Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For those who haven't heard about Nancy Wake, aka the White Mouse, she was a World War II Aussie heroine and deserves widespread recognition as such. A group of Australian Defence Force ex-servicewomen in Barker are telling her story in schools and community groups to give her the recognition she deserves. Local Barker veteran Liz Wheeler, who had the privilege of meeting Nancy before she died, is leading the charge with a group of women who will undertake the same 520-kilometre bike ride Nancy endured during the war, riding through what was then German-occupied France.

Nancy arrived in France just prior to World War II. She joined the French Resistance and saved the lives of countless Jewish civilians and Allied servicemen. Liz and her group had sought funding through the Department of Veterans' Affairs, but have been denied support because the commemoration of Nancy's heroism will not take place on Australian soil but in France as they retrace Nancy's steps. I ask the minister opposite to reassess that request for funding. Minister, reconsider this decision and help acknowledge and recognise an unsung but well-deserving heroine.

I joined Liz and her group on Saturday to help raise money through a sausage sizzle at the Mount Gambier pageant. Congratulations to Liz and the women joining her in France. This commemorative ride is an opportunity to honour and promote an Australian female hero in circumstances where female heroines go too often unrecognised in this country.