Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This afternoon, when I left off this speech, I was thanking and commending the Canberra population for their incredible turnout on Anzac Day. As I mentioned at that stage, 120,000 people from around the country, but primarily from Canberra and the capital region, came to attend the dawn service. As I said at that time, the population of Canberra is 380,000 and the region is between 500,000 and 600,000. So that was a significant proportion of the population. There were people of all ages. It was just extraordinary to see so many people at that dawn service watching the sun come up, acknowledging and remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice, remembering relatives who served and remembering, acknowledging and thanking those who are currently serving. I thank and commend those Canberrans who turned out on that day in such record numbers. It was quite extraordinary. As I said at that time, record numbers also attended the national ceremony, and record participants from all age groups from cadets right through to vets. It was a wonderful ceremony.

I am incredibly proud of the way so many Canberrans commemorated Anzac Day here. The Australian Garden History Society is erecting a monument in Weston Park to the young men of early Canberra who served in the First World War. Their service is personified by Private Malcolm McIntosh Southwell, who was a forester based at what is now the Yarralumla Nursery and who was killed in action near Flers in France on 5 November 1916. At Fetherston Gardens in Weston volunteers constructed a memorial garden using plants of significance such as the Gallipoli Rose, poppies, cornflowers and a lone pine.

In Chisholm, the existing memorial on Simpsons Hill is being lovingly upgraded by the local community to become the centre of local commemorations. A new flagpole, garden beds and memorial plaques designed by local schoolchildren have brought the memorial to life. These are just some of the many local commemorations that ensured that Anzac Day continues to have meaning and relevance to our Canberra community for the next hundred years.

As you would be aware, Mr Deputy Speaker Scott—although I do not know whether you partook of these activities—thanks to the fantastic work that has been done by Dr Brendan Nelson, the Director of the Australian War Memorial, and by the Archives and so many other national institutions here in our nation's great capital, many Australians have been using the commemoration of the Anzac Centenary to connect with relatives who served during those four years. It has been extraordinary to see the work that has been done by the National Archives as well as by many other national institutions, where you can type in your relative's name and trace their history. You can sometimes see letters; you can see the enlistment papers; in the case of the person I am about to talk about, you can see the dreadful notification of death. Through that, too, you get a sense of these individuals and the fact that they were individuals who had dreams and hopes and loves and passions, and who often left young wives and babies behind.

In our case, my husband, Chris Uhlmann, and I spent quite a lot of time researching Sergeant Christopher Ernest Uhlmann, who was killed in action in Belgium on 21 July 1917. On that day, 'this splendid stamp of a man' was wounded by a shell in the trenches near Zillebeke Lake in Belgium. The brigade doctor, Captain Aspinall, Bomber Barrs and Private Salisbury went to his assistance, but another shell fell almost in the same spot and killed the four. Christopher Ernest Uhlmann was just 26 and he was married to Florence May Uhlmann.

After attending the dawn service, the mass at Saint Christopher's and the national Anzac Day ceremony, Chris and I honoured 'Ernie', as he was called, by placing a poppy against his name on panel 11 at the War Memorial. We joined with so many thousands of Australians not just at the War Memorial but also at memorials and commemorative shrines in each town right across the country, in paying tribute to the memories and legacy of lost loved ones.

I want to take this opportunity of again thanking Dr Brendan Nelson, because after Chris and I placed that poppy on Ernie's plaque at the War Memorial, the following night we also went at 9.17 pm, when his name was lit up on the War Memorial. Over the next four years his name will be lit up three times. I encourage all Australians to, first off, get a sense of history of those who lost their lives, the relatives who lost their lives or who were wounded during the First World War, but also to take the time to find out when they will be memorialised at the War Memorial, with their name lit up, so that all across the capital region and here in the capital we can remember them. Lest we forget.

Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What an amazing event Anzac Day was for so many people and so many communities. The member for Canberra's contribution is an illustration of events that took place all around our country to remember, to reflect and not to celebrate but commemorate those people that gave so much for our country and the country that we all love so very much.

It is a privilege for me to contribute to this debate. I imagine that most members of parliament will take this opportunity. The collation of all these recollections will form part of a wonderful memorial at the national War Memorial, if nothing else from a historical point of view to try to capture how, as a nation in 2015, we commemorated the centenary of Anzac.

I attended three services on Anzac Day. I could have attended many more. There were 36 towns around my electorate that held services. In total we were able to ascertain 57 services around the electorate of Lyons, from small communities to some of the larger towns. I have no doubt that that there were also some private services around the electorate. There has been a private service held on top of a hill at the property of Patterdale near the town of Deddington in the northern Midlands to remember some brothers who were killed in the First World War, and I understand they held that service again this year.

The first service I attended was the dawn service at Beaconsfield, coordinated by Mr Colin Smee, the president of the RSL at Beaconsfield. At 9 o'clock I attended the service at Bishopsburn in the northern Midlands. That was coordinated by Mr Gordon McGee, and I had an opportunity to address the very large crowd that was at that 9 o'clock service. Large crowds were the case at every service as I understand it, around Tasmania and I believe around the country as well. There was also a fine contribution made by Gordon McGee's grandson, Bradley.

Perhaps the highlight for me was the opportunity that I was given in being invited to speak at the 11 o'clock service at Evandale. It was a wonderful occasion in a beautiful setting. There was a very large crowd there. The school band from the Launceston College performed and they had a choir. It really was a very wonderful commemoratives service, and a real privilege for me to be able to speak to the gathering there.

As well as that, in conjunction with the Anzac Day service we had the Centenary of Anzac opening of a mural wall that was alongside the park where the cenotaph stands. It will be a lasting reminder for the people of Evandale of the contribution that was made by so many in World War I. My congratulations go to the Evandale History Society for that particular Centenary of Anzac project.

Similarly, at Avoca at 1 o'clock—although I missed the service at 11 o'clock service, naturally enough. I thank Mary Knowles very much; she maintained a small gathering there to open the Centenary of Anzac commemoration that they had organised at Avoca, which was to install commemoratives plaques at the museum to honour the Anzacs who enlisted from Avoca. It really was a very nice recognition.

Indeed, there are a number that I would like to mention as part of the Centenary of Anzac. I will not go into detail, but it has been truly a highlight for me over the last 12 months to have been part of seeing these communities deliver these wonderful commemorations as part of the Centenary of Anzac. I think of the Sheffield RSL and Citizens Club. Sheffield, as people who have been to Sheffield know, is the town of murals. They now have a wonderful recognition in the form of a mural in that town.

There was a very small project: the Frankford Soldiers Memorial Hall committee has installed honour boards at the Frankford hall—long overdue. A more significant project was at St Helens, where the St Helens-St Marys branch of the RSL has created a wall of remembrance to honour all of the Tasmanian war dead. It is the only place, as I understand it, in the state where there is a list of every person who served in World War I. I am very proud to say that there was an uncle of my grandfather's on that list as well.

The Exeter RSL Sub-Branch had some honour boards. I was very pleased to have the Prime Minister open those during his time in Tasmania with the Pollie Pedal. The Levendale and Woodsdale History Rooms now have a memorial garden made from local rocks that were collected to remember the men that served in both World War I and World War II. The    Liffey Old School Hall is no longer a school—they received only $1,000 but it was a significant contribution to restore the commemorative tree avenue at the Liffey Old School Hall. Those people who left that community to serve in the First World War will now be remembered.

