Remembrance Day

Mrs PEARCE (King) (15:11): Yesterday, at 11am, we paused for a moment of silence in honour of the brave Australians who have served our country throughout its military and peacekeeping history, with 103,000 Australians having made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms, while countless others carry the lasting impacts of their service. The Tea Tree Gully RSL hosted another lovely commemoration, and I would really like to thank Mal, Michael, Wayne and the team from the RSL, who are putting in countless hours each and every year to be able to bring our community together on this very special day.

A massive thank you also to the Tea Tree Gully Redbacks and the Salvation Army for their contribution to the service. I would also like to make special note of another very special ceremony that I attended yesterday to commemorate an important occasion hosted by the OnePlus Community. It was hosted by Pedare and the commemoration was a very first for our local community, which actually brought together students of all ages, I understand from year 5s all the way up: from Pedare, from Gleeson and from Golden Grove—all coming together for this very important occasion.

It was truly special to see the efforts put in by those coordinating such an effort with the aim of ensuring that the sacrifices that have been made over the years, as well as the lessons that have been learnt, will continue to be understood by the next generation. I would really like to thank all the students, the teachers, the leadership team and the volunteers for helping to bring this monumental effort together.

I would also like to make special note of a beautiful service that was hosted by the Salisbury RSL, which this year was a particularly solemn event as the community paused to reflect and pay their respects to Robert (Hec) Howard, who was the President of the Salisbury RSL who unfortunately and sadly passed away a little earlier this year. Rob's devotion and care to both members of the RSL and those within our wider community was absolutely second to none, so much so that he will be remembered for three things: faith, service and family.

Rob loved the community he lived in. He was proud to be a man of the north, and was known as someone who would often be the first to put a hand out if someone needed help. He worked hard to rejuvenate the relationship between Salisbury RSL, the RAAF and the Air Force Association (SA) because he believed that would help ensure the best supports were available for those who served and those who continue to serve. He was also a major player in the commemorations and Air Force Centenary activities back in 2019 that were hosted in the northern suburbs.

His volunteering did not end with the RSL, and he was also extremely heavily involved in Northern Volunteering SA. Rob was not a man who did what he did for glory or attention, but I really do believe it is important to shine a light on those who go above and beyond for their local community, and I am really pleased that Salisbury RSL was able to shine a light on Rob this Remembrance Day.

I would also like to take a moment to thank the volunteers who were out in our community last weekend in the lead up to Remembrance Day. I had the pleasure of supporting and lending a hand to the Vietnam Veterans Association as well as to the Tea Tree Gully RSL. It was pleasing to see the efforts the Vietnam Veterans Association made in ensuring that a wide variety of conflicts and peacekeeping missions were reflected and honoured within our local community. I know this takes a lot of hard work and a lot of effort, but they certainly made it look seamless and I thank them for all they have done in that space.

It was also wonderful to catch up with Jim from the Tea Tree Gully RSL, who is doing absolutely amazing work at ensuring older veterans in our community remain connected to one another. When you do not have many supports or family around you it is very easy to become isolated, and we know that is not good for one's wellbeing or health. Jim goes above and beyond to connect to veterans in different aged care facilities to bring them out once a month to connect with one another, have a bit of a chat, and some afternoon tea. I know it is something these veterans really look forward to, and I see firsthand the benefit it provides. It is something completely voluntary that Jim has created on his own, and I really thank him for those efforts and look forward to seeing him again shortly.