Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to pay my respects today to our many veterans—those who have served and those who currently serve, those still with us and those who have passed on, the many men and women who faced the stark horror of war and faced what to many of us are unthinkable challenges and suffering in the name of democracy and freedom. I thank the member for Kingston for moving this motion today. It is an important motion.

The member for Kingston and I, along with a number of other members, had the opportunity to go to Afghanistan and the UAE and to fly over Iraq and Syria over the last two weeks as part of a parliamentary delegation to the Middle East region hosted by Australian Defence Force personnel. We were able to gain a real insight into the work of the forces in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. We stayed at Camp Baird, named after Corporal Cameron Baird, posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross only last year. This incredible experience offered me the opportunity to literally stand shoulder to shoulder with our troops—while not in actual combat, at least in training and remembrance of the 44 Australians who made the ultimate sacrifice during our force's current presence in the region. We are fortunate today that we do not face a terrible worldwide conflict of the destructive nature of times past. Instead, our defence forces find themselves adapting to different forms of conflict, yet fighting for the same values that motivated our forces a century ago.

This week is the 98th anniversary of Armistice Day. The silencing of the guns on the Western Front has come to be associated with the commemoration of the price paid by our service men and women in the defence of our values and freedoms. The remembrance poppy, first known of the Flanders fields, is a symbol as old as Remembrance Day itself. The imagery of the fields covered in red reflects the many lost in those fields and has now been adopted internationally as a symbol of commemoration. The minute's silence acknowledges the sacrifices so many ordinary Australians have made, not only during World War I but throughout all armed conflicts. The men and women who gave their lives to enable us to live the lives we have today are owed an eternal debt, as are all those who sustained injuries that affected their lives once they returned but who are not always acknowledged.

Every one of us is connected somehow to those who have served our country. In Dunkley, both my father and grandfather were in the Australian Defence Force based on the Mornington Peninsula, meaning that for me Remembrance Day also has a very local relevance. In this, I am like many of you who gather, whether for Remembrance Day ceremonies or in this parliamentary chamber, to pay respect to grandfathers, grandmothers, cousins, friends or perhaps complete strangers through the upcoming remembrance services.

In Dunkley, Frankston Memorial Park is the final resting place of over 200 ex-servicemen. I was able to acknowledge their service yesterday. Dunkley itself has contributed many young people to the defence of Australia and Australia's interests and has a unique and rich military history. Sixteen soldiers from Frankston who were killed in action in World War I are listed on the honour roll at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, which I had the honour of visiting recently. There are many more recognised at the Frankston War Memorial, down the road in Beauty Park. Langwarrin Flora and Fauna Reserve brings history right to our doorstep, having hosted a prisoner of war camp, military training and a military hospital.

Many of us can never truly comprehend the hardship and strain undergone by our defence forces. It was incredible to have an eye-opening experience in the UAE and Afghanistan over the last two weeks, to see our defence forces and what they do in person. We are incredibly proud of and grateful to those who have returned and those who did not, whether their scars are physical and can be seen or whether their wounds are not only of the flesh.

The homecoming from the battlefield to suburban life can be a challenge, in that the person who went off to war is not always the same person who returns home. We recognise that the transition for those who come home can be difficult for both them and their families and loved ones around them. In this, we see the valuable work of the RSL, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the numerous other support networks and organisations who aid our veterans and their families. As we come to Remembrance Day, we remember the saying:

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

Lest we forget.

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