I mentioned the Evandale History Society. The RSL sub-branch at Westbury received a grant to improve access and to establish a heritage remembrance garden. The Kentish Council had a project at Wilmot, where they installed memorial plaques. The Northern Midlands RSL Sub-Branch at Longford received a grant for their Anzac Day 2015 commemorations. I was unable to attend the service, but this was something of truly epic proportions from what I can understand. They do a tremendous job.

Recently, I attended the Eaglehawk Neck Community Hall, where they have used timber from the memorial avenue trees at the Port Arthur historic site. Some of those trees had fallen into disrepair and had to be removed for safety reasons. The timber from the macrocarpa has been sawn and has been made into picnic benches, all of which have a memorial plaque on them, at Eaglehawk Neck and at other parts on the Tasman Peninsula. If anyone is passing that part of the world, it is perhaps the most stunning place where you could have a memorial—overlooking the bay at Eaglehawk Neck. It really is very special.

The Deloraine RSL Sub-Branch Anzac Centenary 2015 day of commemoration activities—'A Living Memorial'—was recognised. And there was the Brighton Council. Of course, Brighton has a very significant history as far as Tasmania and World War I are concerned. It was where my grandfather served. Like so many, he enlisted—Albert Russell Cordell—but because of his eyesight he was considered unable to go to Gallipoli, where his brothers did. He lost an uncle in World War I as well. But he served his time as a trainer at the Brighton Army Camp, as it was.

The Southern Midlands Council had truly wonderful commemorations at Oatlands, Campania and Kempton schools, which I attended, for those communities in the southern Midlands about those who gave their lives in World War I. The Bicheno RSL Sub-Branch has established a new Anzac memorial. Lastly, Clarence Point on the West Tamar will receive an amount of money to support their project, which is, again, to install honour boards and a story board as part of an avenue of honour.

As I say, it has been a real highlight for me and I have no doubt for many other members in this place to have been able to support the local communities as we remembered and as we commemorated 100 years since World War I. For me it has been an absolute privilege and a real highlight of my time as the member for Lyons.

Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with the other members of the House in supporting this motion about a very significant time, a very poignant time in our history, as we come together to acknowledge what occurred 100 years ago and to have some regard of how the reflection of that has played into who we are today and shaped our view as to where we go for the future.

Like all members of this place, I joined with hundreds of thousands of people across Australian in attending various Anzac Day commemorations to honour those who have served this country. I attended commemoration functions at the Cabra-Vale Diggers Club, the Canley Heights RSL, the Mounties club in Mount Pritchard and the Triglav club. On each of these occasions, many of these people—who, in my community, have come from all over the world, it being the most multicultural community in the country—came together to look at what occurred, not to celebrate war but to commemorate the efforts that were made on our behalf to achieve peace.

You know the scene well. We saw a sea of wreaths that were laid as Australia paused to remember those who served our country and to honour those who did make the ultimate sacrifice in the protection of our nation. Their extraordinary efforts, their courage and their endurance have been displayed by our service men and women throughout the history of this country. But this particular Anzac Day we focused on the centenary of the landing on Gallipoli. Much flows from that in terms of the great Australian story that we often refer to as the Anzac spirit.

Although 100 years have passed, the events of the First World War and particularly the efforts of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps—the Anzacs—have helped forge our identity and have certainly helped to define us in respect of our national character. In the spirit of the Anzac and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of landing at Gallipoli, the Commonwealth government chose to make grants available for communities to help them not only to honour but also to reflect on these events. In my community they decided they did not need another monument and they did not need a commemorative plaque. What they wanted was to do something in relation to young people. We chose to use the entirety of the Commonwealth grant to engage with both primary and secondary schools across my electorate. They came together to work for over 12 months on an exhibition—artworks, literature, film and artistic performances—to depict their unique understanding of this important chapter in Australia's history. This project was initiated in 2013 by empowering my local Anzac Centenary committee, comprising representatives of local clubs, schools and ex-servicemen's associations. They worked tirelessly over that 18-month period to plan and coordinate this project with the schools community, with teachers and students alike, and also engaged pretty fully with local members of our community.

This project was an opportunity for young Australians to learn more about the significance of this time in our history and to appreciate the freedom that we enjoy today, that being the legacy of those that have sacrificed much on our behalf. Thirty schools in my electorate participated, with more than 20,000 students coming together to participate in this project to design the creative works that built the knowledge and understanding of their contribution to those who fought for peace.

The poignant theme of this centenary program adopted in my electorate was 'not taking peace for granted' and, in doing so, honouring our Anzac tradition. The schools ran their own competitions in the areas of visual arts, performing arts, print and multimedia, and the winning works were showcased last month at Cabra-Vale Diggers Club. There was a very big reception with a couple of thousand people. The work was extraordinary. It depicted the visions not simply of war but also of the achievements that occurred as a consequence of Australia being prepared to stand up and fight for peace. It was very interesting seeing this reflected through the eyes of young people—young people from very multicultural communities. One thing that flowed from it was that they all saw themselves as Australian and they all saw themselves as imbued with the Anzac spirit.

I would like to congratulate all those who were involved in this project, as it has allowed many in my local community to imagine the events as they unfolded in Gallipoli a century ago. The young people worked tirelessly to bring this Anzac Centenary project together, but it would not have occurred without the extraordinary effort of the Anzac Centenary committee. I will take a moment to acknowledge the members of the committee. Beth Goodwin, who is the Principal of Cabramatta High School, played an integral role in coordinating the project, as did Michael Foulkes and Megan Orahem from Cabra-Vale Diggers Club. Others include George Taylor, Jim Thompson and John Dillon, who are all board members of the Cabra-Vale Diggers Club; Barry Brooks from the Fairfield RSL sub-branch; John Baron from the City of Liverpool RSL; Reg Bonney from the National Servicemen's Association; Taffy Pritchard from Canley Heights RSL; Bill Lottey from St Johns Park Bowling Club; and Geoff Lewsam, chair of the committee and also a director of the St Johns Park Bowling Club. They all gave very freely of their time over 18 months to plan, coordinate and deliver this project.

The successful coordination and planning of the project would also not have occurred without the most diligent work of a young staff member of mine, Renata Cekic, who has dedicated an enormous amount of time and effort to the committee. Renata is a young woman who was a refugee out of the Bosnian conflict. She came to this country, completed her education here and now is doing extraordinary work in our local community.

I also thank the local students in my electorate who, through their artistic endeavours, also played a vital role in making sure the Anzac Centenary was honoured in a most fitting way. I thank all of them for their contributions.

History teaches us great lessons, not just about the past but also about ourselves and our place in the world. It is important that we ensure the Anzac legacy continues to be handed down through the generations in order to preserve the Anzac tradition and to allow us to appreciate how it has influenced modern Australia.

The Anzac Centenary project in my electorate has definitely ignited a passion in many to learn more, and it has engendered a renewed respect for those to whom we owe so much.

Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is an honour and a privilege, as it has been for other members, to speak on the motion on the 100th anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli. It has been a time when all Australians have remembered, reflected and rededicated themselves to the memory of the first Anzacs. As we move through the four years of the anniversary of the war, we will continue to reflect and remember as the battles at Gallipoli through 1915 shifted to other parts of the Middle East and to the Western Front.

Australia's contribution to the First World War was monumental. From a population of just under five million, 400,000 joined up. One hundred and sixty thousand were wounded and 61,000 were killed. Forty per cent of all eligible men joined up. I mention those statistics because they tell so much of the story, but not all of it. They tell us that every community, every family, in every corner of our country was affected. But it is only when you look into the histories at the local level, as we have been doing in our local electorates, to the names of those 61,000 who lost their lives, that you can comprehend fully the effect on the families and the communities 100 years ago and in the years that followed.

I attended a number of services, as all members in this place did in the lead-up to Anzac Day, on Anzac Day itself and in the days since. I attended the dawn service at Lilydale. The cenotaph bears the names of 25 locals who lost their lives in World War I—25 young men who, 101 years ago, were walking the main street. They were young men in a young country with their lives ahead of them. When you look to the stories, you can imagine how the families and the communities were shattered at that time. Leonard Lawlor, whose name is on the cenotaph, was one of the 750 who were killed on the day of the landings.

Edwiin Poyner's name is on the cenotaph. The Poyner family had a large farm that is now suburban housing blocks, just north of the town. Ed joined up with his brother Frank on the same day and they served together on the Western Front. They were 25 metres apart when Ed was killed by a shell.

JD Burns was the son of the Presbyterian minister. He was an outstanding scholar and had penned the poem For England. He had won a scholarship to Ormond College but never got there because he joined up and he was killed in September at Gallipoli.

The other names on the cenotaph, Rankin and Goodall, were brothers-in-law. Chauvin and Briers were cousins. You think of the effect on those families and the town back then, and then repeated in each town and each suburb across the country. I mention this because some academics try to sum up the typical Anzac. Without being critical, when you look at the scale of it, it is a fruitless task because every community was involved, every family to an extent and every profession. And that scale 100 years on is hard to comprehend.

The Yarra Valley was home to one Anzac who was awarded the Victoria Cross, George Ingram. I will say he does have some of the characteristics of the typical Anzac. His family story is the story that we can find in other corners of Australia that was all too typical for back then. He was one of the first to join up. He was sent to Rabaul and he got malaria, so he was sent back to Australia and discharged. He rejoined five hours later by changing his middle name—he confused the authorities and he has confused every local historian ever since. His brother Frank joined up in New Zealand and his brother Alex joined up. They had been a family of four. They had a sister but she died at a young age. Ronald and Alex saw action on the Western Front before George managed to get back there but both Ronald and Alex were killed, leaving George as the only son. He was awarded the VC in the last month of the war.

One hundred years on, the Anzacs would be amazed at a number of things. They would be amazed at the technological advances in the world and the progress in our country. They would be very proud that the values they believed in and they were fighting for have endured George and that Australia, which was a very young democracy back then, has succeeded and developed in the way it has. They would be very humbled that we are not only remembering them but remembering them in such numbers 100 years on. As all members here attending services would agree, they would be especially touched at the school children attending the services playing a part, because they are our nation's future and that was what they were fighting for.

In the time available, I want to mention some of the schools and some of the students who played such an important role at the services. I want to mention Ruskin Park Primary School and Bimbadeen Heights Primary School, who have a service every year in the lead-up to Anzac Day and did on Anzac Day eve. Yering Primary School always has a service in the days following Anzac Day. I want to thank the RSLs and community groups who hosted services in the lead-up to Anzac Day or launches of local Centenary of Anzac grant commitments. For the Yarra Junction Avenue of Honour, I want to thank Rob Worlley and Lorraine Green and Rhonda Simmons. I would also like to thank Gladysdale Primary School, Upper Yarra High School, Wesburn Primary School and Yarra Junction Primary School, who were all part of that service.

For the Healesville RSL Avenue of Honour service held on 17 April, I want to thank the school captain of Healesville High, Maddison Wilson, and the senior leader, Kiera Heatherich. I want to thank Birmingham Primary School, Monbulk Primary School, Mount Evelyn Primary School and The Patch Primary School, who participated in the Bells of Peace project. I want to thank the Millwarra Primary School, Warburton Primary School and the RSL president from Warburton, Jamie Thomas and Coral Reynolds, the commemorations coordinator, who conducted a very touching service on the launch of the Gallipoli Wall in Warburton. As a community, we will continue to remember and reflect with only the intensity a centenary can bring.

In closing, I want to thank the RSL president from Mount Evelyn, Roger Boness; the RSL president from Lilydale, Don Parsons; and local historian and member of my Centenary of Anzac committee Anthony McAleer, who determined in the days leading up to Anzac Day that not only would they have the best service possible but they would have an individual service on the 100th anniversary of the death of each local Anzac. They had one on Anzac Day for Leonard Lawlor, who I mentioned. They had one in Wandin the day after Anzac Day for Frank Nicholls, a local from Wandin. Just last Friday, I was pleased to attend a service in Mount Evelyn for William Aicher, who was killed on 8 May at Gallipoli. Anthony McAleer gave the address there, giving us an insight into his life as a local—and a rich life it was—in Melbourne and in the Mount Evelyn community. William Aicher was the son of German immigrants. He joined up as one of the first Anzacs.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I feel somewhat humbled speaking to this motion, but I certainly appreciate the opportunity to do so. It is doubtful that 100 years ago, when Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed at Gallipoli, they were aware that their landing would become so significant in the history and indeed in the future of Australia. They obviously understood the strategic military importance of their mission. Within days of their landing, they would also have understood that the heavy losses incurred ensured that Gallipoli would become part of the World War I story. But it is very unlikely that they would have foreseen that, 100 years later, Australians of all ages would acknowledge their landing by turning up in record numbers to attend dawn services around the country, undeterred by weather conditions, be it wet or cold, and that Anzac Day would have become, in my view, the most significant national day in the Australian calendar.

Just as Australians from every part of Australia had volunteered their service to Australia in World War I, so too, 100 years later, every community around the country paused to honour them, and they did so with very deep and genuine sincerity. It is a unique Australian and New Zealand characteristic that I am not aware is replicated by any other country in quite the same way. Notably—and perhaps regrettably, but understandably—none of Australia's World War I veterans are still with us.

Importantly, the commemoration of Anzac Day goes to the heart of the Australian identity: our character, our culture, our values and what we stand for. It is often said that Gallipoli was Australia's first major military engagement as a nation and that through Gallipoli Australia earned its place and its respect on the world stage. It is also acknowledged that the heavy losses of lives at Gallipoli, including some 8,700 Australian lives, ensured its place in Australian history. Quite rightly, Anzac Day has become immortalised in Australian life.

