Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

This parliament is the scene of many robust debates. Those of us on this side of the chamber do not always share the opinion of those opposite. No matter the ideology or the beliefs of members of this place, everyone in this building should be united by a desire to do what is right. In the matter we are discussing today, there can be no argument that what we are doing is the right thing. In considering matters relating to the Australian defence forces, my argument will often come back to a simple principle—if we as a government decide that the men and women of the ADF need to put their lives on the line, then we as a government are obliged to do everything we can to support them. In some cases that support will take the form of making sure they have the right equipment to do their job. When our servicemen return from the battlefield, we owe it to them to ensure they have the best of care for the physical and psychological wounds that they may have suffered. Another form of support that we owe our service men and women is that, should they make the ultimate sacrifice, their service be acknowledged and their memory must be honoured.

A young man by the name of Reg Hillier was working as a jackaroo in the Northern Territory in 1961 when he enlisted into the Australian Army. His life working in the outback set him up well for the Army and he excelled in his role as an infantry scout. He deployed to Vietnam with the First Battalion and was commended for his outstanding leadership and courage. Corporal Hillier—or Reg, as he is affectionately known in the territory—punched above his weight in combat. His tracking skills were used to follow and attack small enemy units, and his courage in going into Viet Cong tunnels led to the capture of valuable intelligence.

Sadly, Reg was killed in action at Vo Dat on 29 November 1965. His family were told of his death—and at the same time given an ultimatum: they could provide 500 pounds to cover the cost of repatriating Reg's body from the battlefield to his home in the Northern Territory or, if they chose not to pay the money, Reg would have to be buried overseas. I want everybody to stop and think about that for a moment. This family would have received a telegram and a visit from a Defence Force padre informing them that Reg had passed away—that he had died overseas in a distant battlefield. They were given an opportunity to bring him home, but it was going to cost them 500 pounds. That was a large amount of money for anyone in those days to have lying around. There can be no question among any right-thinking person that the way the Commonwealth of Australia dealt with this was wrong. Reg's family could not afford to have him repatriated—as I said, 500 pounds was a year's salary to many people back then—so he was buried a thousand miles away from his loved ones in a military cemetery in Malaysia. If what we are considering today becomes law, then Corporal Hillier's remains will be returned home and he will be finally laid to rest in the Adelaide River War Cemetery in accordance with the wishes of his family.

Speaking of his family, I had the great privilege of meeting Mr Neil Bond a few weeks ago. Mr Bond is Reg Hillier's nephew and next of kin. I introduced Neil to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, and the three of us had a long and, at times, very emotional conversation. Neil told us of the immediate aftermath of Reg's death and the toll that that took on his family, particularly on one of Reg's sisters. He also told us of the many years of anguish Reg's sister endured following his death and her dealing with the guilt that they could not afford to bring him home. I cannot begin to imagine how this family felt. I cannot bear to think about how they felt being told by the nation that the remains of their family member, who had given his life, would not be brought home unless they paid. This anguish, as I said, took its toll on Reg's family. His sister's health gradually declined in the years that followed his death. She had not lived long enough to see this wrong made right. How much pain could we have averted if we had acted earlier?

There are an awful lot of people in Australia who deserve thanks in bringing this motion before the House. Within my electorate, as has been pointed out, Bob Shewring from the Vietnam Veterans Association has been a tireless advocate of this cause. I met with Bob on many occasions over the last five years, and I relayed his concerns to my colleagues. To the Prime Minister, and to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Senator Michael Ronaldson: thank you. This has not been an easy issue to pursue. The Prime Minister and Minister Ronaldson have committed a lot of work to this, because it was the right thing to do. It is the right thing to do—and I thank them sincerely. I would also like to thank the Malaysian government, who have cared for and respected our men over the last 50 years.

To those opposite: when the veterans' associations brought this issue to your attention, what happened? My fellow Territorian, the honourable member for Lingiari, was the former Minister for Defence Science and Personnel and former Minister for Veterans' Affairs; why did he not right this wrong? Why, when the veterans' associations and the families of the deceased came to him, did he not right this wrong?

There is nothing this parliament can do today to undo the past. The best we can do—and it is 50 years too late—is to offer the next of kin of Reg Hillier and his comrades in arms what they should have been offered all those years ago: a dignified repatriation. It should have happened 50 years ago, as I said, but, because it did not, the best we can do is to make that commitment now. We must offer to bring our people home.

Beyond this issue of the repatriation of these men, we need to remember the duty that we owe to all our servicemen. Every time someone returns from a battlefield where they have fought in the service of Australia, they are owed a duty of care by this nation and its people. To the men and women who will return, carrying the burdens of their service: we owe them the best of care. For those who lose their lives on the battlefield, we pledge: we will remember them. I say today, in commending this motion: we must do more than remember them—we must honour them. I commend the Prime Minister's statement made on 25 May here in this place, when he announced that those who died in the Vietnam War will be repatriated with full military honours. We are righting a wrong made 50 years ago. Thank you, Prime Minister, and thank you, Minister Ronaldson, for righting this wrong.

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