Memories of Lemnos

Mr PISONI (Unley) (12:16): I move:

That this house—

(a) congratulates the Organisation of Hellene and Hellene-Cypriot Women of Australia (SA) for its efforts to commemorate the centenary of ANZAC with the Memories of Lemnos and the Australian nurses and the ANZAC centenary ceremony on Sunday 19 April at Keswick Barracks;

(b) recognises the service given by Australian nurses on the Greek island of Lemnos during the Gallipoli landing;

(c) recognises Greece for supporting Australia's war effort through its support for Australian nurses stationed at military hospitals based on Lemnos island during the Gallipoli campaign; and

(d) considers a permanent memorial specifically commemorating the Australian women who served as nurses on Lemnos island be incorporated in the soon to be constructed Anzac Walk.

In supporting the motion I would like to give some background about the history of Lemnos island and the close connections that Greece has always had with Australia and some of the early work that we did together in fighting for the freedom that we enjoy today.

Lemnos island is located about 80 kilometres from the entrance of the Dardanelles Strait, so it became the main assembly point for the allied troops' Gallipoli invasion force. Australian troops first encountered the Greek population on Lemnos when they landed en route to Gallipoli on 4 March 1915.

The Greek government at that time was led by prime minister Veni-zelos who offered the island as a naval base along with three divisions of Greek troops to help the allied campaign to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. Lemnos played a major role in the nine month Gallipoli campaign as a key transit point for troops, housing large hospitals and convalescent and rest camps. More than 3,000 Australian nurses volunteered for active service in the First World War.

The Australian Army Nursing Service had been formed in July 1903 as part of the Australian Army Medical Corps. During the war more than 2,000 of its members served overseas alongside Australian nurses working with other organisations, such as Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service, the Red Cross and privately sponsored facilities.

The 3^rd Australian General Hospital, AIF, was set up in response to a request from the British War Office by Thomas Henry Fiaschi, a well-known Italian surgeon. Fiaschi had had a distinguished career as a military surgeon serving with Australian forces during the Boer War where he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, and he was appointed the commanding officer of the 3^rd Australian General Hospital.

On 15 May 1915 the new unit sailed from Circular Quay, Sydney, on the Mooltan, just one month after its formation had been requested. On board were a number of Australian Army Nursing Service nurses, including Matron Grace Wilson who would go on to lead the 3^rd Australian General Hospital at West Mudros. It should be noted that her brother Lance Corporal Graeme Wilson of the 2^nd Australian Light Horsemen would be killed on the peninsula before she arrived on Lemnos island.

The Mooltan arrived in Plymouth, England, on 27 June and the unit travelled to London. There, preparations were made for their service in France at Etaples; however, on 1 July the 3^rd Australian General Hospital received orders to proceed to West Mudros on the island of Lemnos in the Aegean Sea near Gallipoli. They were advised that the site had been selected for the tent hospital and that they would be provided with huts about six weeks after their arrival in Mudros.

The days before embarkation were spent in organisation. Both the Australian Red Cross and benefactors in Australia had assisted with equipment and donations for the hospital. All of these, as well as further purchases made in London, including a small laundry plant, had to be loaded on the supply ship Ascot. On 12 July, Colonel Fiaschi and most of the male personnel embarked on the transport Simla at Devonport. The men arrived at Mudros on 27 and 28 July before the arrival of the Ascot.

The nurses, who had remained in London, embarked in two groups six days after the men. Sailing on the Themistocles and the Huntsgren, they disembarked at Alexandria on 30 July and 1 August. Those who arrived first were distributed between other Australian hospitals pending their boarding for Lemnos. The tents and equipment was delayed for three weeks, water was in short supply and there was no sanitation.

On 7 August, after lots of hard work, the hospital site was pegged out and some marquees that had been found in a small store were erected. At about 7pm on 8 August, 40 of the nurses were landed and, accompanied by a piper, were marched to their new tents. The remainder landed at North Pier the next day and the hospital opened.

These days marked the height of the August Offensive on ANZAC and thousands of wounded were being brought to all the hospitals on Lemnos. Although it was an Australian unit and the policy was, where possible, to treat Australians in Australian hospitals, the 3^rd Australian General Hospital admitted a large number of wounded from all the allied armies. Of the 32 who died of wounds at the hospital during the August Offensive, only seven were Australian soldiers. After the end of August 1915, most of the deaths at the hospital were from disease.