The centenary events have shone a light on World War I and particularly on Gallipoli. The centenary has exposed so much about World War I that was previously not known. Individual stories have emerged about people, places and events about which little had previously been reported. We have heard several of those stories in contributions by members in this place in the course of this debate. With each story, respect for our Anzac members grows. Each story provides another piece to our understanding of the complete picture and further entrenches the relevance of the Gallipoli landing and other World War I events. Such was the case in the Makin electorate, which I represent, where local researchers, historians, family members, writers and school students uncovered a wealth of local stories that had previously not been told and were simply not recorded anywhere.

Additionally, centenary events and services were held throughout the community, again bringing a much deeper knowledge to members of the community than was previously known. I was unable to get to all of those events, but I attended services at the Salisbury and Tea Tree Gully RSLs; at Modbury, Golden Grove, Keithcot Farm and Ardtornish primary schools and Golden Grove Lutheran Primary School; and at Torrens Valley Christian School. I was represented by staff at the combined Golden Grove, Pedare and Gleeson College high school services, as well as being represented by staff at a poppy-planting service at Civic Park at Modbury that was organised by the Tea Tree Gully council. I also attended services at the Ferns Lifestyle Village, the Viceroy nursing home, the Springfields nursing home and the Pegasus Pony Club, as well as attending the Anzac parade through the streets of Adelaide on Anzac Day.

I was particularly impressed that a number of the nursing homes in fact put on services within their nursing homes for the elderly residents of those homes who could not otherwise have attended dawn services but who undoubtedly had recollections. Some of them wore their medals on the day. They were much more, and much more closely, connected with World War I and World War II and other military events than any of today's generation, and to them it meant so much that a service had been organised for them.

As I said, there were obviously many other events that I simply could not get to for one reason or another, sometimes because they coincided with events being held at the same time.

But what I was also very much impressed by was that the services at the Salisbury and Tea Tree Gully RSLs saw record crowds. In fact, several thousand people attended both of those events, and people had started arriving an hour before the services. I have been going to those services now for years and years, and I have watched the numbers grow. They have been growing, but indeed I have never seen numbers of the size of the crowds that I saw at this year's services. That is heartening because, as I see more people coming out to the service, it tells me that more and more people both understand and respect what our Defence men and women have done and continue to do for our country. Indeed, when I went to Keithcot Farm Primary School to attend their service I was asked to give an address. There were some 500 children in the school hall, and I asked the school children to put up their hands. Because this service was after 25 April, I asked the school children how many of them had attended dawn services. Over half of the school children had attended dawn services. Half of the school children put their hands up, and it was wonderful to see.

World War I has been referred to as the Great War and so too it was for Australia. Of a population of 5 million at the time, of which about 1 million were males aged between 15 and 45 years, 420,000 Australian men enlisted for service. Of those enlisted, 330,000 left our shores. 270,000 or thereabouts returned, and of those over 150,000 were physically wounded. From South Australia some 6,000 died from the almost 35,000 who had enlisted. The figures speak for themselves. No community and very likely no Australian family was left unscarred.

In respect of that I commend all the communities across Australia that have picked up on the centenary project funds and established projects within their communities. By doing so they continue to tell the story—and different stories—to each and every part of Australia about the importance of our Defence men and women.

The effort in respect of World War I was indeed a national effort of unparalleled commitment. Our Anzacs set a standard of mateship, courage and grit that has been upheld by Australian Defence Force personnel ever since. It also created an enduring bond between Australia and New Zealand that has stood the test of time.

Last year, accompanied by my wife, I had the opportunity along with Madam Speaker, the member for Forrest and Senator Glenn Sterle to visit war cemeteries at West Flanders. We visited Tyne Cot Cemetery, where we laid a wreath and crosses alongside many of the war graves. The crosses had been sent to us by school children from around Australia. We also visited Buttes New British Cemetery and a memorial to the Australian 5th Division at Polygon Wood, and then went on to the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres.

The experience of those visits is unforgettable. Standing in the midst of the war graves, often those of unknown soldiers, in a faraway land brings home the reality of World War I—a cemetery filled with boys and young men, all of whom had a life ahead of them and family, friends, fiancees and loved ones waiting for their return, who had plans and dreams for their future. Those plans and dreams all came to a sudden end, leaving others to carry the heartache. I recall one headstone. I cannot recall the words precisely, but it was something like, 'My time here at Gallipoli is finished. I am coming home on Saturday.' Clearly that young man did not.

To all those who served Australia at Gallipoli and indeed at every other battle of World War I and in every other Defence engagement that Australia has been involved in I simply say thank you. To the families of the 101,000 Australians who have lost their lives serving Australia I offer my condolences. Australia would not be the great country that it is were it not for those people. We shall remember them all as a nation as we do each and every Anzac Day. Lest we forget.

Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the former speaker, the member for Makin, for the very touching words he said about our great Anzacs.

This year we come together as a nation to honour the Centenary of Anzac and to honour those who have fought for our country in this and in all other conflicts we have had since our nation formed in 1901, to honour the memory of our brave soldiers who paid the ultimate price.

The Anzacs have a sacred place in the hearts of all Australians. It is because of the Anzacs and the soldiers in those other conflicts that I have referred to that we are able to stand here proudly today as one nation united and not divided. Most Australians have a connection to the efforts of our armed forces either through personal experience or family members. It is important that we remember the sacrifices made by these young men and women so that we could remain with our freedom.

In the early hours of Sunday, 25 April 1915, soldiers from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on Gallipoli. At the landing, the 16th Battalion was about 1,000 strong. By the evening, despite strong Turkish counter-attacks, the Anzacs were able to hold a narrow triangle of land. By the next morning, more than 1,700 casualties had been evacuated from the area of the Anzac landing. Counterattacks continued for several days, but the Anzacs held firm. In a roll call on 3 May, just a week later, fewer than 300 men called their names. The stalemate persisted for months. The August Offensive was an attempt to break the stalemate but failed, with counterattacks by the Turkish troops.

The battle fought at Lone Pine is remembered for being especially ferocious. Within three days of fighting at Lone Pine, seven Victoria Crosses were awarded. More than 4,500 Australians fought at Lone Pine, and by the battle's end nearly half were killed or wounded.

The Gallipoli campaign has passed into our country's mythology, an example of our courageous spirit. That spirit continues today, and the tradition is carried on by the young school children that flock to our Anzac Day ceremonies each and every year. But this year it was something special.

I want to say a little word on the lone pine. I have had the honour of being gifted five lone pines from a constituent in my electorate. You may be aware that there was a solitary pine tree on the Gallipoli Peninsula which marked the Battle of Lone Pine. The hills around Gallipoli were originally covered with these pines but the Turkish soldiers chopped every one down except one to fortify their trenches. The original lone pine was a sole survivor of a group of trees that had been cut down by the Turkish soldiers. However, this tree was eventually obliterated during a battle. An Australian soldier picked up one of the pinecones and sent it home to his mother. The lone pines you see growing in Australia now are descendants from that cone of the lone pine.

You may be interested to know that you cannot buy lone pines unless you go through the Australian War Memorial. This is why I treasure the five lone pines that have been given to me by a good friend. They are not easy to grow. They will be given mainly to schools in my electorate, but we do need people with green fingers to make sure that they mature into very nice trees.

