Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to pay tribute to members of the Australian Vietnamese community in my home state of Queensland. On 30 April 2021, I had the great honour of attending the 46th commemoration at Freedom Place, Inala, in my home state of Queensland, of the fall of Saigon, which occurred on 30 April 1975. It was a very moving occasion. There are three points I'd like to make in relation to that event. First, I'd like to, on the record, pay tribute to all those veterans of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam who fought for freedom against the communists in their homeland. They fought with great courage in the force of overwhelming opposition, at a time when support from previous allies had been withdrawn. I pay tribute to each and every one of those veterans who was in attendance on that day. It was a great honour to share that day with each and every one of you.

Secondly, I give thanks for the fact that so many of those veterans, their families and their descendants found their way to our beautiful country of Australia. The Australian Vietnamese community have made an outstanding contribution to this country. We should always remember that not only did they find Australia but Australia found them. They're now part of the modern Australian story. I pay tribute to that community.

The last point I want to make, and perhaps the most moving aspect of the commemoration day, is that senior members of the Australian Vietnamese community raised with me a grave injustice. That injustice is the fact that national servicemen from Australia who performed their duty when called upon to serve our country but who had served in Vietnam for less than 181 days were denied the recognition of the Republic of Vietnam medal for their service. That has caused great distress to some 3,000 national servicemen. When this matter was raised with me, what was particularly moving was that those veterans of the army of the Republic of Vietnam, their descendants and families, so passionately believe that those Australian national servicemen should be given that recognition. Forty-six years after the fall of Saigon, the Australian Vietnamese community so passionately wants the service of those Australian national servicemen, who did their duty when called upon by their country, to be recognised.

It is not within my power to give or grant that recognition. If it were, I would gladly do it. But the one thing I would say to each and every one of those 3,000 national servicemen—who served their country in the most difficult of circumstances in perhaps the most controversial of armed conflicts this country has ever engaged in—is that your duty, your courage and the sacrifice that each one of you made in serving your country and dealing with the aftermath is greatly appreciated and honoured by our Australian Vietnamese community. It will never, ever be forgotten.