Motions

Fall of Saigon Anniversary

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (16:35): I move:

That this house—

(a) notes that 30 April 2025 marks the 50^th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War and the beginning of communist rule in Vietnam;

(b) notes that the fall of Saigon, also known as Black April, had disastrous ramifications for Vietnamese people, including hundreds of thousands of people sent to re-education camps, with many experiencing torture, disease and starvation, and creating a refugee crisis with millions of people displaced into neighbouring countries and across the world;

(c) acknowledges the significant pain and distress still felt by South Australian Vietnamese community members, many of whom directly experienced these traumatic events, or are descendants of those who suffered through both the war and the long, dangerous journey to our shores;

(d) thanks and acknowledges the sacrifices made by Australian and Vietnamese veterans, as well as their families, in the fight for freedom;

(e) recognises the especially significant contribution that Vietnamese South Australians have made to our state in the decades since these events, overcoming the many challenges posed by the legacy of the war with the signature determination, grit and optimism we have come to recognise in our Vietnamese community; and

(f) calls on all South Australians to stand with our South Australian Vietnamese community as they reflect on this pivotal and catastrophic event in our history.

I stand today to mark a sombre anniversary. Fifty years ago, the war in Vietnam ended after two decades of conflict, blood and pain, with the fall of Saigon marking the end of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam's existence and the beginning of communist rule. Over 60,000 Australians served as part of the military coalition defending South Vietnam and its people. More than 500 were to never return, including 58 South Australians, and many of those who did come home did so bearing physical and psychological scars that time can never heal. It is an enduring national shame that the return of our troops was met with little fanfare and tragically, on occasions, even outright hostility.

At the same time, the price paid by the people of Vietnam truly defies comprehension. It is estimated that over four million people, a full 10 per cent of the Vietnamese population at the time, were killed or wounded during the conflict—four million people. Even now, the war continues to exact a toll in blood from the people of Vietnam: from chronic illness and birth defects attributed to chemical defoliants to the five and a half million hectares of land still contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordnance patiently laying in wait.

Following the fall of Saigon, no fewer than two million people attempted to flee Vietnam. Just think about those men, women and children. Think about how terrified they must have been about the fate of their democracy, their country and their own livelihoods that they would make the decision to leave everything behind for an unknown future. Think about the sort of fear that would have existed to take one's own children and place them on a rickety fishing boat to cross treacherous and deadly waters but to rise above that fear and execute incomprehensible courage and determination to indeed endure that journey.

Of the two million people who fled South Vietnam, a full 10 per cent are estimated to have perished en route to Australia, disappearing somewhere in the dark waters of the South China Sea. Today, we think of those families huddled together in leaking, overcrowded boats, riding low in the water, holding their terrified children close, whispering desperate words of comfort, all in the knowledge that the next wave to strike the hull might be the one that finally drags them down.

Today, we also think of the resilience and determination of those who did find safe harbour in Australia where an entirely new set of challenges awaited them. Australia has welcomed waves of immigrants since colonisation, including thousands of refugees following the Second World War, many of whom found at least some comfort in familiar cultural, political and religious institutions that Australia had inherited with European settlement.

By contrast, the majority of Vietnamese refugees were starting new lives from nothing and doing so while learning to navigate a foreign culture in an entirely unfamiliar language, in a place where everything from the food to the climate provided a daily reminder that home, if it still existed, was a long, long way away.

I was honoured to join veterans of the conflict to lay a wreath at the Vietnam War Memorial at the Adelaide Parade Ground this morning. Our veterans in South Australia, who served our nation with pride, distinguishment and extraordinary courage, do us all proud to this day. There still represents ongoing opportunity for the people of our state, particularly younger South Australians, to pay homage at the feet of those men and women who served our nation in the name of our democracy. We acknowledge many of those who are here today.