In late October, when staff nurse Anne Donnell arrived at Mudros, she wrote that although huts were being prepared for them, the Australian nurses were still in tents, unlike their Canadian and English colleagues who were already living in comfortable huts on the island. The 3^rd Australian General Hospital was not the only hospital on Lemnos. There was also the 2^nd Australian Stationary Hospital, the 1^st and 3^rd Canadian hospitals, convalescent camps and various English hospitals situated at Mudros and East Mudros.

Their diet did not include fruit or vegetables but included butter and eggs about once a month. For the nurses, life on Lemnos was spartan. The travelling kitchens would burn on windy days and people got dysentery from the Greek bread—no reflection of course on the Greek diet. The nurses did not even have a bath tent as water was so short and many nurses cut their hair short. The bitter winter winds added to the discomfort of the exposed position of the hospital and blew nurses' and ward tents down. On 4 November, Colonel Fiaschi, who was seriously ill, was evacuated to London and Lieutenant Colonel Constantine De Crespigny took over as commanding officer of the hospital unit.

When the 1,040-bed hospital closed in Egypt in January 1916, it had treated 7,400 patients of whom only 143 had died. The hospital later went from Egypt to Brighton in the UK and then to Abbeville, France, where it was based until 1919. While there is a Second World War memorial specifically for women service personnel on King William Street near the Memorial Gardens, the parliamentary library has confirmed that there does not appear to be a dedicated war memorial for First World War nurses in the square mile of Adelaide.

Some key facts about the role of Lemnos in the story are that the Australian hospitals on Lemnos treated nearly 4,000 troops in the first few months, of whom only 30 per cent were Australian troops, with Allied troops from Britain and India making up the vast majority of its patients. Lemnos was also the key assembly place and supply point for the Gallipoli landings. The Gallipoli landings themselves were practised on Lemnos prior to the troops' deployment to Gallipoli. The Lemnos harbour was a major staging post for naval operations, including submarine, during the Gallipoli campaign, and it was the location of the major nursing station for the Gallipoli campaign and also the first overseas deployment of Australian nursing units to a war theatre.

Lemnos was also the location of the armistice signed by the Allies and the Ottoman Empire in 1918, and today it is home to two major war graves where 148 Australians and 76 New Zealanders are buried. I think the story of Lemnos island and the story of the Greek government's involvement really do show the strong connection that Australia has had with Greece for an extended period of time. I commend the motion to the house.

Ms VLAHOS (Taylor) (12:25): I rise today to support this motion put up by another Philhellene in the parliament, the member for Unley. It is something I have been aware of since 2010, when I first visited Crete and Greece for the ANZAC anniversary of 70 years of our assisting the Greek people fight the fascists in the Second World War. On Saturday 19 April this year, Treasurer Koutsantonis attended the 'Memories of Lemnos: Australian Nurses and the ANZAC Centenary' commemorative event organised by the Organisation of Hellene and Hellene-Cypriot Women of South Australia. The event highlighted the service of Australian nurses based on the island of Lemnos during the Gallipoli landing in 1915.

I would like to speak today a little bit about some of the forgotten roles of the Dardanelles campaign that Lemnos undertook and perhaps some of the more connected events that Greek people share with Australians. Lemnos' role in the Dardanelles campaign should not be forgotten, and I know from the work of the ladies in the gallery who are visiting today that it has not been, and that makes me immensely proud. It was the principal assembly, embarkation and supply point for the Gallipoli campaigns. The landings at Gallipoli were practised at Lemnos prior to deployment and the island's harbour was a major staging point for many naval operations in the campaign, including Australia's submarine campaign.

The vast majority of ANZAC troops spent some time on Lemnos, whether preparing, resting in the beach areas, recuperating in the rest camps or indeed the hot springs that are located on the island, or recovering from the horrors of war in the field hospitals. Lemnos was the location of many major nursing stations for the Gallipoli campaign, with 130 Australian nurses, led by Matron Grace Wilson, the first major deployment of Australian nurses to a war theatre apart from the Boer War.

