Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the motion of the member for Calare. It is nice to see a motion where both sides agree wholeheartedly. The Australian cadet program has a long history in my electorate. During the last school holidays, about 200 Army cadets from across Victoria participated in promotion courses and camps at Puckapunyal. Cadets at the camp were taught the leadership skills required to lead their subordinates in the barracks in a field environment.

One of our own units, the 312 Army Cadet Unit, based at Puckapunyal, continued their excellent performance at these camps, I must say. The 312 is made up of Mitchell shire teenagers bringing a variety of experiences and backgrounds to the group. Cadet Sergeant Zachary Steele of 312 was awarded Student of Merit of the most senior course, the cadet under officer/warrant officer course. Lieutenant-Colonel Craig Madden of the Combined Arms Training Centre presented Zachary with the Commander Australian Army Cadet Commendation (Gold)—the highest award that a cadet can achieve.

The 312 Army Cadet Unit at Puckapunyal has been highly awarded over the past few years. The unit's success includes winning the state military skills competition in 2013 and 2014. Our cadets also represented Victoria at a number of national competitions where they placed in the top three. Other achievements of the 312 include a berth on the Young Endeavourand an Army funded exchange program to Canada for four Army cadets. Indeed, I am proud to say the 312 Army Cadet Unit is currently the most highly awarded Army cadet unit in Victoria, racking up 24 commendations and four adventure training awards.

We also have the Plenty unit at Ivanhoe Grammar School, which is another one of the cadet units we are proud of. It is approximately 150 students ranging from year 8 through to year 11 who have all shown that they espouse everything you would like to see in young leaders. Led by the CO, Captain Virginia Creed, the Plenty Valley campus unit works closely with our schools, RSLs and the wider community to ensure that each Anzac Day and Remembrance Day there is a highly-skilled and disciplined team at services to showcase their exceptional skills and ensure that our services are given the respect and high regard they deserve. Both these units are a credit to their leaders and the wider cadet movement, and they give us great pride.

The strength and the future of our country is safe in the hands of these fine young men and women of our society. I think it is worth noting that the cadets is a very inclusive organisation. Officers and instructors of cadets are drawn from a diverse range of unique backgrounds and experiences. All are committed to providing and enjoining positive, safe youth development experience, respecting the values and dignity of all people and recognising the particular rights and needs of young people.

For some six years in my younger days, I was a member of the now-defunct Upfield High School cadet unit. I can say that it was an extremely rewarding experience. You would spend many weeknights ensuring that your uniform was immaculate, starched to within an inch of its life, and that the brass on your belt was polished. You also had to remember that the old GP boots you were given had a mirror finish put on them. There were weekly parades where you learnt a range of skills and discipline. It was self-confidence building. There were camps and bivouacs where navigation and survival skills were tested along with your resolve and your ability to lead and work as a team. These are skills that are never forgotten, even if the old uniform may have shrunk a little bit over the years.

Most proudly, the cadets gave me the opportunity to march in Anzac Day parades where, rain, hail or shine, you would proudly carry the banner of the units, leading the great men and women who served our country as they march to the shrine and receive the thanks of a grateful nation along the way. As teenagers, we might have done that journey four or five times each Anzac Day, beaming with pride. You ignored the blisters you got on your feet from your GP boots or the uniform saturated in the rain, because through cadets you learnt it was an honour to be cherished that you carried the banner that reunited the men and women who put all on the line in our name, and no blisters or wet clothing were going to take that away.

Throughout my time in cadets I received a few promotions and enjoyed the time that we would have at different events, whether they were Anzac services or other community festivals and events. It was an opportunity to join together with like-minded people and work and challenge each other to see who could rise to the top, who could push themselves and deliver leadership in teams when we went on those camps and we were pitching the hutchie in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night and it was freezing cold, when you were tucked up under your little tin foil—

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