Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this afternoon to say a few words about the commemoration of what has become known as 'The Battle for Australia'. This is an anniversary that we commemorated this week throughout the nation. More than 500,000 Australian service personal and civilians helped to defend the home front in the dark days of 1942 and 1943. This year we mark the 75th anniversary of the fall of Singapore, the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Darwin and, of course, the anniversary of the battles of the Coral Sea and Milne Bay. Later in the year, in November, we will mark the 75th anniversary of the Kokoda Track campaign.

We should never forget in this country when war was on our doorstep—the bombing of Darwin, the enemy submarines that came into Sydney Harbour and caused damage and, of course, the great Battle of the Coral Sea in which our forces and allied forces stood between freedom in this country and an enemy that sought to threaten that freedom. At a time of heightened tension in the world, it's appropriate to recall the sacrifices of a previous generation of Australians. Lest we forget.