By the beginning of August 1915, the 3^rd Australian General Hospital was landed on the island. As a medical facility, the island was intended initially to be for light cases only, and those classified were likely to be well within 28 days. But the rush of wounded from the early August offensive at Lone Pine and the Nek, and the flood of sick that followed in late August, September and October, necessitated its development as an intermediate military base for medical care. The Australian Red Cross Society was represented on the island and, though its aid depot and the distribution of aid parcels, gave great comfort to many nurses and soldiers alike.

The number of Australian military figures who visited the island was considerable: Albert Jacka VC and Generals Birdwood and Monash were photographed on the island during the time of this theatre of conflict. An armistice was indeed signed with the Ottoman Empire on the HMAS Agamemnon in Mudros Harbour in Lemnos in 1918. Lemnos is the site of two special major commonwealth war graves, with 148 Australian war graves located there. Over recent years, with the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee that has been based in Victoria under the leadership of Victorian MPs, particularly Lee Tarlamis, a friend of mine, it has been great to see plaques and walkways and those war graves given the stature they deserve in our ANZAC pantheon.

Lemnos and ANZAC represent the beginnings of Australia's lasting connection to Greece, and it is also a very sombre time of reflection over the next four years as we embark on the storytellings that will come through our nation's history. World War I marked Australia in a way that is almost impossible to fathom in current times, with 337,000 service personnel deployed overseas and 210,000 becoming casualties. On average, 38 members of Australia's armed forces died every day for the 1,560 days of World War I. Today, these statistics are quite staggering, considering we lost around 40 in our longest war in Afghanistan recently.

Gallipoli was not our bloodiest campaign—that would unfortunately come later—but it was our first. The landings at what would become known as Anzac Cove, and the events that followed until the withdrawal eight months later, are recognised as the defining moments in nationhood for Australia. What then is the legacy we take from Gallipoli, ANZAC and, indeed, Lemnos? For me, it is more about the values; they become our legacy. ANZAC is not about loss. It is not about war. ANZAC is about courage, endurance, sacrifice and, above all, mateship.

As Australia's official war historian, Charles Bean, said, 'Men would rather die than let a mate down.' I know that in the heart of hearts of all Hellenic people these are the values they consider core, and they go back to the time of the 300 Spartans and the first invasions by the Persians. You stand next to each other and you fight tall.

One of the best examples of this commitment was Sister Rachael Pratt who nursed the wounded in Turkey, France and elsewhere. In 1917, while Germans attacked her casualty clearing station, Rachael worked, despite the shrapnel that pierced her back and lodged in her lungs, until she collapsed. Rachael was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry under fire. She never really truly recovered from her wounds, suffering chronic bronchitis for the rest of her life; she would never recover from the trauma. Eventually, Rachael was deemed totally and permanently incapacitated and admitted to a hospital for the insane. Sister Pratt died in Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital in 1954.

The government is committed to commemorating a century of service during the centenary of ANZAC, and I praise the work of the ladies in the gallery for keeping these memories alive. The development of the Anzac Centenary Memorial Garden Walk, bordering Kintore Avenue in the city, as a state flagship project is very important. It is designed to be a memorial for all of us, not just a few. It will provide an appropriate commemorative and reflective space that will enable all South Australians to remember the service and sacrifice of all those who have served and all those who will serve in the future to preserve our way of life in this country as a true, great and vibrant democracy.

ANZAC is about good humour and a sense of decency in the face of almost an incredible and indescribable horror. That sense of decency was first extended to the ANZACs when they were training for the Gallipoli landings on Lemnos as early as 4 March 1915 when the 3^rd Australian Infantry Brigade, including South Australia's 10^th Infantry Battalion, arrived on the beach with many of the local population giving them clothes, food, bread, water and even their own beds to billet them. That is true friendship.

I commend the organisation of Hellene and Hellene-Cypriot Women of South Australia for their work in commemorating the role and achievements of Australian nurses and our soldiers involved in the Gallipoli campaign in this centenary of ANZAC.

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (12:33): It is my great pleasure to rise and support this excellent motion which has been brought to the house by the hardworking member for Unley.

I first understood the impact of Greece's generosity to Australia during the First World War when in April of this year I attended a very moving ceremony at Keswick Barracks which was arranged by the Organisation of Hellene and Hellene-Cypriot Women of Australia to commemorate, as part of our centenary of ANZAC commemorations in South Australia, the memories of Lemnos and the Australian nurses. It was a very moving and dignified service followed by a lunch and an excellent talk that really outlined to me the great debt we owe to the people of Greece for allowing us to use Lemnos in such a strategic and important way to support our efforts at Gallipoli and beyond.

