E&OE.................................................................................................
Thank you very much, to General Hartley, to Mr Owen Campbell, all
of the other members of the mission, ladies and gentlemen.
Janette and I are particularly privileged to have the opportunity
of being here today in this marvellous and very historic military
surrounding, Victoria Barracks, to formally, on behalf of the Government
and through it the Australian people, to wish the Sandakan Mission
well, to say a few words about the importance of a nation honouring
and remembering those who made our freedom possible and to express
good wishes to all of those in the pilgrimage. And to say how delighted
we are that this is an opportunity, although it commemorates a tragic,
a terribly tragic event, how delighted we are that it's an opportunity
for old friends and old comrades and their families to come together
for a few days and to reflect upon the tremendous privilege it is
to live in Australia as we come towards the end of this century.
There are many things that have been written about Sandakan and there
are many things that can be said about it. It was, like so many events
in a terrible war, an awful tragedy. There was an added poignancy
about it because so many of those terrible events took place within
a bare few weeks of the end of hostilities in World War II. And the
suffering of the men who endured those terrible deeds is, to the present
generation of Australians, hard to envisage and hard to understand,
just as the suffering of those who died on the Burma-Thailand Railway
and, indeed, of any Australians who died defending this country in
all the wars in which we have been involved.
It is one of the more encouraging signs of our national life but as
we come towards the end of this century there is a growing instinct
and a growing desire on the part of all generations of Australians,
and most particularly younger Australians, to remember those events
that have made our present life possible - to give thanks to those
people who laid down their lives to make Australia free. And there
is a greater reverence and a greater respect as the years go by for
those men and those women for what they did and for what those deeds
represented. And whereas 50 years ago there were sometimes arguments
about the place of ANZAC Day in our life, as every year goes by it
becomes more hallowed and more revered and increasingly it is seen
in the eyes of all Australians as holding a special significance beyond
any other day in our national life.
And I want to say to all of the men and women who were so involved
in the events that you will remember over the days ahead that a grateful
nation will never forget your contribution. They will always remember
that without that contribution we would not enjoy the incredible freedom
and the great prosperity and the great privilege of living in Australia
today.
As I wandered around today I've renewed acquaintanceships and
friendships with a number of the returned servicemen who are going
on the mission, some of which, in my own journey through life I've
come into contact with in other circumstances. I think of Alan Loxton
who tried to teach me the vagaries of criminal law at Sydney University
in 1957, of Jim Millner who I've met on many occasions around
the city of Sydney. And I understand that in Father Rogers we have
the sole surviving chaplain now of the 8th Division of
the Australian Army in World War II. And one could tell a special
personal story about every member of this mission and most particularly
of course, Mr Campbell, who has a very special place in the membership
of this gathering.
This is not a mission that celebrates the triumphalism that some people
wrongly associate with military victory. It's a mission that
remembers, it's a mission that expresses gratitude and it's
a mission that says on behalf of a grateful nation how indebted we
are to the people who suffered and died. But it's also a reminder
to us that life has gone on and it's a reminder to us that out
of the terrible bitterness and the slaughter and the evil of World
War II Australia, since then, has forged new relationships, new friendships
and a new future with the people of the Asian Pacific region.
We are entitled to always, and we must always remember, the injustices
of war. We should never shrink from the historical truth of how war
began and we should never ever yield in our determination to remember
the deeds and the sacrifices of the men and women who died in war.
But the best way in which we can do that and the best way that we
can honour them is of course to build a lasting peace and secure relationships
with the nations of our region.
Can I say on behalf of the Government how immensely proud we are of
the men and women of our armed services today, very much in the news
over the last 48 hours and properly so. They are very much the equal
of the task that continues to be upon them as they have been in the
past.
And finally can I say, on behalf of the Government of Australia to
all the members of the mission, I wish you well. I hope it is a time
of positive reflection. An occasion naturally to remember with sadness
and trauma the loss of so many mates in such terrible circumstances
but also an opportunity to celebrate the miracle of life for all of
us and for our families and the wonderful existence we have in Australia
today and the wonderful future that lies ahead of our nation. To all
of those who fought for our nation I say thank you. To those who died
for our nation on the nation's behalf I honour them. They shall
always be in our hearts.
Thank you.