Alan Griffin (Bruce, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

On indulgence: I wish to make some brief comments with respect to Anzac Day 2009. I thought I would take this opportunity, given that it is the last sitting day prior to Anzac Day this year, to inform the House and members of some of the aspects that the government has been undertaking on behalf of all of us with respect to preparation for Anzac Day 2009. Planning is well advanced. I do not have to tell members the importance of this in the national calendar. It is something that we are all involved with in our local areas, or sometimes with the privilege of representing our country in other places.

This year we will have services again at Gallipoli, Villers-Bretonneux, Hellfire Pass, Sandakan and Isurava. This year, although not a significant anniversary with respect to many of the locations where Australians have fought and died over the years, is still a very important occasion. The expectation with respect to attendances at some of the services overseas, given the global financial crisis and the fact that it is not a major anniversary, is that numbers may well be down. But preparations are there to ensure that all those who attend will be provided with the sort of support they need to properly and successfully commemorate the efforts of our forces over the last century.

It is 94 years since Gallipoli. Tomorrow, it will be 93 years exactly since the first Anzacs arrived on the Western Front from Gallipoli. Today, it is six years since the Iraq war started. Also, this year marks 10 years since INTERFET in East Timor, since what was one of the major engagements of our forces in recent times. It is a very important time, when it is very clear what the modern Anzacs do these days in terms of peacekeeping and support throughout the world, and it shows just how effective they are at coming to the aid of those who really needed it.

In honour of that, this year the poster that has been produced for Anzac Day—which will be going out to members, to schools and throughout the country—relates to INTERFET. We have got two soldiers in place as part of the first deployment in Dili, doing the job on behalf of their country. I point members to the gentleman closest to me in that poster. He is looking quite alert and strong and is doing the job. I point up to the gallery and ask Paul Everett to stand. Paul Everett, who was a private at that time, was serving in East Timor. That is in fact Paul on the poster. As we can see, the years have been kind to him—kinder than they have been to many of us! The fact of the matter is that he was there serving his country at that time and doing a great job, very much in the Anzac tradition.

We are keen on this occasion, as I am sure all of us are, to remember what occurred on the Western Front, at Gallipoli, during World War II and in all of the conflicts since. I ask everyone to spare a thought for the fact, and I think the poster focuses it to make the point, that some 25,000 young Australians have deployed since 1999. The fact is that, although they often do not see themselves as veterans, they are. They are veterans in the very best Anzac tradition. To Paul, to those who served in East Timor, to those who serve now in Afghanistan et cetera, the bottom line is this: you serve with our support. You have done your country great credit. We support what you do, even if on occasions there may have been disagreements about why you went or where you went. The bottom line is that you are Australians, you are Anzacs, and you are people who we are very proud of.

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