Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Remembrance Day is a national day of commemoration for the brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives whilst serving Australia in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. On 11 November 1918, four years of continuous war came to an end. The armistice was signed, bringing to an end the First World War. Tomorrow will mark 102 years since that peace was declared. Three hundred and thirty thousand Australians served overseas during the First World War, and 60,000 of them made the ultimate sacrifice. In total, 102,000 Australian men and women have given their lives in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations across the world. Their names are memorialised at the Australian War Memorial. Tomorrow, Australians are encouraged to stop and observe a minute's silence at 11 am—the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month—to commemorate our fallen service men and women. But Remembrance Day is far more than a commemoration of those who've served Australia. It is a recognition of the effects of war on soldiers and their families as well as on the people affected on the home front during conflicts abroad. Tomorrow, I will pay tribute to the men and women who served and are still serving domestically and internationally. I want to assure this place that, in Werriwa and across Australia, those brave soldiers will never be forgotten. We will remember them. Lest we forget.