Andrew Leigh (Fraser, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Labor welcomes the Australian War Memorial Amendment Bill 2014. The bill amends the Australian War Memorial Act to prohibit the levying of entry or parking fees at the Australian War Memorial premises in Campbell in the Australian Capital Territory. The Australian War Memorial is located in my electorate and combines a shrine, a world-class museum and an extensive archive. The memorial's purpose is to commemorate the sacrifice of those Australians who have died in war. Its mission is to assist Australians to remember, interpret and understand the Australian experience of war and its enduring impact on Australian society.

In addition to this mission, the Australian War Memorial offers, on a fee-for-service basis, a number of additional services such as venue hire and educational and school holiday programs. The fees from these services contribute to the funding of the Australian War Memorial. These services will not be affected by the amendments in the bill that prohibit the levying of entry or parking fees at the Australian War Memorial premises in Campbell. The Australian War Memorial will continue to provide, and charge a fee for, these additional services. The amendments in the bill will also not prevent the Australian War Memorial from receiving voluntary donations at the Australian War Memorial premises in Campbell.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Pozieres in 1916, Australia's official war historian Charles Bean began to develop plans for a national memorial to commemorate the sacrifices made by his fellow Australians. He felt it was important for such a memorial to include an extensive military collection in order to help Australians at home understand the wartime experience. In the words of Charles Bean:

It had always been in the mind of many Australians soldiers that records and relics of their fighting would be preserved in some institutions in Australia, and to several of us it had seemed that a museum housing these would form the most natural, interesting, and inspiring memorial to those who fell.

Today the War Memorial commemorates the sacrifice of Australians who have died in war. It helps Australians remember and understand through maintaining the Roll of Honour and conducting national commemorative ceremonies.

Each year on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day the memorial holds national ceremonies on the Parade Ground. These are attended by thousands of official guests and visitors, and are followed by the wreathlaying at the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier. Official visitors to the memorial usually pay tribute to Australia's war dead by laying wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier or at the Inauguration Stone. School groups and veterans' groups also conduct commemorative wreathlaying ceremonies in these areas. The War Memorial's main building and grounds are conserved and developed as a national memorial to Australians who served and died at war. As well as the Commemorative Courtyard, the Sculpture Garden provides another dignified and attractive focus for commemoration within the memorial grounds.

In the context of the grounds, I cannot help recounting a story of one of my constituents, Gerry, who served in Vietnam. His tank was placed in the War Memorial grounds. While on service in Vietnam his unit had written on the side of the tank, and he went back to show his wife the graffiti that they had placed on the side of the tank. Overhearing this conversation, one of the local guards was shocked and raced up and said: 'You can't graffiti on the tanks!' Gerry said: 'I'm sorry, mate; we did. We did it in Vietnam.'

The War Memorial's galleries showcase one of the world's greatest military collections, thus fulfilling Charles Bean's vision of a national memorial. The displays provide direct evidence of the lives, actions and fate of the men and women who served and died for Australia in war and military operations. The loss of over 60,000 Australian lives in the First World War and 40,000 in the Second World War, as well as the numerous deaths in other conflicts, might become little more than statistical information were it not for the memorial's national collection, which illustrates the effect of war on individuals, families, and communities. The memorial's historians research and foster research into Australia's military history. This provides the depth and breadth of knowledge required to support the memorial's unique displays and commemorative functions. At the heart of the memorial building is the Roll of Honour: a long series of bronze panels recording the names of over 102,000 members of the Australian armed forces who have died during or as a result of war service, warlike service, non-warlike service and certain peacetime operations. The database is compiled from data used to create the Roll of Honour and is available on the memorial's web site. I seek leave to continue my remarks at a later hour.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

See this speech in context