Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to once again speak about a community campaign led by the Darwin RSL. Back in April this year the President of the Darwin RSL, Mr Don Milford, kicked off the campaign for an upgrade to the Darwin cenotaph, including the installation of an eternal flame. Don rightly pointed out that Darwin is the only capital city in Australia not to have an eternal flame. Commentators have noted that we should also not forget that Darwin is the only capital city in Australia to have been bombed by enemy forces.

Each year we commemorate the first bombing of Darwin, which occurred on 19 February 1942. The bombing of Darwin was the first time that Australia was attacked by enemy forces. Bombing raids by Japanese forces over Darwin continued for many months and eventually extended to other northern Australian towns such as Broome, Cairns and Townsville. Sadly, more than 250 people were killed in the attacks on Darwin and many more were wounded. Sadly, a United States Navy destroyer, the USS Peary, was also sunk in Darwin Harbour on 19 February 1942. It was one of eight vessels that were sunk that day. The sinking of the USS Peary is commemorated each February as well; it is the first commemoration and then we move on to the official Bombing of Darwin commemorations.

I know that, some five years ago, when I first spoke in this House about the bombing of Darwin, some of my colleagues were quite surprised; they did not know that Darwin was actually attacked. They also did not realise that more bombs were dropped on Darwin than on Pearl Harbor some 10 weeks earlier.

That is why it is so important for my electorate that every year we stop and reflect. We have to learn from the past. We honour the fallen and we hope to God it never happens again. I am proud of the way in which our two countries, Japan and Australia, are now good friends. We must never, ever forget. We must always honour those who died in those terrible days of the past.

Some people have asked: why does Darwin need an eternal flame? According to the Australian War Memorial's web page:

An eternal flame at a war memorial symbolizes a nation's perpetual gratitude towards, and remembrance of, its war dead.

That statement, to me, summarises perfectly why Darwin must have an eternal flame—to show our gratitude to, to honour and to always remember our war dead.

We are moving along the path to getting an eternal flame. There is still a way to go, though. There have been a lot of meetings between the RSL, Darwin city council, federal and Territory ministers, and me—and so far so good. The former Minister for Veterans' Affairs, my good friend Senator Ronaldson, understood the importance of this project, and I am confident that the new Minister for Veterans' Affairs will be as enthusiastic about this project as his predecessor. I am sure that he will understand the importance of having an eternal flame in my electorate of Solomon. This is a project where all levels of government have to work together with the RSL if we are going to be able to deliver an upgraded cenotaph and an eternal flame for Territorians.

My job is to continue to advocate for this very important project, which I am doing. I am also trying to secure much-needed funds for this project, so I am hoping that there will be bipartisan support for it. I know that the member for Lingiari would be more than happy to support this because he attends some of these commemorations too. This is not just something for Darwin; it is for all Territorians. I hope that we will be able to deliver on this very important project.