Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 29 September it was reported that the Council of the Australian War Memorial had recommended an expansion for recognition of Australia's frontier wars, the violent conflicts that occurred between British soldiers and colonists and First Nations people defending their lands. This will be part of the Australian War Memorial's $550 million expansion. The council director, Brendan Nelson, said:

… the council has made a decision that we will have a much broader, a much deeper depiction and presentation of the violence committed against Indigenous people, initially by British, then by pastoralists, then by police, then by Aboriginal militia. We will have more to say about that in due course.

Mr Nelson went on to say the memorial's council decided to have a broader and deeper depiction of the violence against Aboriginal people, which he said was the duty of all cultural institutions.

As the federal member for Flynn, let me be absolutely clear that I am vehemently against this. I have been contacted by veterans who have told me they find this proposal offensive as well as numerous RSLs across the Flynn electorate with objections to the proposed inclusion. They have requested that this objection be raised at the highest level within the ranks at the national level, as they see this as a potential wedge to divide our nation. They have also said the proposed further depictions in relates to the frontier wars should be in proportion to existing representation and not diminish or outweigh the major conflicts that are depicted in the Australian War Memorial.

The Australian War Memorial was created to honour the sacrifice of Australian service men and women who have fought for their country or joined in peacekeeping operations, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have served in the ADF and who are also Australians. I completely agree that the violence perpetrated against Indigenous Australians should be appropriately displayed, but this should be through a completely separate monument or museum. I echo the comments of the shadow minister for veterans' affairs, Barnaby Joyce, that the new Ngurra facility to be built in the parliamentary triangle between Old Parliament House and the War Memorial is a 'better philosophical representation' of the issues pertinent to internal conflict. The Australian War Memorial is not a place to recognise these conflicts.

My questions to the government are: What consultation was made? Who was engaged for these proposed additions? How are the frontier wars going to be depicted? I call on the Labor government and the Australian War Memorial council to go back to the drawing board, engage with our Australian veterans and their families and hear directly what they think about this proposal.