We also recognise in this motion the service given by Australian nurses—and this was something which was very much part of the presentation given at Keswick. I strongly support the suggestion that we have a permanent memorial to the contribution of Greece and of our Australian nurses who were stationed on Lemnos as part of our centenary walk proposal. Those of us on this side of the house, and I understand all of us in this parliament, support this motion and I hope it is something that we can absolutely deliver. It is a great honour for us today to have in our gallery a group of people from the organisation of Hellene and Hellene-Cypriot Women who were the ones responsible for that service, and to them I say thank you very much.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Mr MARSHALL: It is also a great honour for us today to have in the gallery the Consul-General of Greece in Adelaide, Andreas-Konstantinos Gouras. He only arrived in Adelaide and South Australia this year but he has already endeared himself to the entire Greek population in our state—the very significant Greek population in South Australia—and certainly on behalf of the Liberal Party we welcome him here and hope that he has a wonderful time in our state.

We have a great relationship with the people of Greece in South Australia and that is a relationship that is built on mutual respect. The Greek people have been great friends to us and I think that there is no greater example than the friendship they extended to all of Australia during the time that we prepared for the Gallipoli landing. On behalf of the Liberal Party I say thank you very much.

Mr TARZIA (Hartley) (12:36): I also congratulate the organisation of Hellene and Hellene-Cypriot Women of Australia for its efforts to commemorate the centenary of ANZAC with the memories of Lemnos and the Australian nurses and the ANZAC centenary ceremony on Sunday, 19 April at Keswick Barracks. I also recognise the service given by Australian nurses on the Greek island of Lemnos during the Gallipoli landings. I also recognise Greece for supporting Australia's war effort through its support for Australian nurses stationed at military hospitals based on Lemnos island during the Gallipoli campaign, and also to consider a permanent memorial specifically commemorating the Australian women who served as nurses on Lemnos island to be incorporated in the soon-to-be constructed Anzac Walk.

It is also my great pleasure to welcome the new Greek Consul formally in this place, Mr Andreas-Konstantinos Gouras, and also those in the gallery today. Mr Gouras is certainly a friend of ours in Adelaide. Obviously, many people of Greek origin reside in my electorate, and to commend what the leader said earlier, Mr Gouras has certainly endeared himself; he is a strong ambassador for Australians in Greece but also for people in Australia with Greek origins.

He also educated me about columns, and if I am not mistaken those in this chamber are Ionic columns. I hope I picked that up, so Efharisto' to the—

An honourable member: Ionic capitals.

Mr TARZIA: Ionic capitals, thank you very much.

Mr Marshall: And these are fluted pilasters, and they are fluted columns and Ionic capitals.

Mr TARZIA: There you go. The leader has corrected me—it wouldn't be the first time either! I commend the member for Unley for raising this motion, and I applaud the government for also supporting it. The member for Unley spoke of the history involved in this cause and he spoke of the rugged conditions, the conditions that many of these nurses endured when trying to save people's lives and caring for them on the battlefields.

When you look at some of the diary entries from some of the nurses it is really quite touching. I thought I would relate some of them to the house. There is an account from Sister Ella Tucker, for example, who served as a nurse just off Gallipoli, dated 25 April 1915, where she summarises, 'Red letter day. Shells bursting all round, we are off Gaba Tepe.'

Other nurses go on to talk of the sickening conditions and the pain that was endured in and around that area. Matron Wilson and her nurses, for example, experienced much inefficiency of military administration in relation to the hospitals that they served in. These were conditions that were appalling. Much of the time there was wind. The member for Unley spoke of how women would sometimes have to cut their hair to prevent other conditions from happening as well.

There is another diary entry on 9 August. Matron Wilson goes on to say: 'Found 150 patients lying on the ground—no equipment whatever…had no water to drink or wash.' On 10 August: 'Still no water…convoy arrived at night and used up all our private things, soap etc, tore up clothes [for bandages].' It is really quite awful stuff. It really puts things into perspective. It puts into perspective how much sacrifice was made back then and especially by the nurses—thankless. It is a thankless profession. I have a sister who is a nurse and I know the member for Elder was a nurse. These people have the most amount of empathy you will ever find and they served in such tough conditions. I know that the Greek people and the Australian people are certainly grateful for all that they did during that time.