Aptly, the ceremony took place only metres from the Vietnamese Boat People Monument that stands on the Torrens Riverbank in a tribute to those who came across the seas to build a new life in our state, including the Hon. Hieu Van Le AC, who arrived as a refugee in 1977 and was to become the 35^th Governor of the State of South Australia. His proud example represents the way in which our Vietnamese community are an integral and celebrated part of modern South Australia.

I might add that the Boat People Monument not only reminds us of the courage of all Vietnamese people who made that perilous journey but also serves as a reminder to every Australian. It is a reminder that, as a country, when we choose to open our hearts with compassion, warmth and welcome to other people from foreign lands enduring their own adversity, it is not just a good thing for them but an even better thing for ourselves as a people for who we are.

The Vietnamese Boat People Monument is one of the most beautiful in our state and it can serve as an ongoing legacy for the extraordinary courage of Vietnamese people and a reminder of what Australia looks like at its absolute best. But it would also be a grave injustice indeed to forget the horrors and the sacrifices that were endured by so many along the way on that journey to Australia. That makes anniversaries like this even more important. We honour the courage and resilience of the people of South Vietnam and all those who stand for democratic ideals. We remind ourselves not to take for granted the peace and freedom that we enjoy in this country at a time when the people in so many nations have neither—including Vietnam to this day. Today we pledge never to forget the price paid in blood and suffering by Australian and Vietnamese veterans alike.

As we approach a federal election of our own, one that inevitably is greeted with a healthy degree of cynicism amongst the population towards the political process, it is also true that this is a process that is a privilege that has been fought for and won. It is each and everyone's civic duty to honour the sacrifice that has been made by our men and women in uniform in the name of democracy; to acknowledge the courage and determination from those who have sailed from other parts of the world in the pursuit of the opportunity to be able to participate in a liberal democracy; that this weekend we do not just look at it with a healthy degree of cynicism but that we also look at it as a privilege to be celebrated that here in this state, in this nation, notwithstanding our challenges, that our democracy is free, participatory and welcomes people to participate, not just those who were born here but those who now call South Australia and Australia home.

There is no finer example in this state and in this country of a contribution that has been made to our rich social fabric from those who have come from across the seas, more so than the Vietnamese people post the Vietnam War. The fall of Saigon was a tragic moment indeed, but it also serves as a reminder that with resilience and courage and hope, we as people are capable of achieving anything. I commend this motion to the house.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (16:46): I, too, commend the motion:

That this house—

(a) notes that 30 April 2025 marks the 50^th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War and the beginning of communist rule in Vietnam;

(b) notes that the fall of Saigon, also known as Black April, had disastrous ramifications for Vietnamese people, including hundreds of thousands of people sent to re-education camps, with many experiencing torture, disease and starvation, and creating a refugee crisis with millions of people displaced into neighbouring countries and across the world;

(c) acknowledges the significant pain and distress still felt by South Australian Vietnamese community members, many of whom directly experienced these traumatic events, or are descendants of those who suffered through both the war and the long, dangerous journey to our shores;

(d) thanks and acknowledges the sacrifices made by Australian and Vietnamese veterans, as well as their families, in the fight for freedom;

(e) recognises the especially significant contribution that Vietnamese South Australians have made to our state in the decades since these events, overcoming the many challenges posed by the legacy of the war with the signature determination, grit and optimism we have come to recognise in our Vietnamese community; and

(f) calls on all South Australians to stand with our South Australian Vietnamese community as they reflect on this pivotal and catastrophic event in our history.

I stand here today not only as the Leader of the Opposition but also as the nephew of a Vietnam War veteran in Peter Varricchio service No. 4719431. He, like many South Australians and thousands of Australians, fought in this war many years ago. I have got to say one of the most touching commemorations I have ever seen today was, in fact, the one that I attended this morning. I do want to pay tribute and acknowledge the many distinguished guests, members of the Republic of Vietnam Veterans Association of SA and VCA/SA, members of the Vietnamese community, religious leaders and other leaders in the community, who today came together to honour the fallen.

