House of Assembly Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3) 51 3 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Grievance Debate Grievance Debate Turkish Republic Day TURKISH REPUBLIC DAY Mr PENGILLY House of Assembly Finniss Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (15:05): It was with interest that I listened today to the question from the member for West Torrens and the Premier's response as this question was asked, whether deliberately, on Turkish Republic day, I do not know. Today is the 85^th anniversary of the Turkish Republic. The Hon. David Ridgeway and I attended a function at the Adelaide Town Hall this morning with about 150 people, including the Turkish Honorary Consul, Ms Aygül Simsek, and various other consuls from around Adelaide, but not one representative from the South Australian government turned up. I do not know whether or not that was deliberate, but it was noted by a number of people who were there. It was indeed an interesting occasion. The 9^th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, which actively supports the Spirit of Gallipoli program, was also there. Ms Simsek gave quite a lengthy speech about the importance of the Republic of Turkey to the world and, more particularly, how it came about, including what a very secular society it was. She was followed by the President of the South Australian Turkish Association and then by Mr Peter Goers, who is well known to us all. I was most impressed with the way Mr Goers took to the task. He lived for three years in Turkey and has a great fondness for the people in that country, their way of life and the whole nation. It is indeed important to remember the value of Turkey to Australia and, more particularly, what transpired after World War I when Kemal Attaturk, the father of the Turks, came into power properly and forged that deep relationship with Australia after what took place at Gallipoli, where, really, the three nations of Turkey, Australia and New Zealand found their feet and became part of world history given what happened there. For the life of me I do not know why the South Australian government did not send a representative there this morning. I thought it was an embarrassment to all South Australians that the Rann government did not send anyone, particularly as it places so much emphasis on multicultural activities and supporting all the different nationalities that now live in South Australia. It was a real slap in the face, in my view. Getting back to the event, I think it is most important that we realise what a great nation that Turkey became and what great job that Kemal Attaturk did in forming that country from where it was, under a sultan, as a bitterly divided country. As it was pointed out this morning, it still is a very much a Muslim culture and society; however, they still wish to fight strongly for the secular aspects, and they want to maintain Turkey as a secular society with a free and independent democratic society. The security of the western world and, indeed, the whole world relies so much on the vital strategic country of Turkey. It is just so important for everybody that Turkey maintains its freedom and that republic. They are a very proud to celebrate that 85^th anniversary today. They are a proud people. They have been absorbed into Australian life, particularly in this case into the South Australian community in which they are actively involved. To be invited this morning was a great honour for me. Getting back to the Spirit of Gallipoli, I have had the pleasure of having prolonged discussions with the 9^th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment's, Warren Featherby, and Ms Aygül Simsek, the Honorary Consul, on where the Spirit of Gallipoli goes. The irony is that the government turns up at the Torrens Parade Ground for the spirit of Gallipoli celebrations, and it is there in force. However, today, for the Republic of Turkey anniversary, there is no-one to be seen. It is just a total and absolute slap in the face for the Turkish community. I think that the government should be ashamed of itself. It is not as though it does not have enough people to send—it has all these backbenchers sitting over there. Time expired.