E&OE...........
Your Excellency the Governor of Queensland, the Leader of the Opposition Simon Crean, Danna Vale the Minister for Veterans'; Affairs, Major General Phillips, my other parliamentary colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
Can I start my remarks by joining others in extending my congratulations to Mrs Ruff-O';Herne for the very significant recognition which has been extended to her today and to record I know on behalf of everybody our sense of admiration and regard for the dignity, the forgiveness, the forbearance, the understanding and the strength that she and so many others displayed in such awful circumstances.
I am delighted again to have the opportunity of addressing this annual congress of the RSL. The RSL is a very special body in the life of Australia. It is profoundly non-partisan political, it is non-sectarian, it is bound together by the common experiences of men and women and a common bond of deep affection to the welfare of this nation and of all of its people.
And I commence my address by again on behalf of the Government, the Parliament and all the Australian people of renewing the sense of debt that we owe to the more than 100,000 Australians who died in all the wars in the name of the defence of this country. To those who were wounded, to those who were fortunate enough to return without the impairment of life or limb. There is no greater debt owed by any nation than the debt it owes to those who put their lives on the line to defend the nation';s freedom and to defend the nation';s values. And in honouring those who died in defence of Australia or served this country, we do particularly as the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States on the 11th of September last year, as that anniversary draws near we think particularly of the men of the Australian Defence Force who are serving in Afghanistan and elsewhere alongside our American friends and allies in the war against terrorism. They are doing important things in the name of this country and they continue to be very much in our thoughts and our prayers.
This year of course has been a time of very considerable change for the RSL and I want to pay special tribute to Rusty Priest, to Bruce Ruxton and to Derek Roylance, all of whom have given great service to their respective state branches over many years. And I welcome the three new state presidents to this congress – Brigadier Evans from the ACT, Mr Keith Hall in New South Wales and Major General McLachlan from Victoria.
This past year has marked, or does mark this year, the 60th anniversary of very special and pivotal events in our national life and our military history. I include the bombing of Darwin in northern Australia, the 60th anniversary of that, and the submarine attacks in Sydney and in Newcastle. And in this connection it was a special honour for me on behalf of the country to attend the inauguration of the magnificent memorial at Isurava on the Kokoda Track. That was an occasion to honour, and I was accompanied by Senator Mark Bishop, the Shadow Minister representing the Leader of the Opposition… to honour what those battles represented, what they meant to Australia at that time and the sense of heart and hope that the achievement of our men in those battles gave to the people of Australia. I';m also very pleased that the new memorial at Milne Bay and the refurbished memorial at Popondetta will be opened in November and that commemorative missions sponsored by the Federal Government will attend these important events. And also there will be a commemoration at El Alamein which will be a reminder of the crucial battles that we fought there alongside our British and other allies at a crucial moment in the Middle East campaign in World War II.
Indeed this year I';ve had the opportunity not only of going to Isurava, but also in the course of representing this country abroad, to participate in that always moving dusk ceremony at the Menin Gate in Belgium. A great tribute maintained in memory of so many Australians and others who died in the defence of Belgium in World War I. And also to visit Crete, the scene of fierce fighting alongside our friends from Greece and other countries in World War II. And it is always a moving experience to be reminded again of the sense of friendship and gratitude and honour that is felt by the peoples of those countries. This nation';s reputation for doing the right thing in difficult circumstances, and its citizens risking their lives in defence of the values they hold in common with others, our name for doing that is held in very high and warm regard and those deeds are long remembered by our friends.
Ladies and gentlemen, this congress gives all of you an opportunity to recollect, it gives you an opportunity to discuss issues important to the RSL and important to the nation. I would, I can say without fear of contradiction, that concern and respect and gratitude towards our returned men and women is something that is shared across the political divide. My own Government is committed to a number of initiatives that we announced in the last election campaign including the removal of the fees on income support supplement rates from war widowers and also the extension of the Gold Card eligibility to all Australian Defence Force veterans 70 and over with qualifying service from the first of July last. It is estimated that an extra 4,000 veterans with post World War II service will immediately become eligible as a result of that change, adding to the 282,000 members of the veterans community who already benefit.
The Minister has already announced a number of other initiatives in the area of commemoration. We';re undertaking health studies in the veterans of atomic testing and also the Vietnam, Korean and Gulf Wars. We remain committed to addressing possible anomalies in the Veterans'; Entitlements Act and as you are aware an independent review of veterans'; entitlements was established to examine issues such as access to veterans'; entitlements and benefits provided to veteran disability pensioners. The committee has received over 2,900 submissions and is due to report in mid November of this year.
The obligation to care for our returned men and women is an unqualified and an ongoing obligation. I value very much the dialogue I have and I know my Minister has with the RSL. I want particularly as he is present today to record my gratitude to Bruce Scott for the work that he did as Minister for Veterans'; Affairs until the last election. Bruce was a hard and indefatigable worker for the interests of veterans and I know that many in the veterans'; community will remember with great affection his commitment to their cause.
Ladies and gentlemen, again may I say how very pleased I am to be here today. Of an organisation there is none that sits more easily at the centre of Australia';s life and Australia';s history than does the RSL. As the Governor said, you may have received constitutional form in 1901 but the deeds of successive generations of the fighting men and women of this country have given purpose, have given commitment, often in very tragic circumstances, as to what this country stands for. We have been reminded through the awarding of that Anzac Peace Prize that occasions such as this are to remember those who died in war, but they are above all else occasions to rededicate ourselves to peace.
One of the great paradoxes of Australia is that we are by nature and instinct non-belligerent, peace-loving people. For a non-belligerent, peace-loving people we have over the years made a very big sacrifice of lives and blood in the defence of values that are important to us and important to the other nations of the world. And that is a further spur and inspiration to all of us to work for the preservation of peace, for harmony amongst countries, but always remembering that the world is never quite as ideal and as benign a place as we would like it to be. And that it';s important for the preservation of the kind of nation that we have been, we are, and we hope always to remain, that occasionally we have to take action in concert with our allies.
Finally can I say that this is also an occasion to remember the contribution of all people who have come to this country from different parts of the world, to the building of the modern Australia. One of the great things about this country is its sense of fair play and its sense of tolerance and its open heartedness. And can I say to all of you, we have much to be proud of because we are Australians and there is no group of men and women in our midst to whom more is owed for what we now have than the men and women of Australia that you represent here by your presence. I say on behalf of the rest of your fellow Australians, thank you for what you have done, thank you for what you have given us, and thank you for what you continue to mean to us.
Thank you.
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