Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Solomon for her contribution this evening and, more importantly, for her ongoing advocacy for some 5,000 defence personnel who reside in her electorate of Solomon. Of course, as she mentioned, there are a number of very significant military establishments in Solomon and, therefore, interest in defence matters is not just for the ADF personnel themselves but more importantly—or as importantly—for their family members.

She mentioned investment in Solomon. In the 2015-16 budget the government has made significant defence investments in the electorate of Solomon. This includes $4.9 million to resolve flooding issues at RAAF Base Darwin, $5 million to upgrade facilities at the Shoal Bay Receiving Station, and funding for new facilities for the Joint Logistics Unit (North). There will also be $18 million spent on a Joint Logistics facility at Darwin's East Arm Wharf, with construction due to commence this year—so that is going to be a very significant addition to the facilities in Darwin. Darwin, of course, with the Robertson Barracks, the RAAF base, HMAS Coonawarra and other facilities there, is the major defence establishment as far as the north of Australia and that part of the Northern Territory are concerned.

There will also be an investment of about $1.1 million as a program to replace the dated aviation fire trucks with modern equipment. This project is going ahead and will provide facilities at Robertson Barracks to support the introduction of these aviation fire trucks. Overall, increased defence funding is reaching a record of $31.9 billion across the nation this year and a very important component of that is in the Northern Territory.

I am glad the member mentioned the question of the repatriation of remains from overseas, particularly those from the Vietnam War at the Terendak cemetery, because this is a matter I am aware she has passionately pursued with the government for some considerable time. As she said, on 25 May this year the Australian government announced its offer to repatriate the remains of 35 Australian servicemen and dependents from Terendak and return them to Australia. For a matter of record, of the 521 Australian war dead from the Vietnam War, 26 are buried overseas—one at Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore, one in Ireland, in accordance with the wishes of that person's family, and the remaining 24 are interred at Terendak. A further six have had their ashes interred or scattered overseas. The Terendak Military Cemetery in Malaysia comprises 323 graves of Commonwealth servicemen and their dependents, including 34 Australians, of which 24 are Vietnam War dead, one Malayan Emergency war dead, two servicemen who were killed in accidents and seven service dependents. The repatriation effort at this stage is limited to the Terendak military cemetery and the one grave at the Kranji War Memorial in Singapore.

I think this gives us an opportunity as a nation. The honourable member mentioned that the family of Corporal Hillier were not able to afford to bring his body home. I think this is an opportunity for us as a nation to put this right and bring these men home—obviously, in accordance with the wishes of their family and remaining relatives. It is the one conflict in Australian history where repatriation of fallen service personnel was not consistent. Indeed, looking back, I think we did a pretty poor job as a nation in relation to those people who served us in Vietnam whatever the political differences about that conflict might have been. I think we as a nation have an obligation to our service men and women to treat them with the utmost respect and we fell down in many regards in relation to the Vietnam War.

The Prime Minister made this announcement on 25 May and said that those who died in the Vietnam War would be repatriated with full military honours, and I think that is the deserving thing to do in these cases. Ultimately, the decision whether or not to repatriate the remains of these Australians lies with their individual families, as it should; but, where the families in these situations would wish the remains to be repatriated to Australia, the honourable thing to do on behalf of the nation is to carry out the wishes of the family.

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