Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health, Aged Care and Indigenous Health Services) Share this | Hansard source

In the gallery, I'm looking at some young Australians—young children that have come in from their school. I extend a very warm welcome to you. I want to say to you kids today up there in the gallery that you are part of the greatest nation on the planet. The future that you will enjoy and the potential in front of you is better by far than in any other country in the world. One day, one of you may be down here as the Prime Minister, and it is indeed a great democracy when we can see that in action.

You will notice, kids, that at the four corners of this chamber is the Australian national flag, and it's a very important symbol. It symbolises our country and our democracy. It is also representative of the democratic power that we have as a Defence Force. Our soldiers, our sailors and our aviators wear that on our uniform. We swear an oath under that flag to protect that flag and our country, and it's something that we as a country are extraordinarily proud of, and so should you be. It adorns our coffins of our dead—those brave men and women who defend our country. We adorn their coffins with that flag because of its significance. It means something. It is more than just a rag on a pole. It symbolises our country. And so too our war memorials symbolise the sacrifice that goes with the defence of this nation.

When a young Australian—maybe you later on; who knows—stands and swears an oath to Australia, its people, its government and our King, then you take on that onus as a member of the Defence Force. You will give your life in an instant for your country and your colleague on your right or your left. You do that because you are there to protect the democracy and the defence of this country. It's a very important thing. When we do lose members of our Defence Force, that flag is also significant, and it goes with the death and the life of that person—that brave young Australian. On Remembrance Day and ANZAC Day, we normally adorn our monuments around the country, as the minister has reminded us, with the Australian national flag.

Our memorials represent those young Australians that have given their lives to defend this country. They are sacred. It means more than anything else in the world. It's about those families that give up their loved ones—their brothers, their sisters, their sons, their daughters, their fathers and their mothers. That flag and those memorials mean everything. When we see them graffitied, walked upon and painted with terrible, terrible slogans, this is an indictment not only on those memorials, war dead and families but on the democracy of Australia itself. We cannot take a step back. We cannot flinch. We cannot hesitate in sticking up and standing for democracy and the protection of those monuments.

I'll take you back to what it is like to be a soldier. If we hesitate on the battlefield for one split second, that will maybe mean not only my death but also the death of my colleague on my right or left. We do not hesitate. We remain clear eyed, mission focused and absolutely steadfast in the defence of this country. I cannot condemn this enough. I have been to Israel. I have been to Gaza. I have been in the Middle East. I have been on operations. And I cannot stress enough how important this is not only for our generation but for that beautiful generation I see up there in the gallery. You be proud of being Australian. You be proud of our flag and you be proud of all those who defend it.

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