Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Defence Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion. I thank the member for Herbert for this motion, I acknowledge his service and I thank him for bringing this timely motion to the chamber today. Wednesday 11 November 2020 marks Remembrance Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, when the guns fell silent on the Western Front, officially ending the First World War. It was supposed to be the war that ended all wars; tragically it was not.

Remembrance Day is a time to recognise the service and sacrifice of all those who've served in our Defence Force, and the families that support them, by stopping and observing a minute's silence. This Wednesday, along with the member for Herbert, I, and many members of this chamber and in the other place, the senators, will attend a national ceremony at the Australian War Memorial, where the names of more than 102,000 who've fallen on our behalf are inscribed. The ceremony will be broadcast nationally.

Remembrance Day is about honouring all Australians who served in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. Every community in Australia has its own story to tell, and Remembrance Day is an opportunity for those local communities to honour and renew those connections. It's a tragic reminder, a sad reminder, of the terrible impact that wars have had on the economies and social fabric of small, regional and country towns, and major cities.

I want to talk about the impact on a small regional rural community in my electorate and an individual in my home city of Ipswich. In Elizabeth DeLacy's 2015 book The Colinton Boys, she tells the story of the harsh reality of the lives of men who returned from the First World War to their small town in the Somerset region in the Brisbane Valley in the electorate of Blair. Colinton is the site of Queensland's first-ever war monument, unveiled on 18 January 1917. With a population of 200, Colinton made an extraordinary contribution to the war effort. By 1917, 44 men out of a town of 200 had enlisted in the AIF. When the war ended, only about 13 men returned home, many to find that their jobs had disappeared from the local dairy industry, so they were forced to move away in search of work. Colinton is now a ghost town, effectively, but there's still a monument there that inscribes the names of 43 men across the whole war who lost their lives. This insightful book by Elizabeth DeLacy talks about how poorly these men were treated when they came home from the war and how many of them suffered from their wartime experiences: mental health issues, relationship breakdown and personal tragedy, and we haven't learnt enough in this country, even today.

The latest newsletter of the Ipswich Genealogical Society in my electorate records the story of Ipswich man Major Sydney Beresford Robertson, who was a local solicitor and the son of a local pastor. He was among the men from what official war historian Charles Bean describes as the outer states—Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia—who landed at Gallipoli on the very first day. On that day, Major Robertson and his comrades were involved in the bloody battle at Sari Bair. Heavily outnumbered by the Turks and with his regiment desperately trying to hold a ridge, Major Robertson was killed in action, cut down by shrapnel while bravely trying to get reinforcements to his troops. On this Remembrance Day we salute the courage of brave soldiers like Major Robertson and all those who made the ultimate sacrifice in all wars.

Reflecting on these conflicts again reminds us of the terrible impacts of war. One of the most important ways we can give weight to the meaning of 'lest we forget' is to ensure that our veterans and their families receive the support and respect they deserve. To paraphrase the motto of the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia, 'We should honour the dead by fighting like hell for the living.' In this place we should recommit ourselves this Remembrance Day to giving our veterans the best possible support with policies that provide tangible outcomes, including in areas like mental health and wellbeing, civilian transition and employment programs. As the latest figures on defence and veteran suicide have shown, we need to act urgently to address these issues.

I want to thank the member for Herbert and all those on both sides of this chamber who have served in the military, and remember those who came back from the wars, who served in this place on both sides of the chamber. I want to thank the men and women from the RAAF and the Army units situated at RAAF Base Amberley in my home community. I thank them for what they do for my local community. Member for Herbert, I support your motion, I thank you for your service and thank you for the motion, and I commend it to the chamber.

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