Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to commemorate the lives of those who have served our nation in our armed forces. Each year on Anzac Day, Australians all around the country and overseas pause to acknowledge and reflect on the sacrifices our servicemen and women have made to ensure that we enjoy the freedom that we have today. This year there were ceremonies at Anzac Cove in Gallipoli, Turkey, Villers-Bretonneux in France, Hellfire Pass in Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Sandakan in Malaysia, Afghanistan and Timor-Leste. It is also a day to recognise our troops who are still serving overseas, who are putting their nation's interests before their own safety. We owe a debt of gratitude to you and your families for the sacrifices you have made and continue to make.

April 25 is a significant date in our Australian history. It was dawn on 25 April 1915 when thousands of Australians and New Zealanders landed at Gallipoli, Turkey, and began an eight-month long campaign. Minister for Veterans' Affairs, The Hon. Warren Snowdon, described this moment as the birth of the Anzac tradition. Our troops exuded the qualities of mateship, selfless courage, determination and endurance and this is what symbolises the Anzac spirit. Our landing at Gallipoli during World War I was our nation's first participation in a major international conflict and we lost 8,700 Australians. By the end of World War I, from the 416,000 who enlisted we had lost more than 60,000 Australians, a huge loss of life for a newly-federated nation of just 4.5 million people. More than 166,000 were wounded and more than 4,000 became prisoners of war. Our presence in this war was significant and contributed to the allied countries' win over Germany in 1918. Sixty-four Australians were awarded the Victoria Cross which is this nation's highest award for bravery in the face of an enemy. In World War II, we had 990,000 Australians enlist with almost 40,000 deaths; 17,000 Australians served in Korea, and in Vietnam we had almost 60,000 Army, Navy and Air Force personnel fighting for our freedom.

To date, our servicemen and women have served in World War I, World War II, Korea, Malaya, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Sudan, China, South Africa, Timor Leste and the Solomon Islands. Our nation has also been involved in peacekeeping operations since 1947.

To commemorate the service and sacrifice our service men and women have made, organisations all over the country here and abroad hold Anzac Day services. This year I was privileged to attend quite a few: a dawn service at the Pine Rivers Memorial Bowls Club held by the Bray Park-Strathpine RSL sub-branch, a memorial service held by the Pine Rivers District RSL sub-branch, and in the evening I represented the Prime Minister at the Freemasons Service in the city. Anzac Day is a day when I am even more proud to call myself an Australian.

While we remember our fallen, the Vietnamese community also remembers. Today Vietnam is a unified country but there are many in the Australian community who still remember the tears and despair of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War began in 1955 with Australia becoming involved in 1962 with the deployment of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam. Our interest in South Vietnam was, according to the Australian War Memorial, 'to stem the spread of communism in Europe and Asia'. Our involvement continued with Caribou transports being despatched by the Royal Australian Air Force to Vung Tau and in 1965 when the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment was deployed. At this time, the United States had increased its troop numbers and by year's end had 200,000.

We had almost 60,000 Australians serving throughout the war including Army, Navy and Air Force personnel and civilians. Our retreat from Vietnam started in the 1970s until an official proclamation from the Governor-General ended our participation in the war on 11 January 1973. In April 1975 RAAF Hercules transports were despatched to provide humanitarian assistance and carry out two important missions—to evacuate orphans and embassy staff. On 30 April 1975, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese army.

On April 30 I was invited to a ceremony by the Vietnamese Community in Australia Queensland Chapter President, Dr Cuong Bui, to commemorate the day Saigon fell into the hands of North Vietnam. This day is described as a Day of Mourning. On April 30, 1975 the war between North and South Vietnam ended. This conflict saw more than 315,000 troops from South Vietnam and its allied countries lose their lives and more than 1½ million were wounded. Even though the war ended that day, Dr Bui said the suffering of his people did not cease. He said:

The post war policies of the Hanoi regime such as: the revenge against the soldiers, the public servants of the previous government, the new economic zones, the concentration camps—the real name of the so called re-education camps—the discrimination against the Southerners, the Chinese, and the changes of monetary unit sent more than two million people to the sea, fleeing the country.

But not everybody was able to flee safely and there is no official figure to account for how many Vietnamese people lost their lives, but according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, this figure could be up to half a million. During his Day of Mourning speech, Dr Bui said people fled not knowing where to go or where to turn to. He said:

People died because of hunger, storms, pirates, they died in fear, in frustration without a decent burial, they just disappeared, and the ocean was their hallowed tomb.

Thirty-six years on and Dr Bui says 80 per cent of Vietnam's 84 million people live below the poverty line. Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of Australia entering the Vietnam War. It was the longest conflict we had been involved in and we lost 521 Australians and another 3,000 were wounded.

On Anzac day and Remembrance Day, I believe it is important for Australians to pause and remember the sacrifice our troops have made since our first conflicts in the 19th century to our participation in Afghan­istan and Timor-Leste.

Recently in this chamber we have debated our involvement in Afghanistan and re-emphasised the reasons why our contribution should continue. I still wholeheartedly sup­port these reasons and believe the Afghanis deserve the same right to freedom as we do here.

To our troops who are currently serving overseas we say thank you. As volunteers, your commitment and bravery for this country is unwavering and extraordinary. We thank you. We thank your families and we thank your patriotism.