During the Anzac Day week, thanks to the federal government and the Queensland government, I was able to organise a troop train. We took a heritage steam train—I think the only one in existence in Queensland—out of the museum in Ipswich and Queensland Rail took that train to Winton. Why Winton? Winton was only a small town in 1914—and it is still only a small town—but 600 soldiers came out of the town of Winton in 1914 plus the horses. We did not ship only troops to Gallipoli; our horses went with them and on to France. That is why the train started in Winton.

We laid wreaths at Winton, Longreach, Alpha, Emerald, Blackwater, Rockhampton, Maryborough, Cooroy and finally Brisbane. Everywhere we stopped we laid a wreath. We took our own contingent of horses by truck—they did not come on the train—and we had a re-enactment of the light horse in every town we stopped at.

There were 250 passengers on that train. They thoroughly enjoyed the commemoration of Anzac and the authentic reliving of that troop train that made that journey in 1914. When we stopped in Brisbane the night before Anzac Day people were a little exhausted. I think the average age on the train was 85—I was one of the young ones. They all had a very enjoyable time. They were all keen to get up the next morning and participate in the dawn service and were very proud to march in the Anzac Day celebrations in Brisbane.

The Anzacs are part of our national identity. They represent us to the rest of the world. That is where Australians become Australia. There is a strong belief in mateship, loyalty and trust. It was not only the men who went to war; there were Aboriginals, women, nurses and doctors. Some women were told to stay home and do the knitting but still found ways to get around the system. They came through the backdoor in England and Scotland to look after our wounded troops. Your heart must go out to them in those days. The nurses in the re-enactment were very finely dressed in white and red. They really caught people's eyes when the train stopped at different locations.

We must always remember the Anzacs and every day we must think of them. We will remember them. God rest in peace.

Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 25 April this year Australia celebrated the centenary of the landing of Australian troops at Gallipoli, a landing that has become one of the most significant events in Australia's history. Throughout Australia record crowds attended Anzac Day services. In the Shortland electorate there were dawn services at Swansea, Pelican, Catherine Hill Bay, Dudley and Doyalson. In addition, there were services later in the morning at Belmont, Redhead, Valentine, Swansea, Gwandalan and Doyalson. Some of those services were accompanied by marches. There is always a march at the Pelican dawn service. It is quite eerie to see emerging from the fog that clouds the road in the morning diggers from the Second World War and other conflicts Australia has been involved in. It never ceases to make my heart beat a little faster and a tear come to the corner of my eye.

At Belmont there is always a march. Members of that community, schoolchildren and young people march in Belmont. Swansea was very special to me this year. I often join in the march at Swansea, and this year was no exception. One of my very dear friends, a gentleman who is 96 years old, I think went in his last Anzac Day march. He was unable to walk this year, but his grandson came from Melbourne and pushed him in a wheelchair. At the end of the march, it was a real privilege to have my photograph taken with Norm Billton, who fought in New Guinea in the Second World War and who has been a role model to me over the years.

I would like to thank all those people who attended the Anzac ceremonies to honour our Anzacs and ex-service men and women. I also want to put on the record my thanks to the Shortland Centenary of Anzac committee, who under the leadership of Allan Bargwanna chose seven outstanding projects to fund and to Lisa McDermott, in my office, who made sure that everything ran on track.

The interesting thing about Anzac Day is that it is not a celebration of a great victory. Rather, it is a day when our nation focuses on defeat. We remember and pay tribute to those young Australians who braved the shores of Gallipoli in an operation that was doomed before it even started. In its 100th year I think it is important to analyse why Anzac Day is so fundamental to our Australian identity and the Australian ethos. The iconic status of Anzac Day is demonstrated every year when Australians, no matter where they are, pause to remember and honour those brave men who landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. We also remember all Australian service men and women.

It has become a rite of passage for all young Australians to visit Gallipoli, and that shows just how significant that landing was. It can be argued that one factor that can be attributed to the iconic status of Anzac Day is that, at the time of the landing at Gallipoli, Australia had been a nation for barely 14 years. It was a nation in its infancy, one that still saw itself as a British colony. It can be argued that it was that landing by Australian soldiers on the rugged peninsula at Gallipoli that was really the birthplace of our nation. The Gallipoli campaign was the first major campaign where Australian and New Zealand troops fought under their own commanders and, for the first time, we had Australian troops fighting as Australians for Australia.

It was a battle that took an enormous toll. After eight months from the day of the first Gallipoli landing, over 8,700 of these soldiers were killed. Many died of wounds or disease on the battlefields at Gallipoli. Signaller Ellis Silas of the 16th Battalion AIF at Gallipoli reflected on the casualties suffered by the battalion. He wrote:

The roll is called—how heart-breaking it is—name after name is called; the reply a deep silence which can be felt, despite the noise of the incessant crackling of rifles and screaming of shrapnel—there are few of us left to answer to our names—just a thin line of weary, ashen-faced men; behind us a mass of silent forms, once our comrades—there they have been for some days, we have not had the time to bury them.

We can only imagine the despair and marvel at the determination and spirit of those brave men who refused to take a backwards step against almost impossible odds. As the sun set on that first day, approximately 2,000 Australians lay wounded or dead.

Despite the campaign being a disaster, Australian troops at Gallipoli showed courage, fortitude and military competence. These gallant men epitomised the values all Australian's treasure—courage, mateship, compassion, strength in adversity, loyalty and the spirit to endure. Once again, when we are considering the significance and iconic status of Anzac Day in Australia's history, it is significant that these characteristics are the characteristics that Australians value and that epitomise our self-image. It can be argued that the characteristics displayed by our Anzacs at Gallipoli were the same characteristics that had led to Australia moving from being a penal colony to becoming a nation.

The Australian soldiers that landed at Gallipoli allowed Australians to demonstrate to the world those characteristic and values. As a consequence, they became the values that were attributed to Australians world-wide. Our Anzacs epitomised what it means to be Australian. Our Anzacs were respected and honoured by our enemies. This was demonstrated in the words of the Turkish General Ataturk who said:

You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears.

Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace.

After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well.

The Turkish people will never forget our brave young Anzacs and nor will we.

On Anzac Day we particularly remember all those who fought in World War I, and particularly those who fought at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. My grandmother was engaged to a soldier who went to Gallipoli. He managed to leave Gallipoli and then he went to the Western Front where he was killed. This is a common story. World War I saw many Australians lose their lives, and the impact of that left an indelible mark on communities in Shortland and throughout Australia.

I conclude my contribution to this debate with a poem from Bill Charlton, a poet from the Shortland electorate who writes poems about war. This poem demonstrates the impact that World War 1 had on those communities.

They came from Little Pelican,

Marks Point and Belmont South.

From Speers Point to Toronto,

News spread by word of mouth.

Front every town around The Lake

They marched by night and day,

For God, for King and Country,

They went to join the fray.

Shipped off to Gallipoli,

They arrived at Anzac Cove.

Where death would greet them daily,

In a war they came to loathe.

Two miners came from Catho.

Woods and Farr by ;tame.

But they were killed within a month

With this cruel war to blame.

Our brave young men from 'round The Lake

Were with those fighting there.

They stormed the heights and made their mark,

And a name they all would share.

The Anzac Legend there was born,

And our kinfolk played their part.

These brave young soldiers had no peer.

They showed tremendous heart.

