Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On indulgence, I wish to advise the House that the government will host a national memorial service in Canberra on 17 July for the first anniversary of the downing of flight MH17. This service will remember those who lost their lives and it will give thanks to those who were involved in the recovery and the investigation. A year on, we remember the 298 innocents who perished on flight MH17, especially the 39 men, women and children who called Australia home. We continue to support families who deal with the pain of loss and who have a deep yearning for justice. We remind ourselves of the compelling words of the Maslin parents that love conquers hate.

Anniversaries are always difficult times, so we will continue to stand with all who lost so much and who are now rebuilding their lives. I inform the House that the Australians on MH17 will never be forgotten. There will be a permanent memorial in the House of Representatives garden to them as there is for the victims of the Bali bombings. We will also honour the Australian personnel and officials involved in Operation Bring Them Home and those who continue to play critical roles in the investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice. In the midst of tragedy our officials and our personnel did us proud.

The government will invite the families of all the victims to the service as well as all members and senators. I understand that the Malaysian and the Netherlands governments will also be holding services, because this was an atrocity that touched many nations.

We took the families of flight MH17 into our hearts a year ago. I hope that this service might help to sustain them as they face this very, very difficult anniversary.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Prime Minister for updating the House. Labor wholeheartedly supports not only the memorial service but the permanent memorial to those who lost their lives aboard MH17. For those loved ones left behind, it is still a time, I believe, of slowly passing shock, of disbelief and of mourning. This parliament has acknowledged their grief in this place but we cannot share it. We did repatriate their loved ones, but we are unable to fill the void of their loss. Like the Prime Minister, we hope for an end to the quest for a reason, but that will never be enough. Anything we can do, we should, we must, and so we wish the memorial and the project well.