Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to present the government's second ministerial statement on the Centenary of Anzac. The government committed to delivering regular and informative updates to the Australian people about the progress and centenary preparations. Today's statement, coming at the beginning of the parliamentary sitting year, will further update Australians about the progress of the ballot for the 2015 Gallipoli dawn service and further commemorative events across the centenary period.

Since coming to office, the government has set about taking the hands-on approach necessary to ensure that the centenary commemorations are the success they must be. This has included addressing funding shortfalls for the National Anzac Centre in Albany, of which the Commonwealth has provided a further $1.35 million, on a 75:25 funding split arrangement with the Western Australian government.

The Commonwealth is confident that the Western Australian government, together with the Albany City Council, will deliver the Anzac Interpretive Centre on time to mark the 100th anniversary, on 1 November, of the departure of the convoy of ships which carried Australian and New Zealand troops to the Middle East in 1914. The government has also increased funding for local community based commemorations, lifting grants under the Anzac Centenary Local Grants program to $125,000 per federal electorate.

In this ministerial statement I will outline the government's agenda in the lead up to centenary of, arguably, one of the most defining moments in our nation's story—the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops, the Anzacs, at Gallipoli.

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to meet with my New Zealand counterpart, the Hon. Michael Woodhouse MP, to discuss preparations for the Centenary of Anzac. Our discussion reinforced the importance of our two nations' working together with a common purpose to deliver commemoration of events of fundamental importance to each nation's story. Minister Woodhouse assured me of the New Zealand government's ongoing desire to see the centenary marked in a solemn and dignified manner. New Zealand will be an active participant in Australia's major commemorative events in 2014, particularly the Albany convoy commemorative event on 31 October and 1 November this year.

I now turn to the 2015 ballot. The ballot for the 2015 Anzac Day dawn service at Gallipoli is now closed, with more than 50,000 applications being lodged by Australians and New Zealanders. The government, working with Ticketek, is aiming to advise applicants in the ballot on or around 31 March this year of the outcome. The strong response from first-generation sons and daughters of Gallipoli veterans will result in the ballot for the direct-descendant category considering only these applicants in the first cascade. All other direct descendants who registered will be considered in the veteran category, if they are also veterans, or otherwise in the general public category.

Anzac Day 2015 will not be confined to the Gallipoli peninsula. Events will take place not just in Australia, but across the world. Those who do not receive a ticket through the ballot may wish to explore other options for commemoration of Anzac Day in 2015. In addition to commemorative ceremonies which will take place in towns and cities right across Australia, major commemorative events will occur in the state capitals and in Canberra at the Australian War Memorial. With Anzac Day falling on a Saturday in 2015 this may present families unable to travel overseas with an opportunity to visit places in Australia normally out of reach.

On an international level, the Australian government will also be organising an Anzac Day dawn service at the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux, in France. There are annual Anzac Day services held in London, in Belgium, in Papua New Guinea and throughout South-East Asia. Services will also be taking place in New Zealand.

To ensure the safety of the Anzac commemorative site, and the dignity and solemnity of the Anzac Day dawn service and other commemorative events, it is anticipated that restrictions on travel to and from the Gallipoli peninsula may be in place on and around Anzac Day 2015. For those Australians without tickets to the dawn service on 25 April 2015, the Australian government strongly recommends against travel to the Gallipoli peninsula around this time. Access will be carefully and strictly managed. As noted in my earlier statement, Australians are encouraged to consider visiting the Gallipoli peninsula at times other than Anzac Day.

Anzac Centenary Public Fund

On 12 December last year, I was honoured to join with the Prime Minister and Mr Lindsay Fox AC to officially launch the Anzac Centenary Public Fund. I acknowledge again the tremendous work of Lindsay Fox. Mr Fox has given a great deal of his personal time and energy to work with corporate Australia to encourage them to give generously to the fund. The Australian government is grateful to Mr Fox for his efforts and thanks him most sincerely for his ongoing generosity.

The government's first fundraising priority is the Centenary of Anzac national travelling exhibition. The travelling exhibition will enable Australians, particularly those living outside the capital cities, to share in the Centenary of Anzac and to learn about the Australian experience of the First World War and our century of service since. Earlier this week, the Australian War Memorial, who are managing the exhibition on behalf of the government, signed a contract with Imagination Australia Pty Ltd to develop the creative content for the exhibition. The Centenary of Anzac exhibition proposal is an exciting one and I will be working closely with the Australian War Memorial and Imagination Australia Pty Ltd to ensure the exhibition accurately tells the story of Australia and Australians during the First World War.

