Mike Kelly (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a great privilege to be able to speak on this motion put forward by my colleague—no relation. It is good to see an acknowledgement of the opportunity that has been afforded us in delivering this motion. The nasho experience in Australian life and the history of our nation is a very significant one. The numbers have been quoted—altogether over 287,000 have served during the two phases of the National Service Scheme, the 1951 to 1959 and the 1965 to 1972 periods. During that time, 212 of those national servicemen perished on active service, a sacrifice on our nation's behalf that needs always to be remembered, acknowledged and commemorated.

I was pleased to see that the service of national servicemen was acknowledged also by a special declaration that was struck in 2001. I know that all of those national servicemen who received that declaration are very grateful for that acknowledgement. I think a lot of them felt that they had been left under the radar in many ways by the nation. It also was good to see the creation of the National Servicemen's Memorial at the War Memorial. I was pleased to be there at the opening of that memorial.

It was a scheme that, of course, was not without its controversy, and I will come back to that. But during the period from 1951 to 1959 it was universal—every 18-year-old male was called up for national service, so it was universal and equitable. It was actually quite a positive experience. People from every different background in Australian life had that experience together. It really was quite a formative thing in terms of binding our nation, in many ways. It would be nice to be able to find a way to achieve that kind of mechanism again some time in our future, to instil that understanding amongst our young that as well as having rights you also have an obligation and an investment in your nation. It was a very positive experience, bringing all aspects and levels of society together.

Many of our citizens who experienced national service went on to bigger and better things. We know of people like Tim Fischer and Bill Hayden, who both experienced national service, as well as famous sporting personalities like Dougie Walters and the singer Normie Rowe. There were businesspeople as well, like Lindsay Fox, who also was a beneficiary of the experience and reflects very fondly on it.

The second phase, the period from 1965 to 1972, was controversial in that it was not a universal scheme. There was the famous ballot, which really was a terrible mechanism—it left a lot to be desired, obviously—and, of course, involved overseas service. We have just had the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, and it is important to remember that of the 18 soldiers who lost their lives in that battle—17 were killed in action and one later died of his wounds—11 were national servicemen. A further 13 of them were wounded in action. They fought side by side, literally shoulder to shoulder—and died shoulder to shoulder—with their regular-service colleagues.

An interesting thing out of that period, and even the previous period, is that quite a lot of people in national service went on to become regulars and serve in the Army. In my early years in the Army I came across quite a lot of them, and they passed on to me many of the skills and much of the knowledge that served me so well in my Army career. So I would like to personally pay tribute to those national service people. Those who left the Army were in a difficult situation. They did not have the embrace of the Regular Army and were more exposed to the very unfortunate community attitudes at the time, and they suffered a great deal as a consequence. They went from the drama and trauma of a battle like Long Tan straight back into civilian life with no real support or follow-up. I really want to pay tribute to those who endured, and their families, who dealt with all of the traumas and difficulties they faced upon their separation without backup. I hope that we continue to learn the lesson of providing our ex-service personnel with support and come up with more creative and innovative ideas to help manage the transition into civilian life and manage stress into the future.

My own father was a national servicemen. Interestingly, all our family have served in the military; my father was the only one who did not want to join voluntarily and he ended up being conscripted. But he certainly had a positive experience out of a very important part of our national history.

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