Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

With Remembrance Day approaching on Wednesday this week, I thank the member for Ryan for bringing this motion before the chamber today. It is very timely. The Australian story, quite frankly, is an extraordinary one—one that is filled with significant events that have helped to forge our nation's identity through our achievements and through our experiences. However, in getting to where we are today, tribute must be paid to the many who have played a role in defending our nation; in particular, to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

The story of the Anzac legend started with our involvement in the First World War. Australians and New Zealanders landed on the beach in Gallipoli, and everyone knows the story of how hard fought the battle was. But it was not the battle: it was the courage and integrity of the Australians and New Zealanders that helped forge this spirit. Bear in mind, this was the war that was supposed to end all wars. In fact, it was the most bloody and most destructive conflict that we have ever been engaged in, with over 300,000 soldiers taking part in the conflicts, including 1,000 serving Indigenous members of the military. The war lasted for four years, and saw the wanton destruction of nearly three million lives. When the armistice was signed to end hostilities on the Western Front on 11 November 1918, more than 61,000 Australians had been killed and 156,000 wounded, many of those sustaining permanent incapacities. At the time, Australia had a population less than five million citizens, making the numbers of casualties during the war almost too incredible to believe, in terms of the weight carried by this small and yet emerging nation.

On Wednesday, I will join with other members and senators at 11 am at the Australian War Memorial. There will be many commemorative services taking place all over the country. A number of those services will take place in my electorate of Fowler, including services being organised by the Cabra-Vale Diggers club, the City of Liverpool RSL sub-branch, the Canley Heights RSL sub-branch and the Mounties club. These commemorative services are a salient reminder of the sacrifices that have been made by our Australian servicemen who have served our nation and who we owe so much for the lives that we live today. As a nation we must never forget the debt that we owe these Australians and we must never forget the responsibilities we have to their families. For that I commend Legacy on the work that they have done and continue to do today.

I also take the opportunity to acknowledge the efforts and work of all the management committees involved in organising the local commemorative services in my electorate, particularly George Taylor, the president of Cabra-Vale Diggers club; Kevin Ingram, the president of Mounties; Taffy Pritchard, the president of the Canley Heights RSL sub-branch, together with Bill Lottey; and the indomitable John Baron, president of the Liverpool RSL sub-branch. John plays an extraordinary role in my community in making sure that people never forget the contribution of our servicemen and servicewomen.

This year marks the 97th anniversary of the end of World War I. Australia has been engaged in a number of major conflicts, and they also deserve to be remembered at this stage—our involvement in the Boer War, World War I and World War II, the Korean conflict, Vietnam, East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq, and now extending our involvement in the Middle East. This Wednesday, Remembrance Day, is a time for us to reflect on the contributions of the men and women who serve our nation in all wars and all peacekeeping operations. We will pause to honour the extraordinary sacrifice that these Australians have made and remember those who have died in the defence of our values, including the often forgotten contributions that have been made by Aboriginal Australians.

We honour the Anzac spirit, which has been part of the foundation of this nation—not warlike qualities but rather a preparedness to defend the vulnerable, to defend the values which this nation has always upheld. It is a time to celebrate peace, to honour courage and to think about ordinary Australians who have lived through extraordinary times. May we never forget.

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