Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Canning for his question. I think all in this place understand the nature of service. The reason we run for parliament in the first place is to serve our communities. The greatest risk we face is perhaps a paper cut or a bruised ego from time to time. There are those of us who have actually served in uniform, like the member for Canning. We say to them and to those opposite as well who have served: thank you for that service to our nation. On Remembrance Day, we recognise those who have provided the ultimate service to our country. As a mark of respect throughout Australia, in our large cities and in our small country towns, we stop, we pause, we remember and we reflect on that service. As a grateful nation, as a mark of respect we pause to remember and give thanks to those who have served in the past but also those who continue to serve today.

We have a great deal to be thankful for in this nation. The freedoms we enjoy today have come at a huge price. There are 102,000 Australian names on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial, many thousands more were injured in conflicts and there are those who came back and carry the scars for life. We have a great deal to be thankful for as a nation. On this Remembrance Day, we give thanks to all those who served in the past but particularly also thank the families who supported them. As a government we are endeavouring—I must say, with overwhelming support from those opposite—to improve the services we can provide to our veterans and their families throughout our nation, particularly our younger veterans on their transition, whether it is from peacekeeping missions or from deployment in conflict zones. We are working constructively and practically, with the goodwill of those opposite, to continue to deliver better services, better facilities and better support for veterans and their families throughout our nation.

This Remembrance Day, we encourage the Australian nation to take the time to pause and reflect on those who have gone before us and also spare a thought for those who are serving today. They can be injured in training. They can be injured during humanitarian missions. They can be injured during peacekeeping duties or on deployment throughout the world. As we pause to reflect on the service of our forbearers, I encourage each and every one of us to keep in our thoughts and our prayers those who continue to serve today. We say to them: thank you for your service. Lest we forget.

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