Today I honour those men and women who willingly answering the call to duty.
Lest We Forget.
Transcript
The men and women of our Australian Defence Force have a history of willingly answering the call for duty to protect our freedoms and our sovereignty. They do so sometimes at huge personal sacrifice, whether that be leaving their families and loved ones, or putting themselves in harm’s way to ensure the safety of others.
It’s all in a day’s work for our men and women of the armed forces. Our Defence Force personnel and our Aussie veterans are important and respected people who have committed to the defence of Australia in so many ways, in many ways, whether they have been deployed to active conflict, on peacekeeping operations, or have actually served without being deployed.
For some of our defence force personnel and our veterans, the battle, though, goes on long after they have returned from operational deployment. We must remember this at all times. The veteran death toll by suicide since 2001, by the most conservative of measures, is 10 times greater than our losses in Afghanistan.
Today, and every day, we need to remember these Aussies, and we must join to stop these preventable deaths of our servicemen and servicewomen. So, I hope you join with us in cherishing our armed forces and cherishing days like today, and that on days like today, help our younger generations to remember why our soldiers are being honoured and appreciated.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic ANZAC Day events will not be open to the public this year.
The Australian War Memorial service will be broadcast live across Australia by the ABC and streamed online between 5.30am to 6.00am.
Show your support for our ANZACs at home.
On Saturday, at 6am we invite you to light up the dawn at the end of your driveway, on your balcony, or in your living room to remember all those who have served and sacrificed.
Transcript
Anzac Day is a time to honour Australia’s men and women who have answered our country’s call to protect our freedoms and way of life. And sometimes to assist other nations in protecting democracy.
With this year’s health concerns around the virus, our community is unable to have the usual Anzac Day commemorations around the country and within our communities. I’m disappointed that I can’t join these services and listen to our veterans and current servicemen and servicewomen.
I want to let you know that you will be in my thoughts and that my family and I will commemorate Anzac Day starting with the broadcast of the Australian War Memorial’s National Dawn Service on ABC-TV, from 5:30 in the morning through till 6:00 a.m., and then with a minute silence at the end of our driveway, holding a candle to remember our fallen soldiers and to appreciate our defence services.
Many years ago, a close friend of mine said that the War Memorial in Canberra was a monument to war. Rubbish. I told my mate Michael, “It isn’t. “It’s a symbol of the qualities we admire in people. “Their care, their loyalty, sacrifice, duty, patriotism.
“And an expression of our appreciation, “our debt of gratitude.” Every Anzac Day, I’m moved to tears because of the futility of war and the sometimes senseless loss, tragic loss of so many fine young lives. Combined with feelings of appreciation and a sense of awe.
How did our soldiers possibly and amazingly achieve what they did under such adverse, horrible conditions? In so many terrains, climates and nations around the world. Because of that, I feel a sense of obligation, that these days we need to fulfil our duty to preserve our soldiers’ gift and legacy.
In that gift, they gave us the responsibility to maintain personal liberties and freedoms and to restore our national sovereignty. The challenges we face today are from globalism, an insidious, almost invisible, creeping, gradual loss of independence and the continued collapse into dependency.
It threatens that for which our soldiers fought. Yet unlike jackboots, rifles and aircraft, it’s difficult to see. It poses a similar threat. The loss of our national values, loss of our independence, and indeed the loss of our nation. In finishing now, during the current health threat, I hope everyone is keeping safe and well.
And know that even though we can’t see each other today, you are in our thoughts and prayers. And I hope that we all reflect appreciatively on our servicemen and women and their gift and legacy to us all, and reflect on our duty to protect that legacy.
