Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hawke for his question. Yesterday I had the great honour of being the first Prime Minister to attend the Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial commemorations that occurred in Ballarat, with the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. It was the 20th anniversary of this extraordinary memorial.

It tells of the sacrifice, courage and mateship of the men and women who served our country in war and who were incarcerated and forced to endure extraordinary deprivation, whether it be during the First World War, the Second World War or in various theatres where Australia fought, right up until the Korean War. This is an extraordinary memorial. It tells a story that needs to continue to be told, because we need to continue to honour these great men and women who served our country and who suffered so much.

So many did not return home, but those who did returned home with scars that were long lasting. There are only 10 former prisoners of war alive today, and there were around a thousand people there yesterday: families and friends of those people who had served, paying tribute and honouring and showing respect for these Australians. The memorial is a record of patience, perseverance, humour and, above all, hope—hope that they might come home to their loved ones.

I was reminded of one of the great privileges of my life. In 1987 I attended the opening of Hellfire Pass in Kanchanaburi, in Thailand, with my friend, my mentor and my father figure, Tom Uren. Tom Uren was captured on Timor. He was incarcerated in Changi. He served on the Burma-Siam railway, and then he was taken as a slave labourer to Japan, where he witnessed the second atomic bomb in Nagasaki. He came back not with any bitterness but with hope for humanity and as a campaigner for peace for the rest of his life. During that visit, I had the great honour, as well, of catching a longboat down the River Kwai with Sir John Carrick, a hero of the Liberal Party, a mentor of John Howard and a great Australian. These two great Australians from different sides of this chamber, who had total respect for each other, come from a generation which those of us who have come after have benefited from. We need to continue to show respect and to pay tribute to them. On that visit, Sir Weary Dunlop, one of the greatest of Australians, was there as well as the leader of these fine men.

It was the last time these men would have gathered. All of them who were there—I checked—have passed today. They wept. They hugged. They talked about their experience. As close as I was to Tom, like many former prisoners of war, that visit was the only time that he ever talked in detail about his experience in war. It was a time when people came up and talked about their experience. Tom was a big guy. He fought for the Australian Heavyweight Championship. He stood between so many of the diggers there and the bayonets of the Japanese and saved lives, literally. He'd never spoken about it. So many of them did that, and yesterday was an opportunity to really pay tribute to these great Australians. I think that all of us should be reminded that we live in this greatest country on earth because of the sacrifice of those who've come before us. Lest we forget.

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