 1916 and during the 1920s became established as the national day for commemoration of the 60,000 Australians who died during the First World War. In subsequent years, and after Australia’s involvement in other conflicts, the meaning of the day has been broadened to commemorate all Australians killed in Australian military operations. As I have mentioned previously in this place, I had the privilege last year of commemorating Anzac Day at the dawn service at Villers Bretonneux in France. Visiting the sites of those World War I battles, such as Villers Bretonneux, Petit-Croix and Bullecourt, gives one a much greater appreciation of the sacrifices that our forebears made and I would recommend it to any Australian who has the means and the opportunity.

One of the ways in which the Australian government honours military service is through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Saluting Their Service grants. This program supports projects and activities which directly commemorate those Australian service men and women who served in wars, conflicts and peace operations. The program helps to preserve our wartime heritage and to promote an appreciation and understanding of the role those who have served have played in shaping our nation.

Funding is available to community and ex-service organisations, local government authorities and other bodies such as museums and schools. Up to $3000 or $4000 may be available for such things as restoration, preservation and interpretation of Australian wartime memorabilia for public display; commemoration of significant anniversaries of battles and other military operations; and new commemorative plaques and honour boards for public display.

This funding is very important. Servicemen and women have risked and, in many cases, sacrificed their lives in the service of their country and we owe a great debt of gratitude to them. It is fitting that we honour their service and sacrifice with plaques, honour boards and memorials, as well as through public ceremonies, recorded histories and the basic respect and deference we pay to our ex-service personnel.

In November 2009, I was pleased to have the opportunity to represent the then Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, the Hon Alan Griffin MP, and unveil a roll of honour for the small communities of Middleton, Flowerpot and Gordon in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel in my home state of Tasmania. This roll honours the service and sacrifice of Anzacs from the area who fought in the First World War and the Boer War. In November last year, I returned to Middleton and again represented the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, now the Hon Warren Snowdon MP, for the unveiling of a display cabinet which now houses the honour roll and a collection of war memorabilia from the local area. Both of these projects were funded by the Australian government’s Saluting Their Service grants.

To give you a bit of history: the new roll of honour replaces two honour rolls that were situated at the Flowerpot school and the Middleton community hall, both of which were destroyed by the devastating bushfire of 1967 in southern Tasmania. The hard work of applying for the grant, obtaining quotes for the cabinet and honour roll and organising the unveiling ceremonies was undertaken by the South Channel Ratepayers Association. I would like to congratulate and thank the association, in particular their president, Gloria Lonergan, and committee member Russell Griffiths, for the large effort they put into organising such a fitting tribute to service men and women from their area who had served in the First World War and Boer War, particularly those service men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The cabinet was constructed at a prevocational workshop run by Mental Health Services South and so gave an opportunity for some people with disability to participate in being part of this project. As such, the project had much wider community benefits, enabling, as I said, people to develop work skills and increase their confidence and self-esteem. Descendants of soldiers whose names appear on the honour roll were generous in giving donations of family memorabilia to display inside the cabinet. Such contributions are incredibly special when you consider the sentimental value that these items have for the families.

I would like to implore every Australian, when commemorating Anzac Day or Remembrance Day, to consider the sacrifices that are still being made to this day by service men and women from the ADF throughout the world. While it has been decades since Australia has participated in conflicts on the scale of the two world wars or the Korean and Vietnam wars, our brave ADF personnel are nonetheless still engaged in combat and peacekeeping operations. They are still spending years away from their families and placing themselves in harm’s way so that they can make the world a better, safer place for their fellow Australians. To our diggers in Afghanistan, Iraq, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Egypt, the Middle East and Sudan: I wish you success in your missions and a safe return home. I also take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank our personnel who have been deployed to Queensland for natural disaster recovery assistance following the devastating floods and Cyclone Yasi.

I would like to conclude tonight with a comment about the Australian War Memorial. This is a great national monument to our fallen service men and women and a symbol of the degree of deference that Australia shows to the role of conflicts in shaping our history. So I welcome the Prime Minister’s recent announcement that the Australian War Memorial will receive another $8 million per year in funding on top of the $38 million it was previously receiving. This additional funding will support the memorial so it can continue to educate Australians, honour our outstanding service men and women and showcase our rich military history for generations to come. In conclusion, as I said at the beginning, I think it is really important that we honour the service of the Anzacs and Australian Defence Force personnel who have served or who are currently serving in theatres of war, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. They are still spending years away from their families and placing themselves in harm’s way so that they can make the world a better, safer place for their fellow Australians. To our diggers in Afghanistan, Iraq, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Egypt, the Middle East and Sudan: I wish you success in your missions and a safe return home. I also take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank our personnel who have been deployed to Queensland for natural disaster recovery assistance following the devastating floods and Cyclone Yasi.

I would like to conclude tonight with a comment about the Australian War Memorial. This is a great national monument to our fallen service men and women and a symbol of the degree of deference that Australia shows to the role of conflicts in shaping our history. So I welcome the Prime Minister’s recent announcement that the Australian War Memorial will receive another $8 million per year in funding on top of the $38 million it was previously receiving. This additional funding will support the memorial so it can continue to educate Australians, honour our outstanding service men and women and showcase our rich military history for generations to come. In conclusion, as I said at the beginning, I think it is really important that we honour the service of the Anzacs and Australian Defence Force personnel who have served or who are currently serving in theatres of war, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.