Almost a hundred years has passed since then,

But Time has not lessened our pride.

And these diggers will not be forgotten,

While people still mourn side by side.

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Anzac Day is entrenched in the hearts and minds of the young and old, of all colours and creeds in communities in Durack. Anzac Day 2015, dare I say, I believe outshone Australia Day celebrations. The government, the communities, the RSL and various entities have indeed been privileged to work together joyfully and respectfully to reignite, honour and herald the Anzac story.

I had the pleasure of attending four Anzac events in my electorate of Durack: at the coastal communities of Kalbarri, Cervantes and Jurien Bay, and the idyllic Wheatbelt hamlet of Yuna. I also visited the inland town of Mullewa, where Father O'Bryan rededicated the World War 1 memorial, which was restored with the support of an Anzac centenary grant. With pride, a heavy step and deep reflection on their faces, the school children, the volunteers and communities produced sensitive and unique events in Durack that highlighted the importance of Anzac in their towns—lost uncles and grandfathers, letters from the Front, sweethearts left waiting, re-enactments. I particularly enjoyed Jim Clark's Anzac address, which he presented with such passion and force; the flag bearers in Kalbarri; the attention to detail of the Yuna and Cervantes primary school children. Well done to Mickey Russell and the Cervantes Primary School, the Yuna Primary School, Kalbarri District High school and the Jurien Bay RSL, ably led by secretary Barry Wilson. It was obvious for all to see that after 100 years, Anzac still touches the lives of almost every family in Australia.

Working with my team over recent months, I am pleased that many localities in Durack received federal funding for Anzac centenary projects. The funds were used for: commemorative services in Morawa and Koorda; construction or upgrades to memorials in Broome, Mt Magnet, Tom Price, Moora, Meckering, Mullewa and Wongan Hills; displays, artworks and reliefs in Carnamah, Dalwallinu and Perenjori; the restoration of honour rolls in Geraldton; interpretive signage in Mukinbudin; and    through the state library, making WA's World War I history available worldwide through the digitisation of World War I newspapers. And I would like to take this opportunity to thank Leanne Thurston from my Geraldton office for all her hard work to achieve these outcomes for Durack communities.

I want to use this opportunity to reflect on the role of women in World War I. Peter Rees's 2008 book The other Anzacs: nurses at war, 1914-1918 indicated that around 2,500 nurses saw overseas service with the Australian Army Nursing Service during the World War I, while approximately 720 others served overseas with other allied nursing services. Interest was reportedly so strong in serving overseas that at least 130 nurses chose to circumvent the waiting lists in Australia and travel independently to England to join the Australian Army services British equivalent. Rees also noted that 44 Australian Army nurses received the Royal Red Cross for their service and 143 were awarded the Associate Royal Red Cross.

As part of its World War I commemorations, the City of Greater Geraldton's regional library in my electorate of Durack noted the service of Olive Goldridge Hall, who lived in Geraldton and enlisted in the Australian Army Nursing Service on 6 August 1915 as a 28-year-old trained nurse. On 14 March 1918, a letter Hall wrote home to her mother was published in the Geraldton Guardian, detailing her experiences and noting the recent Christmas celebrations. On the home front, many Australian women became voluntary active members of patriotic funds. These women were the mothers, wives and sweethearts of the brave Aussie soldiers. The patriotic funds were established to provide help services such as medical care and social and financial support to returning soldiers.

A branch of the British Red Cross was established in Australia on 13 August 1914 by Lady Helen Munro Ferguson, wife of the Governor-General at the time. It is quite incredible that by 1918 there were 2,200 Red Cross branches across Australia, involving more than 55,000 women. Many other patriotic fundraising organisations were set up, including the Victorian League of Western Australia. It has been estimated that these organisations collectively fundraised a total of around £14 million, which is a considerable amount given that Australia's total defence expenditure between 1914 and 1918 was €188 million. We know this organisation today as the Australian Red Cross, which celebrated its own centenary in 2014. In the postwar period, the Red Cross has focused on social welfare, national emergencies, natural disasters, the blood bank and first aid programs. Today it has around one million members, volunteers and staff. Its role may have changed since the commencement of World War I, but its desire to help those who need it most has never waned. Well done to the Australian Red Cross.

Many people from my electorate of Durack contributed to the World War I effort. It is opportune moment to mention and honour some of those individuals as we reflect on 100 years, and the incredible contribution the Anzacs made to our nation.

Henry Joseph Bradley was a 28-year-old labourer living in Geraldton when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in September 1914. Mr Bradley embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT Ceramic on 22 December 1914, travelling to Egypt before landing at Anzac Cove at approximately 6 pm on 25 April 1915. Following his service at Gallipoli, Mr Bradley moved with his battalion to the Western Front where he was not only progressively promoted to the rank of lieutenant, but also awarded both the Distinguished Conduct Medal in November 1916 and the Military Cross in 1918, returning to Australia in December 1918. Mr Bradley also had two brothers, William and Nicholas, who served in and returned from war.

Walter Edward Parry, a 24-year-old telegraphist from Geraldton, enlisted as a private in the AIF's 11th Battalion. On 18 August, the Geraldton Guardian reported that Parry was one of 23 selected as the second contingent to enlist from Geraldton. They were 'given a stirring and enthusiastic send-off' that morning as they departed south by train. Mr Parry embarked from Fremantle on 2 November 1915 bound for Gallipoli, where he landed on 25 April 1915. Mr Parry served on the peninsula until August, when he was evacuated due to illness. After recuperating, he joined the 21st Field Artillery Brigade in Belgium in May 1916. Later in November, Parry, now of the rank of bombardier, was awarded the Military Medal for bravery. Mr Parry returned to Australia in October 1918.

This year, the hundredth commemoration of the Anzac's landing at Gallipoli is a proud and historic moment to pause, to reflect and to be thankful. The reaction of Australians to this 100-year commemoration confirms that Anzac is firmly embedded as a day of national pride. It unites us as one. Those people who attended Anzac services for the first time—and I know there were many—said to me they would never miss another Anzac Day service. It made them so proud to be Australian, and now they know more clearly what it means to be Australian. I have to say I agree with them. For me and for Durack, the Anzac 100-year anniversary is a new coming of age for Australia. Lest we forget.

Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They say there are only a few times in your life when you will always remember where you were. People a little older than me will tell you they will always know where they were when John F Kennedy was shot. I will always remember where I was and what I was doing when the attacks on the World Trade Centre occurred. Equally, on the other hand, there are things which are highly popular for a very short time and wane dramatically—things like Gangnam Style, Achy Breaky Heart and the like. My dad attended the centenary of Waltzing Matilda in Winton. It was a fantastic time as we celebrated an Australian icon. By the end of the week of celebrations, they were running out of steam. My dad penned the following poem, sitting on the verandah of the Wellshot Hotel in Ilfracombe, in relation to this idea of things running out of steam:

She always was a scallywag

With spirits hale and hearty

And when she heard about Winton

She headed for the party

She had the best time of her life

She partied night and day

But suddenly on Friday night

She upped and passed away

Now it wasn't all the dancing

Or the drinking that had killed her

But the thousand times

She listened to Waltzing bloody Matilda.

