Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I want to pay tribute to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Office of Australian War Graves. I want to pay tribute because of their fine work, their fantastic contribution for and on behalf of the people of Australia and the families of the thousands of Australians who have died, and their service and sacrifice for Australia which mean that we can today enjoy the freedoms that we so appreciate. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible for the graves of 1.7 million casualties, 23,000 sites and 150 countries and it should be noted that it was started by just one man, Sir Fabian Ware. When Europe was stumbling into war in 1914 he was a director of the British mining company Rio Tinto. He was 45; too old to join the army. He became the commander of a mobile unit of the British Red Cross and was saddened—indeed, like many others—by the sheer scale of the loss. He felt compelled to establish a system to ensure the final resting places of casualties would not be lost forever.

It was in May 1917 that the Imperial War Graves Commission was established by royal charter, with the prince serving as the president and Ware as the vice-chairman. By 1918, after World War I, some 587,000 graves had been identified and a further 559,000 casualties were registered as having no known grave.

I should note that in this regard I have a vested interest, with a grandfather who fought in the First World War, in the Air Force, towards the end of that war. As I indicated in this place previously, my great-uncle served as a prisoner of war under the Japanese for 3½ years in World War II and my wife's grandfather and great-uncle both served in the Australian Light Horse, with one serving in Palestine.

Today, the commission exists to preserve the cemeteries and memorials in its care and to encourage the act of remembrance, lest we forget. Based on my personal experience, the commission's work shows that these memorials are immaculately maintained. The cemeteries are beautifully looked after and cared for and for that I wish to pay them an almighty tribute. The commission's documentation says:

By preserving the memory of the dead with simple dignity and true equality, the Commission hopes to encourage future generations to remember the sacrifice made by so many.

In terms of some of the projects, well over a million graves and names have been photographed and that is obviously very useful and helpful to Australians today. They were centrally involved in the recovery of the 250 Australians and British bodies from the mass grave at Fromelles, in France, which was discovered in May 2008. The Office of Australian War Graves commenced in January 1975. They have done mighty work and are responsible for more than 20,000 graves and at least 76 military and civilian cemeteries and a further 3,000 names on memorials to the missing throughout the territory under its administration.

Those countries that contribute to the Commonwealth War Graves include the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India. Australia's contribution is a little over six per cent, which is some A$5 million or thereabouts. As far as I am concerned, that is a very good expenditure of taxpayers' funds. I note the visit of the New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, and his contribution in the Australian parliament this week. It was tremendous and this is acknowledged.

Cemeteries and memorials, from an Australian perspective, that should be noted are: Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres in Belgium, containing the names of 6,195 Australians; Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium, where 1,131 Australians are buried; Tyne Cot in Belgium, the largest concentration of Australian graves in the Ypres salient, containing the graves of 1,369 Australians. Villers-Bretonneux, which I had the privilege of visiting in 2005 with my wife, located just north of the Somme village, is infamous in Australian military history, containing the graves of 2,000 Commonwealth personnel, 779 of which are Australian. At the back of that cemetery is the Australian National Memorial, which commemorates 10,772 Australians who died in France but who have no known grave. The Adelaide Cemetery in Villers-Bretonneux, in France, has a plot III with the graves of 522 Australians. It is from this cemetery that the remains of the Australian Unknown Soldier, which now lie buried at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, were removed in 1993.

At this point I want to pay a wonderful tribute to the Australian War Memorial for their wonderful memorial and the wonderful feedback that I have and I know others have when they visit there. To Major General Steve Gower, as director, and for the wonderful work he does, I say congratulations on behalf of all Australians.

I had the privilege of being at Beersheba with the Australia Israel Leadership Forum in 2009 and spoke there on behalf of the delegation at a special memorial service. There are 175 Australians buried at the Beersheba War Cemetery. It commemorates that wonderful battle of Beersheba on 31 October 1917, one of the great cavalry charges in history and, they say, the last great cavalry charge in history. My wife's great-uncle served in the Light Horse in and around that time, including in the battle for Damascus.

I have indicated on previous occasions the merit of a museum to honour the battle of Beersheba and the Australian involvement at that time which led to the freeing of Jerusalem shortly thereafter. That is referred to in the official Australian Light Horse magazine, the Spur. That contribution and the merit of that museum being established should be seriously considered by the government and I have written to the foreign minister, Mr Rudd, in that respect and I thank him for his consideration.

I visited the Jerusalem War Cemetery again in December last year and had the privilege of being, again, with the Australia Israel Leadership Forum and with other Australians. We spent a very special and solemn time at that particular cemetery, which contains the remains of 144 Australians. The Damascus Commonwealth War Cemetery has 139 Australians. At Gallipoli there are 31 war cemeteries on the peninsula, containing the identified graves of 2,850 Australians and the Helles and Lone Pine Memorials have graves to the missing containing the names of 4,472 Australians whose graves were never found. Over 8,700 Australians were killed at Gallipoli during that battle. I had the privilege of being there on Anzac Day 2005 with the former Prime Minister, the Hon. John Howard, together with many other veterans and RSL personnel and others. One of the great experiences at that time was to walk in the footsteps of Harry Murray VC, Australia's most highly decorated soldier, who comes from Tasmania. His hometown of Evandale is just south of Launceston. I visited there with the Hon. Tony Abbott and other colleagues, cycling mates in fact, just a couple of weeks ago. I commend the Murray memorial committee for the work they do to preserve his memory and his name. I thank the Murray family for providing his medals to the Tasmanian people and making them available to the public, together with special personal effects. Chris Murray will be collecting those next week in Launceston.

There are obviously Second World War graves, El Alamein War Cemetery, Ambon War Cemetery, Labuan War Cemetery in Malaysia and many others, including Kranji in Singapore, where my great uncle was for some time, and the Bomana War Cemetery. The Kokoda trek was certainly a highlight for me in my Senate career, and spending time at the cemetery. There was not a dry eye in our trekking group after time there, particularly with Bruce Scott and Ivan Dean MLC. I want to pay tribute to both the commissions and at Kanchanaburi I want to say thank you to Rod Beattie for his wonderful work there and the contribution he makes. The service and sacrifice of our veterans should never be forgotten, and as it says on the Kokoda Track: 'Their courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice should never be forgotten. Lest we forget.'