Cathy McGowan (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On this Remembrance Day, I am pleased to add the voice of Indi to the push for one of Australia's most endearing and enduring war heroes, Sir John Monash, to be posthumously promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. The former Nationals leader Tim Fischer has long supported this cause. I joined Tim at an event in Flowerdale in my electorate where a show of hands of more than 80 people showed the vast majority were in favour of this promotion. Direct support was given by Jim Osborne, the then president of the Rotary Club of Yea, Steve Joblin, Secretary of the Flowerdale Men's Shed and John Brown, President of the Flowerdale Community House.

I note that the Jerilderie Shire Council adopted the Jerilderie proposition in late October and I congratulate my electorate neighbour, the member for Farrer, Sussan ley, on behalf of her constituents for agreeing to take this proposition to the Prime Minister for consideration. It would be proper and fitting to mark this promotion on the 100th anniversary of Monash conducting the first Anzac Day service in the field, which occurred near the Suez Canal on 25 April 1916. The support that the Prime Minister has already shown is encouraging and I urge him, on behalf of my electorate and others in the this House today, to give serious consideration to this proposition for April next year.