If I can deviate briefly: on behalf, I am sure, of senators and members in the other place, I thank the chairman of the Australian War Memorial and the Director, Dr Brendan Nelson, for the last post service that so many of us attended last night. I know we were all very grateful for the opportunity to do so. I know that the director and the chairman were absolutely thrilled that so many of our colleagues took the opportunity to go to that event.

In addition to the travelling exhibition, and based on promises already made, the government expects that funds will be available to assist state and territory governments to develop their own commemorative infrastructure. To aid this, the government encourages corporate Australia to dig deeply and give generously to the Anzac Centenary Public Fund. In the tabled statement I have made reference to those companies who have generously supported the fund to date. Through their generosity more Australians will be able to share in the Centenary of Anzac.

Centenary of Anzac merchandise

As minister, I have responsibility to ensure that use of the word 'Anzac' is dignified and in line with rules established under legislation. I can assure all Australians that I am using this responsibility diligently and that I will approve merchandise for sale only where it is appropriate and dignified. I can report to honourable senators that there have been a number of occasions in the last two months where I have refused to give recognition because I was very strongly of the view that the test of being appropriate and dignified was not met.

2015 and beyond

The Australian government is determined to ensure that the sacrifice of all 61,512 Australians who made the supreme sacrifice in the First World War, and whose names are recorded on the roll of honour at the Australian War Memorial, is appropriately honoured and recognised during the Centenary of Anzac period. Later this year we will remember Australia's first battle of the First World War, at Rabaul in New Britain in September 1914, and our first battle casualties of the war.

The Centenary of Anzac goes beyond just the events which took place at Gallipoli. As is recorded in the history books, following the withdrawal of Australian and New Zealand forces from the Gallipoli campaign in December 1915 Australian forces then went on to fight on the Western Front in France, where more than 46,000 Australians were killed in action and another 130,000 were wounded.

From 2016 onwards, Australia will ensure that the efforts of our men and women on the front line in France, Belgium and the Middle East are appropriately honoured. In France, in 2016, commemorative services will be held to mark two of the most significant battles of 1916—the battle of Fromelles, on 19 July, and the battle of Pozieres, on 23 July.

In September 2017, a service at the Buttes New British Cemetery in Belgium will commemorate the service and sacrifice of Australians who served in the battle of Polygon Wood, a campaign during the third battle of Ypres. The service will commemorate all who served in Belgium during this period. Also in 2017, and together with New Zealand, we will commemorate the Australian Light Horse and the desert campaign with a commemorative service planned for Beersheba in Israel.

The year 2018 will see services conducted to commemorate the extraordinary service of Australians on the Western Front in 1918. These services will focus on Villers-Bretonneux, the site of the Australian National Memorial in France. The Australian attack at Villers-Bretonneux, which took place on 24 and 25 April 1918, played a vital role in preventing a German breakthrough at a critical time in the war. Later, on 4 July 1918, at nearby Le Hamel, Australians led by General Sir John Monash would secure a stunning model victory which would become a much studied template for further Allied success. Both of these events are proposed to be marked in 2018, along with a suitable day of commemoration on 11 November—the 100th anniversary of the armistice which was to be the end of 'the war to end all wars'.

Over coming years, the Australian government will continue to provide all Australians with advice about official commemorative events to mark the Centenary of Anzac and the First World War, both at home and overseas. We will also ensure that commemorative events are held to mark significant anniversaries of the Second World War, such as D-day, VE Day and VP Day, along with events to remember the 65th anniversary of the Korean War and the 50th anniversary of battles during the Vietnam War.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Australian government is committed to ensuring that the Centenary of Anzac leaves a lasting legacy for all Australians. We will honour the extraordinary deeds of ordinary men and women: men and women who did not go to battle to seek glory but who, by their deeds and actions, achieved greatness.

It will be a legacy not just of bricks and mortar but, and perhaps more importantly, a legacy of understanding. It will be an understanding of what we fought for, where we fought and why we fought. It will be an acknowledgment of our defeats and an awareness of our stirring victories and decisive achievements on the field of battle, on the seas and in the sky.

Equally and importantly, it is an opportunity to reflect on the horror, tragedy and waste of war. As a nation, we have a responsibility to ensure that the service and sacrifice of past generations is never forgotten. The Centenary of Anzac is not a period to glorify war but to reflect on its horror. We will remember those who made the supreme sacrifice in defence of our beliefs and our way of life. We will remember those who came home wounded in body and spirit, and we will remember their families.

The Centenary of Anzac is not just about the past but also about the future. It is the understanding that tens of thousands of men and women continue to serve our nation today, upholding a tradition that started a century ago. These men and women, and their families, devote their lives to the protection of ours and we owe them—as we owe their forebears—our gratitude and respect for the work they do in our country's name.