Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Thursday, I had the great privilege and pleasure of calling upon the Mooloolah Community Centre as part of my listening post and as part of getting out amongst my community, as most members do, over the winter period. I met with four outstanding individuals when I walked into the office of the Mooloolah Community Centre. I heard this voice, and the voice said, 'Attention on deck!' I turned around, and I saw an elderly gentleman sitting at his desk. He had a big woolly beard, and I said, 'Sir, you must've served in the Navy.' He said, 'As a matter of fact, I did.' I asked him what ship he served on and he said, 'HMAS Voyager.' I said, 'Voyager? Were you on the Voyager when she went down?' And he said, 'I was.' I said, 'There was a famous case about that very incident. Every law student and every lawyer in the country would know the case. It was the case of the Commonwealth v Verwayen.' I said, 'Are you familiar with the case?' And he said, 'My name is Bernie Verwayen.'

It's not very often that you get to meet a legend in this job. I can say that Bernie Verwayen is an absolute legend. I just want to take this opportunity to remind the House about the struggle that Bernie undertook following the days and years after the Voyager disaster. On 10 February 1964, a collision took place between HMAS Voyager and HMAS Melbourne, just off the coast of Jervis Bay. The two vessels were taking part in exercises. The role of the Voyager was to stand off some 1,000 to 1,500 yards to assist if there were any rescues required on the Melbourne. The Voyager was not engaged in any military manoeuvres as such. There was nothing inherently dangerous in taking up the position that it did. When ordered to take up its position, the Voyager initially turned away from the Melbourne as expected, but then, shortly afterward, for reasons which are still unclear, she turned toward the Melbourne. By the time that both ships realised that they would collide, it was too late. The Melbourne struck the Voyager and cut the much smaller destroyer in half, just behind the bridge. The forward section, where Bernie Verwayen was asleep, sank in under 10 minutes. Of the 314 people on board the Voyager, 82 men died: 14 officers, 67 sailors and one civilian worker.

After two royal commissions and considerable speculation, the exact cause of the collision is still not known. Bernie was serving on the Voyager as a leading electrical mechanic. He was badly injured that night trying to get out of the front section, which had capsized, before it sank. He claimed his injuries were the result of negligence of officers and crews of one or both ships. He didn't submit a statement of claim until November 1984, 20 years after the event. This was because legal opinion at the time was that members of the Defence Force couldn't sue the Commonwealth for alleged negligence. In 1982, a decision of the High Court rejected that interpretation. In 1984, Bernie's lawyers wrote to the Department of Defence, and, in effect, the department said, 'We won't rely on the statute of limitations, because it's been such a long time.' The Commonwealth resiled from that position, and the Supreme Court of Victoria decided in favour of the Commonwealth and basically rejected Bernie's claim. Ultimately, that went to the Full Court of the Supreme Court, which rejected the decision, and the Commonwealth appealed again to the High Court. The High Court ultimately dismissed that appeal and allowed the trial to go ahead.

Bernie Verwayen did not stop. He battled, he fought, against the Commonwealth. It is a great example of the man in the street not taking a backward step. He was awarded, in 2013, the Order of Australia for his services to veterans and their families. I thank you for your indulgence, Mr Speaker. Bernie, you're a legend. Thank you very much.

House adjourned at 20:01