As the member for Taylor alluded to, it is fitting to say that that was the beginning of quite a strong relationship between Greeks and Australians. We pay tribute to the sacrifice that was made. It puts things into perspective and we are very grateful. We are very grateful for those who have served before us to make sure that we enjoy the liberties and the luxuries that we have today.

We do have a proud history in Australia. Certainly in my electorate I have two local Greek parishes: the Norwood parish and the Athelstone parish. I know that many of those families, who are here today, are also very grateful for the migrants and what they have endured before them, and for the sacrifices that their grandparents and great-grandparents made in coming to Australia to share in the wonderful community that we have today.

I thank the ladies, especially Helen Haltis, the President of the Organisation of Hellene and Hellene-Cypriot Women of Australia, and her committee and her supporters, as well as Mr Andreas-Konstantinos Gouras, for coming in today. I commend the motion to the house.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (12:41): I too rise to support this excellent motion brought forward by the member for Unley, that the South Australian parliament:

…congratulates the Organisation of Hellene and Hellene-Cypriot Women of Australia (SA) for its efforts to commemorate the centenary of ANZAC with the Memories of Lemnos and the Australian nurses and the ANZAC centenary ceremony on Sunday 19 April at Keswick Barracks.

As the leader said, it was a very giving service and it was celebrated on the day. Obviously more than 3,000 Australian and Greek nurses volunteered for active service in the First World War. The Australian Army Nursing Service formed in July 1903 as part of the Australian Army Medical Corps. During the war, more than 2,000 members served overseas alongside Australian nurses, working with other organisations, such as Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service, the Red Cross or privately sponsored facilities.

The partnership between the Australian and the Greek nurses is something that will be in the history books forever and it is something that will be long remembered, particularly in my electorate of Chaffey, which has such a large Greek population that has been there for more than 100 years. Greek communities in the Riverland have developed over that 100 years to be a very important cultural institution as part of the Riverland. When many South Australians talk about Greeks fondly they talk about the Riverland, because we have such a binding relationship.

Obviously, many years ago the number of farms that belonged to Greek people in the Riverland grew significantly. What the Riverland offered was a land of opportunity. From the 1950s through to the 1970s, they were given the opportunity to develop soldier settlement properties, to come up there and to grasp what that opportunity was, and that was to build an empire. To be part of that empire was to raise families, and that has gone on.

I think I would be correct in saying that I know of five generations of good Greek families. I have been very proud to employ many Greek families on my citrus and wine grape properties over the years. They have always been able to tell me great stories about their great relationships over the course of their families' history and particularly what it means to them to be part of a community and to bolster what its real meaning is within the Riverland.

Obviously, Greek culture, traditions and customs are very well preserved in the Riverland community, particularly with the community centres, function centres and, of course, the Greek radio. We cannot forget it is home to the Greek Tribune, a national Greek-language newspaper which celebrated its 20^th anniversary in 2013. Peter Ppiros is the founder and editor of the Greek Tribune and he was also the founder of the Riverland Greek Festival. That is a festival I hold dear, because, having moved to the Riverland in my newly married era of life, the Greek community was the first to embrace me, and to take me in and feed me all that beautiful Greek food, particularly the baklava and the little floured, sweet, nutty biscuits—I cannot think of their name, but anyway—

Ms Vlahos interjecting:

Mr WHETSTONE: Yes. They were the things that I always remember and hold dear to my heart. Obviously, I have a very close affiliation with the Greek community in the Riverland. I welcome the Greek women here today. This motion by the member for Unley has been well orchestrated, as you are having a visit here today, and I thank you all for being here. I am proud to have been a part of a large Greek population in Chaffey, and I commend the motion to the house.

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (12:46): If I may briefly indicate my support for the motion to recognise His Excellency, our Honorary Consul who is present today, and, in particular, Helen Haltis and her committee, for the work they have done in recognising, in the year of the Gallipoli centenary, the sacrifice and, in particular, the activities that occurred at Lemnos. It certainly was a moving occasion, as our leader has pointed out, that was prepared and hosted. It takes a lot of work to do that.

