Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion moved by the member for Parkes to recognise the contribution that Indigenous service men and women have made to the Australian Defence Force and, indeed, to the defence of our nation. As we approach Remembrance Day on 11 November, when we reflect every year on the contribution made by thousands of Australians who have died in the defence of our nation, we should take this opportunity to also reflect on the often unnoticed or undocumented contribution of Indigenous Australians to our defence forces.

It is a blight on the history of this nation that Indigenous Australians were not granted citizenship and, indeed, were not recognised as Australians until 1967. Worse than that, even Indigenous troops from both World War I and World War II came from a section of society with very low wages and with little likelihood of moving up the social ladder. In all areas, from education and employment to civil liberties, discrimination against Indigenous Australians was rampant. Regretfully, even in 2012, we continue to associate Indigenous communities with discrimination and disadvantage.

While we continue to lament the fact that military superannuation for all troops under the Defence Force Retirement Benefits Scheme and Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefit Scheme have not been fairly indexed, thousands of Indigenous troops also experienced firsthand discrimination not just from Australians but from the Australian government. Only in 1992 did the Australian federal government grant monetary back pay and recognition in the form of service medals. When times became tough in World War I, the defence forces eased their restrictions on Indigenous Australians joining the military. In October 1917, a military order stated:

Half-castes may be enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force provided that the examining Medical Officers are satisfied that one of the parents is of European origin.

Yet, after World War I, the restrictions on enlistment for Indigenous Australians were reimposed.

Upon returning to Australia after World War II, many Indigenous troops, even while still in their defence uniforms, experienced prejudice and discrimination. Many were refused service in bars or were the victims of racial slurs from their fellow soldiers. During World War II, it is estimated that some 3,000 Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders served in the armed forces, many in specially raised Indigenous units including the Torres Strait Island Light Infantry Battalion. During that time, an Indigenous Australian serving in an Indigenous unit was paid significantly less—approximately half—than their fellow soldiers and, worse, did not have any access to entitlements as veterans. It took a two-day 'mutiny' in December 1943 for their pay to be raised to two-thirds that of a regular soldier.

When they returned home, as I have mentioned, they experienced further discrimination. Most were barred from Returned and Services League clubs, except on Anzac Day.

Sadly, to this day, we still do not have a full record of the contribution of Indigenous Australians to the defence of our nation. As this motion notes, at least 400 Indigenous troops served in World War I and somewhere between 3,000 and 6,000 Indigenous troops served under our flag in World War II. Important work is being undertaken by the Australian War Memorial, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the ANU and other organisations to recover and document information about the contribution of these Indigenous troops.

They are uncovering stories of contributions from Indigenous troops such as Private Timothy Hughes, who served in the 2nd/10th Battalion, a proud rat of Tobruk who won the Military Medal for bravery under fire while in Buna, Papua. We now know stories from the Queensland 2nd/26th Battalion which included many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, such as Private John Knox, who died in Changi in August 1942, and Private George Cubby, who died on the infamous Burma-Thailand Railway.

According to Australian Geographic, more than 800 Indigenous Australians are currently serving in the Australian Defence Force, and I welcome their contribution as Australians. Many are serving in our ongoing efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Like their predecessors, they continue to defend the land on which all Australians live.

Indigenous Australians today serve in the regular and reserve forces, and we recognise the three regional force surveillance units based in northern Australia. Many reserve and regular troops from Indigenous communities currently serve in the 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment, the Pilbara regiment in Western Australia and the North-West Mobile Force, NORFORCE, which is based in north-east Western Australia and the Northern Territory. I welcome these contributions, and I thank the member for Parkes for his motion today which reflects the contribution of thousands of Indigenous Australians for more than a century to the defence of our nation.

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