I do not say this to denigrate this great work or to be flippant or amusing about Anzac Day. I want to make a contrast between what can happen in our society and what we as a country have just witnessed—something very special. The Anzac Centenary commemorations of the Gallipoli landing will live on in this country for a very long time. It was not just the sincere words spoken so strongly by our Prime Minister. It was not just the thousands of people that stood shoulder-to-shoulder all night in the cold to be on that soil, in that sombre place, for that sombre service. It was the families who got up all over the country and attended dawn services commemorating the Centenary of Anzac. It was the community groups who worked together and used the $120,000 each electorate was given by the federal government—both governments, the previous government and this one. In my electorate, the committee was headed by Nick Reilly, and he was ably assisted by Mick Johnson, Andrew Gisinger, Jan Power, and Jeff Jimmison. In every electorate these people were the same. The names changed, and they looked different, but they were the same people. They were the people who cared about their community and who understood that this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put on record our community's thanks to those who served our country in uniform and those who paid the ultimate price.

In my electorate we approved: a research project, Between Battles: Commemorating the Cultural Lives of Soldiers; an interpretive exhibit; an exhibition of the military history of Magnetic Island; a theatrical presentation, Ginger Mick at Gallipoli; a website project by Pimlico State High School on the Anzacs of Townsville; and we made a strong contribution to the Anzac commemoration activities in Townsville in partnership with the Townsville City Council. It was the council workers, the police, the ADF personnel, the schools, the members of the local RSLs and the emergency service workers who all gave more than was asked to ensure that this day was very special—not just at the main service in Townsville but all around the region.

The Prime Minister spoke, when moving this motion, about the massive crowd in Canberra that morning. I watched the news the following day and the size of the crowds around the country was a testament to the respect in which we hold the people who made this country what it is today. In Townsville it was no different. The stage at Anzac Park is right on the marina and those on the stage look away from the sea and towards the city. It is pitch-black when you get there. You cannot see the crowd. The girls of St Margaret Mary's Bella Voce choir performed at their best and started the day in perfect tune. The catafalque party, dressed in World War One uniforms made their way into place. Mick Johnson was the master of ceremonies and the service started bang on time.

Our Mayor, Jenny Hill, who served as a reservist and whose husband, Shane, served in the AIF, spoke of mateship and courage. This was surely a theme echoed around the country, but it was when she spoke of Townsville's Keane family that the emotion of the day started to take its toll. My mayor spoke of how the brothers, John and Michael, enlisted immediately. Both men, aged 20 and 18, 'Saw action on the Gallipoli Peninsula', as the mayor said. War is hell, and John was medically discharged in 1916, having suffered terribly in the trenches and the bitter winter fighting. Michael served at Gallipoli, Egypt, and France.

A third brother, Patrick, lied about his aged and, when he was found out, he was already on a ship. Tragically, he died of Spanish influenza before he got to serve his country. The mayor said:

Michael would suffer from many illnesses endemic amongst our diggers and suffer the horrors of WWI.

Jenny then said:

Like hundreds of thousands of others at memorials in cities, suburbs, and towns across Australia, I join today to pay respect to Private Patrick Keane, his brothers, and tens of thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers who served so valiantly for their country. John and Michael never recovered from the horrors of war. Today, here, with their nephew, Alan Stephenson, we take pride in keeping their memories alive.

It was a truly moving moment.

Brigadier Roger Noble, Commander of 3rd Brigade spoke as all Townsville military leaders speak: with knowledge, pride, and with a slice of originality. He opened his speech with these words:

For 100 years Australian's have gathered to commemorate and remember that fateful landing at ANZAC Cove.

For 100 years we have invoked the sacred commitment— Lest We Forget.

Quickly take a look around you and you will see that we have been faithful to that original and enduring sacred promise. Think about that for a moment. Here we stand together—their sons, their daughters, their grand children, their great grand children, their great great grand children and many who had no direct personal link to them at all. All together; Australians together.

He went on:

On the Centenary of ANZAC it is perhaps most important to reflect on the meaning and purpose of ANZAC Day. In a democracy like ours it is both inevitable and positive that there is much opinion and speculation on this topic. This is as it should be. There is no one 'right' reason or view on what it all means and why it still matters. But to talk, to discuss, to consider, to analyze, to think, to care is the actually the act of remembrance that matters most. It is the ultimate act of respect by the citizens of a free country to those who have fallen in its name.

He spoke of service, of sacrifice, of being optimists even in the face of the absolute facts of their situation. He spoke of how their example, not just as soldiers but as men, have led to an ethos which remains as strong today as ever. Perhaps the greatest compliment is from your enemy. Brigadier Noble quoted Field Marshall Erwin Rommel as saying, 'If I had to take hell, I would use the Australians to take it and the New Zealanders to hold it.'

Just like every other city in Australia, the First World War took a huge toll on our city. Brigadier Noble noted, with solemnity, that there were 165 names on our cenotaph from a total of 1,914 volunteers. That is from a city of only 13,000 people at the time. Every city and town in the country shares statistics like this. It is said that Anzac Day was not a government idea. It grew out of our communities. It is a grass roots, bottom up approach which marks this day as special in our calendar—and so it should be.

As dawn broke we saw the extent of the crowd. As far as the eye could see, there were people. In the dark they were silent. But, as the day broke, they spoke loudly as to our commitment to those who don a uniform and serve our country. They stood shoulder to shoulder all the way up Melton Terrace to Cleveland Terrace. They stood shoulder to shoulder all the way down near Tobruk Pool to one side and past the Coral Sea memorial towards the Criterion Hotel the other side.

The council received funding to simulcast the service at Jezzine Barracks. Credit must go to the council and the private contractors, such as Peter Jepson, for making that a huge success. Later that morning, the main parade was review by Brigadier Noble and Mayor Jenny Hill. The parade was led by Colonel John Simeone. As they started, they marched through an honour guard of Townsville school students. Every available soldier, sailor and air man and woman marched in front of our veterans groups, emergency service representatives and then the schools. It was a brilliant day.

Today, to me, Anzac Day is about those who serve. Sure it is about the Australian Defence Force, but to me it is about those who wear a uniform and put themselves in positions I would never hope to be in. As well as our Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel, my city includes the police, ambulance and fire services and there are nurses. There were nurses in our parades, signifying the fact that service is also behind the firing lines.

The Centenary of Anzac is not a passing fad in my city or my country. It will not be forgotten in my city or my country. It will not blur into a trivia question in my city or country. It will be something about which the people in Townsville will always take pride. It will be something about which the people of Australia will always take pride. I will always remember where I was for the Centenary of Anzac. I will always be able to remember what it was like to be there, representing the Prime Minister at the dawn service in Townsville. It is where I should be, in my garrison city with the people who share the respect of those who paid the ultimate price 100 years ago, all those who have died in service since and all who continue to put their lives on the line at home and all around the world keeping us safe and sound.

I thank the Townsville RSL, the Townsville City Council and the people of Townsville for allowing me to be part of their day, part of our national day of remembrance. Lest we forget.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to rise to speak on this motion to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli and to join in this debate, which has been characterised by many fine contributions, including the one we have just heard from the member for Herbert.

