Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tomorrow, across the country and in Commonwealth member states across the world, Remembrance Day services will be held to acknowledge the memory of those brave service men and women who have died in the line of duty to their country and in service of the freedoms enabled by the democratic practices and beliefs that we share. I will be attending the service at the Australian War Memorial here in Canberra. Across regional New South Wales, in each of my six duty electorates, respected members of the community will be laying wreaths on my behalf, in towns from Albury to Coonabarabran and Broken Hill.

I'm mindful that, particularly in current times, when war and the threat of conflict are uppermost in our minds and newsfeeds, Australians are experiencing direct loss of family and friends in war.

This day is of particular significance for all of us this year. In this moment of collective remembrance of lives lost and the cost of war, we must reflect on the lessons of history. We, of course, cherish the values of courage, sacrifice and resilience, which have been demonstrated by so many, often in the midst of history's worst conflicts. But better these qualities shine for decades in peace than reveal themselves on battlefields with so many millions of lives cut short.

It's a day when we transcend borders and ideologies, acknowledging the shared responsibility to preserve the hard-earned peace that our predecessors fought for and gave their lives for. As we bow our heads and observe our moment of silence, let us remember the legacy of those who gave their lives in the pursuit of peace and for a brighter, safer world for those who would come after them. Tomorrow we will gather not only to honour the memory of the fallen but as a collective representation of the enduring and shared hope for a future where conflicts are replaced by understanding, where hatred is replaced by compassion, and where darkness is replaced by the inherent and unwavering light of humanity.