Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the launch of the Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Bursary on 18 March 2021 at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra;

(2) notes that the bursary is:

(a) a contribution by members of the Australian-Turkish community to the Gallipoli Scholarship, which supports the descendants of Anzacs to study at university or TAFE; and

(b) part of the new Ataturk Scholarship, which will support Turkish Australians to study at university or TAFE from 2022; and

(3) recognises that the donation of this bursary is an act of friendship by Turkish Australians, who have made enormous contributions to our country and community, helping to forge the strong and lasting bond between Australia and Turkey.

It's wonderful today to acknowledge the launch of the Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Memorial Bursary on 18 March 2021 at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. The bursary is a contribution by members of the Australian Turkish community to the Gallipoli scholarship, which supports the descendants of Anzacs to study at university and TAFE. This bursary is an act of friendship by Turkish Australians, who have made enormous contributions to our country and community, helping to forge the long and strong bonds between Australia and Turkey.

I'd like to welcome to the Federation Chamber today two people who I'm going to call 'parents' of the bursary: the chair of Gallipoli Scholarship Fund, retired Major General Michael Smith AO, and the chair of the Ataturk Scholarship, Mr Omer Incekara. They're both in the gallery today, and I'm really looking forward to acknowledging and celebrating the launch of their joint initiative, the Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Memorial Bursary, on 18 March.

The date of 18 March is a significant date. It's the date of the Canakkale victory, when Ottoman forces repelled the British naval assault on the Dardanelles. It's a significant day, observed as a day of remembrance for all Turkish people who have died in the service of their country, people who work in public service such as police and firefighters, as well as defence personnel. The events of 18 March were also an important turning point in history, leading as they did to the Gallipoli landings on 25 April. In eight months of brutal fighting, it's estimated that there were over 300,000 Ottoman and British Allied casualties, including over 56,000 Ottoman and almost 9,000 Australian deaths. The fighting ended when British Allied forces evacuated on 8 January 1916, but the legacy continues to this day. Many consider Gallipoli to be a founding moment in history for Australia, our birth as an independent nation. It is certainly a founding moment in the relationship between our two countries: Australia and Turkey.

Nevertheless, it took half a century for Australia and Turkey to establish formal diplomatic relations, in 1967. While Turkish migration to Australia dates back to the 19th century, when Turkish cameleers were among the first who worked on camel trains, the numbers have grown substantially since 1967. Mr Incekara and Mr Oz Girgin, the two inaugural donors of the Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Memorial Bursary, are descendants of the first migrant workers to arrive after diplomatic relations were established. They made the donation as a gift to their home, Australia, and the generations of Australian defence personnel who have made enormous sacrifices on behalf of a country where most of us have only known peace. They chose a scholarship because they credit the quality education they received in Australia with setting them up for later success.

The Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Memorial Bursary is a contribution to the Gallipoli Scholarship Fund, a fund with an interesting history in its own right. It was founded in 1996 with a $6,000 donation from a World War I veterans association which had met annually prior to Anzac Day for a number of years at the Merrylands RSL Club, which was in my electorate until the redistribution pushed it over the border—but I want it back. It's just across the road, literally. The veterans who founded the fund want to promote a better understanding of the Gallipoli campaign, particularly among younger people. It helps inform and remind Australians of the sacrifices of those who served in conflicts and peace operations and thereby contributes to the future security of our nation and the national values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law.

The first recipient of the Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Memorial Bursary is Eja Collins from Melbourne. Eja is in her first year of a double degree in arts, majoring in languages—French and Spanish—and law. So here we have Turkish Australians donating to a scholarship fund established by Anzac veterans, and we have a wonderful young woman studying French and Spanish. That's who we are these days. We're an extraordinary country. Every year for at least the next four years, the bursary will support a new student like Eja to succeed in the crucial first year of study. This is an act of friendship that creates a virtuous circle, as all of these students will gain valuable skills and one day give back to their communities.

In closing, again I'd like to thank the donors—Mr Incekara and Mr Girgin—the Ataturk Scholarship, which stands behind the bursary, and the Gallipoli Scholarship Fund, for creating these opportunities for the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of our defence personnel. I'd like to thank, too, the Turkish Australians for their enormous contributions to our country and community. I know they're very proud of this. You make our community stronger and make Australia a better place, and you've also helped forge a strong and lasting bond between Australia and Turkey.

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