Every Anzac Day is an opportunity to reflect on the sacrifice and service of so many men and women in the First World War, the Second World War and many other conflicts in which Australians have fought. But as we mark 100 years since the landing on the Gallipoli peninsula, 100 years since the battle which so quickly came to be a defining moment in our national character and identity, it is particularly timely to consider the central role of military service in our history as a successful democratic nation.

There is something of a paradox in the way that a democracy goes to war and in the attitude that we bring to the role of war in our history. For militaristic and fascist nations—like Hitler's Germany or Tojo's Japan—war was to be sought out and celebrated. The nation gloried in its victories, and the disruption to the lives of tens of millions of people, both in the aggressor nation and its victims, was of little consequence.

Democracies, by contrast, go to war reluctantly—more often than not, only when it is necessary to defend themselves against aggression. It is notable that the famous call from opposition leader Andrew Fisher in July 1914 is couched in terms of defence, not attack:

… should the worst happen, after everything has been done that honour will permit, Australians will stand beside the mother country to help and defend her to our last man and our last shilling.

When democracies go to war they do not abandon their fundamental values. On the contrary, to maintain popular support for the war effort, the government of a democracy must be able to show that the purpose of fighting is to defend and advance those fundamental values.

During World War I, Australia held two successive referendums on the contentious question of conscription. The citizens of this young democracy reserved the right to decide on this fundamental question of how the war effort should be resourced. They twice repudiated the Prime Minister of the day, Billy Hughes, who later became the first member for Bradfield, who was urging that conscription should be adopted.

Similarly, Australians at the front were determined to form their own opinions. Historian Michael McKernan highlights this point in his foreword to a recent edition of Keith Murdoch's famous letter about Gallipoli, saying:

Australian soldiers saw themselves as quite competent to form their own opinions, to think for themselves. They had freely offered their service as soldiers to their country, but they had not surrendered their capacity for independent thinking and judgement.

The wars of the 20th century, particularly the two world wars, were tests of whether soldiers of a democracy could fight effectively. Would they be less disciplined? Would they follow orders less reliably than soldiers who had grown up in a totalitarian state? Or would their upbringing in a democratic nation be a strength, equipping them to display initiative and exercise their own judgement? Would the freedom and the way of life they enjoyed in a democracy translate into a greater determination to fight so as to preserve that way of life?

Writing about D-day, the American historian Stephen Ambrose said:

It was an open question, toward the end of Spring 1944, as to whether a democracy could produce young soldiers capable of fighting effectively against the best that Nazi Germany could produce … when the test came, when freedom had to be fought for or abandoned, they fought. They were soldiers of democracy.

So too were the Anzacs soldiers of democracy. Indeed, Charles Bean, Australia's official war historian, saw a parallel with soldiers of the ancient Greek democracy of Athens, who had fought in the Dardanelles over 2,000 years earlier. Let me quote from the biography of Bean written recently by Ross Coulthart:

Bean was drawn to the stories of fifth century BC Athens because they fit his mythologising of the Anzacs: just as in ancient Athens, the Australia they were fighting to defend was a new democracy with similarly high minded ideals.

Anzac Day, therefore, marks the anniversary of a campaign which occurred early in the life of Australia in a war we were fighting to defend the ideals embodied in our nation.

If this is one reason why the Gallipoli campaign looms so large in our national consciousness, another is that it forms part of a war in which Australians decisively demonstrated their capacities as effective fighting men. Gallipoli itself was a military failure, but later in World War I Australians were involved in decisive victories, particularly the Battle of Amiens on the Western Front under General Monash. The most successful aspect of the Gallipoli campaign was the way it ended, with an evacuation in December 1915 carried out largely without the enemy realising it.

Perhaps a strength of democracies in war is that it is harder to hide military failures from public opinion and, in turn, the armies of democracies cut their losses more quickly than the armies of totalitarian nations. That is not to say it was at all easy for journalists reporting on the Gallipoli campaign to get the truth out. They faced heavy censorship, but the efforts of Australian journalists like Keith Murdoch and Charles Bean were important to the decision ultimately taken that the campaign should be abandoned. It is hard to imagine such men operating, and their work having a similar effect, inside a totalitarian political system.

The centenary of Anzac, of course, is much more than a commemoration of the Gallipoli campaign in World War I. On the contrary, we are recognising over 100 years of service and sacrifice by the men and women of our armed forces. We are also marking the fundamental importance of the wars in which Australians have fought, particularly the two world wars, in shaping Australia as a nation.

The First World War led to a change in Australia's perception of itself and its standing in the world. After the victory, we pushed forward to participate more strongly in world affairs and to express the ideals which had motivated us to fight. Prime Minister Billy Hughes demanded a seat at the table at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and pushed the case for Australia to have independent membership of the League of Nations, despite the reluctance of the United States. On 28 June 1919, Hughes signed the Treaty of Versailles on behalf of Australia, and at the end of the conference Australia was a full member of the League of Nations and, along with the other former British dominions, had achieved a new international standing.

Of course, all of this came at enormous cost to so many ordinary Australians. The impact on the region of Ku-ring-gai, within my electorate of Bradfield, is a good example. Over 1,300 people with a connection to this area served in the First World War, and the ratio of casualties locally, as nationally, was terrible: around one in five did not return.

Every aspect and institution of Australian society was fundamentally affected by the First World War. In the words that Charles Bean used of the Anzacs, adapted from a memorial to the earlier Athenian soldiers:

They gave their shining youth, and raised thereby valour's own monument which cannot die.

If you add up the rolls of honour across schools, across other social institutions and across the cities, towns and villages of Australia you reach dauntingly large numbers. The Australian War Memorial records the names of over 102,000 members of the Australian Armed Forces who have died in war or due to war or warlike service and on certain other operations.

But while we can add up numbers, we can never calculate the true human cost. We can only know that all of us today—citizens of this vibrant, prosperous, successful modern democracy, a country that ranks second in the world on the human development index, a country with standards of education and health care envied around the world, a country of peace and safety and personal security—all of us citizens of this country owe such a profound debt to our soldiers of democracy.

That is, I am sure, why the experience in Bradfield was the same as the experience that members of this House have reported from all around Australia—that attendances at Anzac Day services were up to double, and in some cases more than double, the normal attendance levels. The services that I was privileged to attend in my electorate were at Roseville RSL on Sunday 19 April; at Pymble Ladies' College on Friday 24 April and also at West Pymble Public School on Friday 24 April; the dawn service at Roseville RSL on Anzac Day; the services at Wahroonga and then at Turramurra organised by the National Servicemen's Association; the service at the Kokoda Track Memorial in Wahroonga; the Knox Grammar School service and ceremonial cadet parade on 26 April; the commemoration service at St Martins, Killara, also on 26 April; and the commemorative service at St John's in Gordon—a church with strong associations with the 18th and Second 18th battalions, the first of which is known as the Ku-ring-gai regiment—containing the Battalion Cross from World War I, carved on the battlefield, and the second cross from World War II. At all of these events the attendance was remarkable as Australians in my electorate of Bradfield, as for all around Australia, commemorated this extraordinarily important occasion, the centenary of Anzac.

Debate adjourned.