Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Prime Minister's recognition of one of this great nation's most historic milestones to date, the Centenary of Anzac.

One hundred years may seem like a long time but before we know it, it will be these young children at the schools that each of us visited in our electorates during this commemorative period who will be leading the 150 year-, or possibly even the 200-year, Anzac recognition.

But I truly believe that this may not eventuate in Australia's future if not for the hard work and dedication of our community veteran leaders, local governments across Australia, our schools, this federal coalition government and, of course, the hundreds of thousands of people who attended commemorative events over the past year and shone a light on this historic occasion. This centenary period has renewed our nation's Anzac spirit and has highlighted the importance of ensuring our history is not forgotten by future generations.

In school we all learnt about the horrors of foreign wars and our children learn about more recent wars, such as those in Afghanistan and Iraq. But I believe our country's history should always be our greatest focus. This is not just with regard to the role our country played in Gallipoli but in all wars, such as the Vietnam War or World War II. As the saying goes, 'Life is a teacher. We are the student'. So we must remember those lives and the events of our past to ensure we learn from them and create a better future.

During this commemorative period I personally had the honour of participating in numerous school services across my electorate of Swan, rededication services for war memorials that this government assisted in revitalising and in the Anzac memorial services both on the eve of Anzac Day and on 25 April.

I take this time to make special mention of all the 12 schools in the City of Belmont who paid their respects to our servicemen and women at the inaugural combined schools service, which I must say was a fantastic commemorative event which I commend all the students for participating in and the city and school principals for organising. I also thank Perth Montessori School, Manning Primary School, Lathlain Primary School and the South Perth Senior Citizens Centre for welcoming me to each of their respective services.

On the eve of Anzac Day I attended the Victoria Park RSL Sub Branch's Anzac centenary memorial service to officially re-dedicate the sub branch's new memorial wall which, I am pleased to say, this government contributed nearly $60,000 toward under the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program and the Saluting Their Service grants program. This was a very important project in my electorate of Swan which, again, I was humbled to be part of, as it specifically honoured those residents of the town of Victoria Park who enlisted or volunteered for active service during the First World War. Each serviceman that the sub branch was able to identify now has their own plaque on the newly-erected memorial wall, which this government can proudly say they assisted in creating. I am sure members can appreciate how onerous this task would have been.

I also had the honour of re-dedicating the City of Belmont and the Belmont RSL Sub Branch's new joint war memorial, to which this government also contributed $50,000 under the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program. This included a range of works, such as new walls, steps, rails, paving, earthworks, benches, flag poles and external lighting.

In the City of Canning $25,000 in funding was also granted by this government, but in this case it was for a commemorative event which the city invited all community members to participate in. The city's World Arts Exchange cultural festival is an annual event to celebrate Australia's national heritage. This year it was dedicated to 'Gallipoli Voices', commemorating this very important period of our history—the Anzac centenary. The event also served as the official opening of the WA National Heritage Trust Festival which, like the World Arts Exchange, dedicated this year's month-long festival to the commemoration of our servicemen and women.

The event was a fantastic example of cultures blending—in particular, Australia's ties with our former Turkish foes—with the festival featuring international guest artists from Turkey, who performed with several local arts organisations. The Consul-General of the Republic of Turkey, Dr Cahit Yesertener was an honorary guest. I would also like to mention Huseyin Aksakal, who is the president of the Turkish Islamic Association of WA for the work he put into promoting and organising the festival.

I am very proud that, as the federal representative for these communities, I was able to put forward these projects to the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program selection panel as valuable commemorative projects which will assist in preserving the stories of local service men and women for generations to come.

I am also proud to stand in this place today and inform members on all sides of the political divide that each of the services I attended on Anzac Day—at the City of Canning, the Town of Victoria Park and the City of South Perth—were overflowing with people, with the local City of Canning service in particular hosting more than double the number of attendees it did last year. We had people braving the cold and overflowing into carparks and side streets at the Town of Victoria Park. They actually had to turn the screens around to face the street there were so many people attending the commemorative service.

I am proud that as a nation we can hold our heads high and say that people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds took this time to recognise that this truly was a once-in-a-lifetime commemoration and to recognise that, while the horror of war was witnessed day in and day out in Gallipoli, so too were Australia's greatest ideals: respect for our fellow man; camaraderie; putting the interests of the whole before our own as individuals; building relationships, not breaking them; and protecting our nation and all those who are privileged to call it home to the best of our ability. We saw these ideals reflected by communities across Australia on Anzac Day, and we saw it when the Prime Minister stood shoulder to shoulder with the Leader of the Opposition on the same grounds that our soldiers fought on in Gallipoli.

Anzac Day is not a celebration. It is a day to hold reverence for our soldiers, both past and present, and to recognise the service they have provided to each and every one of us. To put your life on the line to protect people you have never met is a form of courage that few of us can truly claim to possess. I believe that the Centenary of Anzac is a milestone that every Australian should be humbled to be part of, because, without those who fought on our great nation's behalf on the shores of Gallipoli from 1914 to 1918 and in all wars since, we would not be living in this generous, diverse and tolerant country we each call home today.

From 2014 to 2018 the Australian government has committed its time, resources and energy to ensuring communities across Australia have the ability to commemorate our service men and women, to embrace our history and to learn from those events of our past to help create a better future. Striking a balance between commemorating these lives in a manner that encourages understanding, reflection and respect and generating passion and respect for the events that have been planned is not as easy as one may think; however, I believe that is exactly what has been achieved.

I congratulate all the local governments, RSLs and residents of my electorate of Swan for their participation in this historic milestone. Without them we would not be able to keep the Anzac spirit alive for future generations. And I salute the more than 300,000 Australians who served overseas during the First World War, the 60,000 people who lost their lives, which is more than in any conflict before or since, and all of our service men and women who continue to stand in defence of our nation today.

On a personal note, I will also mention that many of the diggers I have met in the past spoke very little about their war experiences. I found this out from my own father. When he passed away, we went through his possessions and found he had a photo album of his time serving in the South African Army in Italy during World War II. It was something that he never spoke of. He never talked about it once during the time I was with him growing up. That is probably the nature and character of people who serve when they fight to protect their nation.

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