Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

John Curtin once said:

All governments, in all countries, and whatever their policy or label, profess to favour international peace. All claim to be non-aggressive; all claim to be armed purely for defensive purposes. Not one admits the desire for war, but all are ready for participation in war.

And that is very true of this nation. Traditionally, it is the House that decides if this nation goes to war, yet we are not the ones who bravely enact these decisions. It is the ordinary men and women of our electorates who stand up and are ready to serve and, like many parliamentarians and the people we have heard from today, men and women from my electorate of Bendigo did serve in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Today I wish to acknowledge and thank them for their service.

I would like to acknowledge 23-year-old army medic Lance Corporal Jessica Bailey, from Bendigo. Bailey worked in the Army's 8 Close Health Company in Darwin, and at the peak of operations Bailey and her team were working 16-hour days nursing multiple trauma patients. Bailey also assisted with patrols outside the wire with the EOD guys on demolition duties, but it never occurred to this young soldier that she would be a trailblazer for women in combat. The armed services, the ADF, continue to challenge and continue to give opportunities to our young people in the most dangerous circumstances. In an interview she said that the deployment has been a great opportunity and she believes that she will continue to have further opportunities with the Army. Lance Corporal Bailey has a younger brother in the Army, serving in the 7th Battalion, from Adelaide, and two ridiculously proud parents in Bendigo. Like many Bendigonians, Bailey was proud to serve.

Our area has a proud tradition of young people ready to stand and serve when required. Noel Edwards, a 20-year-old Bendigo engineer, enlisted swiftly on the day that the First World War was declared in August 1914. He was the first in line at the Bendigo Town Hall when recruiting occurred. He was there before the doors opened. On 25 April 1915, Edwards struggled ashore, like so many other young men from Bendigo. Whether it be in the First World War or as the citizens of today, Bendigo people have always been ready to stand up and be part of the Australian armed services.

But it is not just the women and men who have served that I wish to acknowledge today. We also have a proud tradition in Bendigo of supporting our men and women in the equipment that protects them whilst they are overseas. The Bendigo Bushmaster has contributed to saving at least 300 lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. This vehicle was designed in Bendigo. It is something that we are proud of, to know that our men and women working at this facility helped contribute towards our armed services. This vehicle was upgraded at the request of our serving soldiers. These improvements helped save further lives on deployment in Afghanistan. It is a great success story. Apart from creating jobs and continuing to secure those jobs, it has also helped to save lives.

Whether it be by building the equipment that helps protect our armed services or through our men and women, even in my electorate we have a proud and strong heritage and commitment to ensuring that our nation has strong armed services. There is a strong partnership between Thales and Soldier On, which supports wounded and sick soldiers. Recently, at a ceremony at Bendigo, Soldier On chairman Peter was there with a number of family members to thank the people who worked in the facility for the production of the Bushmaster. Every week there are families and wounded soldiers who turn up at Bendigo Thales to thank the men and women who built the vehicles, saying that without the Bushmaster they might not be alive today.

Anzac Day this year was one of our first opportunities to thank returning soldiers at the end of the conflict in Afghanistan. I was proud to be part of the Mount Macedon Dawn Service, where a veteran, a local Afghan veteran on deployment, laid 40 red roses on behalf of the Mount Macedon Dawn Service and the local community to say thank you in acknowledgement. It is important that we acknowledge and thank and recognise the service of our men and women who form our Australian Defence services. I, too, support this motion, salute their service and thank them.

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