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

I have another statement on indulgence, Mr Speaker. Earlier today, many members attended a service to mark Vietnam Veterans Day. As the House would know, over 60,000 Australians—Army, Air Force and Navy personnel—served in Vietnam: 521 died, over 3,000 were wounded and many suffered unseen scars that have never healed. This year marks a half century since the first contingent of the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment departed, and today marks the 49th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan.

Courage, determination, resourcefulness and unflinching loyalty to mates marked the Australian experience in Vietnam. At Long Tan, at Fire Support Base Coral, at Fire Support Base Balmoral, at Binh Ba and in countless contacts and firefights throughout that war, that courage and that selflessness was on display.

I regret to say that back home we did not always appreciate our veterans and their virtues at the time. While people were entitled to question the war, they should never have doubted our soldiers. Eventually we would see what had always been true: that our personnel in Vietnam were and are the very best of Australia.

In 2006, on the eve of Vietnam Veterans Day, the then Prime Minister, John Howard, addressed this chamber and apologised on behalf of our parliament for the mistreatments of earlier times. On that day Kim Beazley read from a letter by the then member for Cowan, Graham Edwards, who, as we all know, served and was wounded in Vietnam. If I may, I will quote from that letter. Graham Edwards wrote:

… I want to say I am proud to have served my nation and proud of all who served with me.

I am proud of my mates and the contribution they made to Australia.

I take pride in their mateship.

I don't need anyone's apology for that.

I say of all our Vietnam personnel: they did their duty, they did us proud and their sacrifice should never be forgotten by the country they served.

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

Today I, too, had the privilege of commemorating Vietnam Veterans Day at the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial. Today, of course, is the 49th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan. Like Lone Pine or Tobruk, Kokoda or Kapyong, Long Tan resonates with all Australians. It is etched in our collective memory. At Long Tan, D Company of the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, a mixed group of nashos and regulars, confronted wave after wave of enemy assault in the rain and mud of a rubber plantation. One hundred and eight Australians, supported by New Zealanders, would see a battle where 18 Australians lost their lives and 24 were wounded. As the relieving troops made their way into the fighting, they came across the prone bodies of their fallen comrades—faces to the foe, faithful to the end and true to their motto: duty first.

The war in Vietnam was a difficult ordeal for tens of thousands of young Australians, knowing that any moment could bring a deadly encounter with a skilful and determined enemy. But, as always, the courage of all who served should give us cause for pride.

We salute today the outstanding record of the most decorated unit of the Australian Army, the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, with four Victoria Crosses awarded; the daring of our special forces; the bravery of our RAAF; and the important and irreplaceable contribution of the Royal Australian Navy—not forgetting the civil affairs engagement that helped build our relationship with the Vietnamese people. Indeed, one good thing to emerge from the Vietnam War was that so many Vietnamese, forced to flee their war-torn homeland, chose to come to Australia and enriched our nation with their remarkable contribution.

There is a painful legacy that our veterans and their loved ones have had to endure in shared pain and stress. There were people killed, people wounded—more with hidden scars. But there is an injury that was compounded by a shroud of national neglect and rejection which lasted far too long. On Vietnam Veterans Day, we recognise in this place that those who served were for too long not afforded the support and respect they deserved upon their return. So, again, today we remind ourselves of the solemn duty that our country owes to the loved ones of the lost, a duty not just to recite the words 'lest we forget' but to give them meaning, a duty of lasting support and the full respect of history. We owe them more than just their pride. We must keep our promise to the families of the fallen and to all our veterans, including the next generation of diggers as they adjust to life after Afghanistan.