David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the merits of the Australian government's Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program and the enthusiasm with which it is being embraced in the Lyne electorate. The local grants program is a key element of the entire Anzac Centenary program, which is acknowledging one of the most important, if not the most well-known, defining moment in our country's modern history—the World War I and Anzac tradition. The local grants program is aimed at engaging the community to acknowledge what happened in World War I and the huge numbers of Australian families it affected—many too tragically, as we all know. It is doing this by encouraging and assisting communities to conceptualise, design and deliver their own localised Anzac Centenary projects that commemorate the service and sacrifice of our First World War service men and women.

I am very pleased to report that the program is being embraced well and truly in the Lyne electorate. With the welcome funding of $125,000 per electorate, we have an enthusiastic committee which is working away in the seat of Lyne to guide and oversee the applications and recommend them on to the minister. I will indicate the range of projects that have come forward in a moment, but I must acknowledge that the final decisions on these recommendations will be made by the minister. The core members of this committee are, not too surprisingly, ex-servicemen—though not universally. But they are all continuing to serve their country and their mates through their roles in their respective RSL branches and sub-branches, and here I would like to acknowledge some of them: Greg Laird, Colin Clark and Kevin Lakey from Port Macquarie; Lance Gainey and Bob Metcalfe from Kendall; Bob Coombs and the inimitable Darcey Elbourne from Taree; Bob Murray and Max Poole from Gloucester; Mike McLelland from Laurieton; Joe Richards from Harrington; Roy Meguyer from Old Bar; Des Hancock from Wauchope; and Darren Robinson from Wingham.

But I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of Wingham heart and soul, Mave Richardson AM PSM, who is also working away, contributing to the design of and the application for projects. And there are many others who have also been involved. They are Ron Irwin from Wingham, Darren Hooper from King Creek, Peter Teerman from Taree, Greg Cook from Port Macquarie, Terry Gould from Wherrol Flat and Ken Greenwood from Telegraph Point.

As for the projects, we have a wide array of projects coming forward that commemorate the services and sacrifices of our service men and women, now 100 years ago, and there is an array of interesting ideas and community activities coming forward. At one extreme we have the large-scale, somewhat more spectacular community events such as the essential and highly valued restoration of existing and development of new World War I honour boards and memorials. And at Telegraph Point, Wherroll Flat, Taree, Kendall, Old Bar and Elands, the communities are applying for funds to do these relatively small but enduring works to honour boards and memorials, where people gather to remember World War I and subsequent actions.

The Wingham community, on the other hand, is proposing to adorn the walls of the historic Wingham Hall in images of World War I servicemen and battles and is also proposing a writing competition for local school students to reflect on World War I and its impacts on the community. The small Mount George community is seeking to run a Back to Mount George Day featuring the families of those young men who enlisted and set off to war in Europe. The Laurieton RSL sub-branch is proposing a large Anzac Day community event featuring commemorative services, a re-enactment of army mess, breakfast for the community to participate in and a fly-over of Tiger Moth planes. Wauchope is proposing an event to take the town back in time to 1915, with period costume, equipment and sets to re-enact recruitment and military scenes, interactive displays and a Gallipoli trench. Other projects from Harrington, Gloucester and other members of the Lyne committee are forthcoming. It is going to be very difficult to separate the successful ones from those that have huge merit. I hope all of them get a guernsey, because they are all very worthy projects, and I look forward to making recommendations to the minister.