It takes a lot of work and research to ensure that the museum, which continues to work and undertake research at Keswick, is supported to ensure that the legacy of the sacrifice does endure. Just as we have, on many occasions, recognised the sacrifice of the Bangka Island massacre of nurses in World War II, and the extraordinary story of the survival of nurse Bullwinkel, so too should we recognise the sacrifice that was made by these women, and the extraordinary hospitality given to us in so many ways during the conflict for Gallipoli.

More recently (around 100 years later, in fact) my son was on Lemnos, having a good time and working in a resort, surrounded by beautiful Greek girls. I got lots of photographs. I thought he would come back with a Greek wife but it did not transpire. He too was injured and had to attend the military hospital on Lemnos. He had the benefit of all of the hospitality, courtesy and care that was given, which we respect and recognise, and we appreciated that. So, it is enduring for my family at a personal level, but something which I hope that all of South Australia continues to recognise.

In conclusion, Greece is having some difficult times at the moment. When the Ambassador of Greece recently visited South Australia on his goodbye tour, I had the privilege of meeting him. Clearly, when he returns to Greece, he is going to have a major amount of work, in his retirement from this position, to assist his country with its restoration and to be able to economically participate in world affairs, as it has so extraordinarily contributed over thousands of years.

At no greater time than when we recognise the significance of Australia's contribution to the Gallipoli conflict, we also recognise that Greece is in her hour of desperation at present, and we should be doing everything we can to support those in our community who have friends and relatives in Greece and who need our support and kindness. We need to ensure that we maintain that respectful relationship. I commend the motion.

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (12:49): I rise to speak in recognition of this motion. I welcome members from the organisation of Hellene and Hellene-Cypriot Women of Australia, South Australian Branch, here in the gallery today, as well as the Consul-General. Welcome. It is really fitting that you are here to hear this motion today. You have heard, courtesy of the member for Hartley, that I am a registered nurse, a registered midwife. I have had the fortune to work in conditions so much more modern, clean and inviting than did these nurses.

I applaud you for your commitment, your passion and your vision in commemorating Lemnos and the Australian nurses with the ANZAC centenary ceremony. To visibly cement this specific event through a permanent memorial is very welcome. I pay tribute to those nurses, in particular Matron Wilson and the 96 nurses who arrived on Lemnos to set up a hospital to care for those soldiers. I think we all, if we are familiar with those events, realise that they did not know what they were letting themselves in for.

Picture this committed group of nurses arriving on what I am told is an arid, windswept island to be greeted by the lone bagpiper—no hospital, no supplies, living conditions described as unbearable, little water and scarce provisions of any type. This would be enough to bring most human beings to tears, but these nurses were determined and they set about setting up their hospital, although I believe they did treat many of the soldiers in the open. Their improvisation skills were second to none. They ripped up their petticoats and improvised, using what little they could find. A quote from Matron Wilson in August 1915, I think, sums up what they faced. She said:

Things here are just too awful for words…we found only a bare piece of ground with wounded men in pain, still in filthy, bloodstained clothes, lying amid stones and thistles. As we lacked tents, beds or medicines, we could do little for most of our patients.

That is the stark reality of what they dealt with every day. Their humility, resilience, commitment, passion and undying faith is certainly worthy of the recognition that you are so deservedly giving them. I commend you for that and I commend the motion to the house.

Mr PISONI (Unley) (12:52): In closing I would like to thank members of the South Australian parliament, the member for Taylor for the work that she did in making sure this was supported throughout the entire parliament, as well as my own party room for recognising the significance of this motion and how important it is for the South Australian community to be reminded about the work that the Greek government did a hundred years ago and the role that it played in fighting for the democracy that Greece is so famous for, we being, of course, one of the first places in the world to recognise democracy.

To the organisation of Hellene and Hellene-Cypriot Women, I thank you in particular for bringing this to the attention of so many more South Australians, and now to the attention of the parliament. I know you have worked very hard at it and I am very pleased that, through the member for Taylor and I, through the parliamentary process, this parliament was able to formally recognise the work you have done as well as recognise those nurses on the island of Lemnos.

I would also like to thank the Consul-General for his work and his enthusiasm in seeing this motion debated and his joy at being successful today, as I anticipate it may very well be in a couple of minutes. Thank you to the member for Taylor, thank you to members opposite and my parliamentary colleagues on this side of the house, and thank you to the Greek community in particular for the work they do in making sure we know just how important they are as members of our community. I commend the motion to the house.

Motion carried.