Margaret May (McPherson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

Today I rise to speak about someone who I believe is really an Australian hero. The man I would like to tell the parliament about today is a Queenslander. He is a man I have come to know well and a man I call a friend. In my view, he is a brave and inspirational Queenslander and certainly an inspiration to many young people in this country. However, he is more than that. Apart from being an Australian hero, he is a man from a time when the word ‘hero’ meant so much more than it does today.

Keith Payne grew up in Ingham in North Queensland and he now calls Mackay his home when he is not travelling. Keith recently celebrated his 75th birthday, which is a milestone in anyone’s life. Keith started his working life as an apprentice cabinetmaker, but spending his life as a tradesman really wasn’t what Keith wanted to do. In August 1951 he joined the Army and was posted to the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, in September of 1952. He served with his unit in Korea between April 1952 and March 1953. Back in Brisbane on a training course Keith met a young member of the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps, Florence Plaw. They were married in December 1954 and this year they celebrate 54 years of marriage.

Keith then served with the 3rd Battalion in Malaya, followed by a posting to Papua New Guinea, before being sent to fight in Vietnam. In May 1969, Keith was commanding the 212th company of the 1st Mobile Strike Force Battalion when it was attacked by a North Vietnamese force. His company was surrounded on three sides. He was wounded in the hands and arms whilst under heavy fire, but this did not prevent him from providing coverage to his troops as they withdrew and organised into a defensive perimeter. With his troops in position, Keith, wounded himself, spent three hours searching for any wounded soldiers whilst somehow also managing to avoid the enemy’s relentless and heavy fire. Keith found 40 wounded men. With tenacity and bravery under fire, Keith brought in some of his wounded men by himself; some of them he organised to be rescued. Many years later Keith was asked whether he had been afraid. His response was honest: ‘My God yes. Yes, I was.’

Keith Payne’s remarkable and courageous actions on that day earned him the Victoria Cross, which he later received from Queen Elizabeth aboard the Britannia while it was berthed in Brisbane. Keith also received the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star from the United States and the Republic of Vietnam awarded him the Cross of Gallantry with Bronze Star. Keith holds the honour of being the last Australian awarded the Victoria Cross. He is one of only two living Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross. The other is Ted Kenna, from Hamilton, in Victoria, who turned 89 in July.

Keith suffered from post-traumatic stress after his return from Vietnam. Any member in this chamber who has met a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress knows the intense fear they go through, their sense of helplessness and the overwhelming horror they suffer from the time they spent serving our country. But Keith decided he could help those veterans who had come home, those who needed assistance, and he began working with them to sort through their problems, even though he was having his own, undertaking a welfare course with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs so he could be of assistance to those people who came home and needed that extra assistance.

Today Keith continues to work closely with veterans and their issues. He certainly represents their issues to us in this House and works with our cadets throughout Australia. He travels throughout Australia talking to veterans and young people about the service he gave to his country and what young people can do for their country.

He is often a visitor to the Gold Coast. He and Flo visit us regularly. They are there for Anzac Day and other commemorative occasions that veterans get involved in. Today I want to pay tribute not only to Keith but also to our other service men and women who we know are serving our country overseas. As we approach Christmas I pay tribute to all our service men and women and extend to them our sincere thanks on behalf of our parliament and our country for the service they give to each and every one of us.

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