Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC) Share this | Hansard source

I had the great privilege of attending yesterday's Remembrance Day ceremony at the Australian War Memorial in my capacity, for the first time, as the Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Shadow Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC. Yesterday's Remembrance Day service, held in the midst of driving rain, was a very moving ceremony and marked the 95th anniversary of the armistice and the 20th anniversary of the interment of the Unknown Australian Soldier. We laid poppies in the Hall of Memory at the base of the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier, and the honourable former Prime Minister Paul Keating fittingly delivered the 2013 Remembrance Day commemorative address, 20 years after his poignant eulogy at the funeral service of the Unknown Australian Soldier. His address from 20 years ago now sits proudly at the Australian War Memorial, just as it does in Villers-Bretonneux in France, and is rightly regarded as one of his finest speeches.

We are less than 12 months away from the anniversary of the commencement of World War I and less than two years away from the Centenary of the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli. Like many Australians, our thoughts turn to all of those Australians involved in Gallipoli and indeed in every war we have been involved in over the past 100 years.

My grandfather's first cousin Edward Farrell, who had the same name as my grandfather, from the South Australian country town of Balaklava, was one of those at the first landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. He was a chemist by profession. Edward enlisted on 24 August 1914 and was a member of the 3rd Field Ambulance—as you will recall, Mr Deputy President, the same regiment as the famous English-born John Simpson Kirkpatrick, the national hero who rescued wounded men with the help of his small donkey.

Edward Farrell and Simpson disembarked at Gallipoli on the same fateful day—25 April 1915. Edward Farrell's total service spanned four years and 185 days. He thankfully survived the Gallipoli landing but was admitted to the Gallipoli Hospital in May 1915 for unknown reasons, and he was employed as a dispenser. In October that year he was transferred to the St George's Hospital in Malta suffering from pleurisy, which is an inflammation of the chest lining. Temporary Corporal Edward Farrell was transferred to France in 1916 and promoted to Staff Sergeant, and in 1917 was attached to the 2nd Battalion infantry division on medical detail. He later rejoined the 3rd Field Ambulance in France, but on 7 March 1918 he suffered wounds and the effects of gassing and was admitted to hospital in Birmingham, England. Despite these injuries, in July that year he returned to France and rejoined the 3rd Field Ambulance. On 21 February 1919, he was discharged due to the cessation of hostilities. Out of his four years and 185 days of service, Edward Farrell had spent four years and 65 days abroad.

I agree with Paul Keating that it is heartening that so many Australians find a sense of identity and purpose from the Anzac legend and from the brave men and women who have fought in wars for more than 100 years. It is also heartening that in Adelaide on Sunday, the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, officially dedicated a major war memorial honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have been involved in every conflict and peacekeeping mission from the Boer War to the present day in Afghanistan. I represented the Leader of the Opposition at the event and, as a proud South Australian, I can attest that the memorial in Adelaide's Torrens Parade Ground is both magnificent and culturally sensitive and a fitting tribute to the significant role played by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

As an aside, it was also very pleasing to see our new Northern Territory senator, Senator Peris, attending the ceremony, along with Senator Fawcett, who I see is in the chamber, and a long list of Indigenous elders, dignitaries, military and veterans.

This is the most significant memorial in Australia to be constructed to honour the service and sacrifice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander servicemen and women, and the committee which drove its construction aspires for it to be the first to be granted 'National' status. It has a ceremonial centre, including a coolamon holding the ritual fire; the Rainbow Serpent, representing creation; and a granite boulder signifying connection to country. The centre is partially bounded by a beautiful granite wall with badges of the RAN, Army, RAAF and merchant navy. It features two bronze figures representing all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women who have served in the Australian Defence Force. I am proud to say that the former federal Labor government and the South Australian Labor government each donated $143,000 to this fine project.

As Frank Lampard, the deputy chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander War Memorial Committee, said, the Torrens Parade Ground has 39 memorials—memorials to all manner of men and women who have served in peace and war. There is even a memorial to war horses. The lack of recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women is now at an end, Mr Lampard said. He added that the lack of recognition had been due in part to the fact that, in World War I, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders were denied citizenship, which meant they were unable to leave Australia without government approval. As a result, they rarely declared their racial identity when signing up. It is a fact that Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders served with distinction. They became prisoners of war, they were wounded and they were killed in action. They lie forever in foreign countries. Yet they have been largely invisible when it has come to recognition and commemoration.

As we approach the ANZAC centenary, this memorial is a genuine attempt to understand and recognise the service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women. I personally pay tribute to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander War Memorial Committee, which was formed in 2011 and is jointly chaired by Mr Bill Denny and Sir Eric Neal. The patron of the committee is His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce, the Governor of South Australia. The vice-patrons are Robert Champion de Crespigny, Mr Bill Cooper, Justice Kevin Duggan, Mr Hugh MacLachlan, Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue and Mr Jock Statton. The committee comprises Justice Duggan, Andrew Fletcher, Perry Gunner, Jane Kittel, Di Laidlaw, Felicity-ann Lewis, Hugh MacLachlan, John Moriaty, Lew Owens, John Roberts, James Sarah, Ray Scott, Frank Seeley, Peter Seibels and Jock Statton.

Restrictions preventing Aboriginal Australians from enlisting were only abandoned in 1949, meaning that it has been very difficult to determine how many Aboriginal service men and women served in our armed forces. The lack of previous identification is the responsibility of us all. To rectify matters, the South Australian government has established the Register of Aboriginal Veterans of South Australia to identify Aboriginal South Australians who served our nation. The move is spearheaded by a team of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal veterans and supported by the Council of Aboriginal Elders of South Australia, the Returned & Services League of Australia (SA Branch), Reconciliation SA and Veterans SA. I was very pleased to hear that this project has already identified 200 Aboriginal service men and women. It is expected to be completed in time for the Centenary of ANZAC in 2015. I encourage other states to follow the lead of South Australia and to look to identify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women in their states.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander War Memorial in Adelaide and the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier at Canberra's Australian War Memorial are places to reflect on the noble sacrifices made by all service men and women of this nation. Both are places where we can be thankful for and in awe of their incredible bravery. As Paul Keating said yesterday:

In the long shadow of these upheavals, we gather to ponder their meaning and to commemorate the values that shone in their wake: courage under pressure, ingenuity in adversity, bonds of mateship and above all, loyalty to Australia.