Because we know, as we have heard today, that the fall of Saigon was not just for some the fall of that, but was also the fall of a country. We reflect on that day that holds a very heavy meaning, the day that was a day of profound loss, sorrow and remembrance, but also a day that reminds us of the strength of the human spirit, of courage in the face of adversity and resilience in the face of loss and of hope, even amongst tragedy.

As we have heard, what followed were certainly dark days, where hundreds of thousands were sent to what has been put as re-education camps, camps where many suffered very cruel fates: torture, disease, starvation and also forced labour. We know that families were torn apart and dreams were extinguished and yet, from this deep adversity, hope persisted. We have heard some truly amazing and courageous stories of survival.

Those community members who did make it to Australia, and to South Australia, the Vietnamese community is a very proud community here and from those stories of adversity and resilience, the community here can be very proud that the South Australian Vietnamese community has continued to excel on a whole range of fronts and enrich our society, whether it is the Hon. Tung Ngo in the other house, one of your own, who has been elevated to be a member of parliament, whether it is the former governor, the Hon. Hieu Van Le, whom I have an enormous amount of respect for, and whether it is in business, or whether it is in other feats, they have excelled in all walks of life and South Australia has been enriched. The Vietnamese community has become cherished and is a vital part of this state's fabric. The journey of some of these people from what was traumatic, the resilience that they have shown and their contribution is nothing short of inspirational.

Today, we acknowledge the pain and the trauma that so many in our Vietnamese community still carry either as survivors or descendants of those who fled. We understand that pain is still real. That was evident today. The history, however, cannot be forgotten. We also pause to honour many of those who served. I quoted one such example: my uncle, born in Italy but who fought alongside his new Vietnamese friends as an Aussie. To the Vietnamese veterans, to the Australian service men and women who fought alongside them, we thank you as well. Many of them are here today. We remember the courage that you showed and the freedom that you fought to preserve. We celebrate the legacy of the strength that has followed in the face of this immense hardship. Vietnamese South Australians have risen with determination, with optimism and grace and they have shaped our state across every field.

To the Vietnamese community, those present, those listening, and those who will observe these words, I say on behalf of the opposition and the Liberal Party, we certainly honour your sacrifices. We stand with you in reflection and remembrance. We celebrate your profound contribution to South Australia. May we never forget those who gave everything in the fight for freedom. May we continue to uphold the values that we hold dear and may we continue to be inspired by the extraordinary resilience of all those who found a new beginning on those distant shores.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (16:52): The fall of Saigon marked the end of a war and the victory of tyranny over freedom. The communist-led North Vietnamese army that marched into Saigon violently and viciously attacking the city had its genesis in the Paris Peace Accords in 1973. After the Paris Peace Accords, it became clear that the United States would pull out of Vietnam and, of course, the South Vietnamese military and morale collapsed culminating in a last stand in Saigon.

There were great feats of heroism in those last days in Saigon, including from US service men and women who were in the operation called Frequent Wind. There are some lasting images of that day of helicopters evacuating nearly 7,000 civilians in one day, lasting images that were imprinted on the minds and images across Australia and the United States and the free world, seeing communist troops overrun a free city.

The human consequences of the mass exodus out of South Vietnam were devastating for those who were left behind. Those who were left behind were subjected to some of the cruellest and most violent behaviour you could see from a repressive regime. The communist regime did all it could to cleanse, in its words, free people of Saigon. They even went to the lengths of renaming the city in celebration of their victory in a last cruel blow to the people of Vietnam.

That defeat sent shock waves around the world. It was a communist victory over the free world. It was something that shaped the last draw of breath of the Cold War between 1975 and 1991. Unfortunately for the people of Vietnam, they are still living under that system. But Australia is a beneficiary of the people who had the courage, as the Premier said, to come on their boats, risking their families and their lives, to come to a free nation, and we accepted them.

I want to pay tribute today to a politician who did so much for that reunification in South Australia, and that was former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. Malcolm Fraser did something that I thought was magnificent. I got to know Malcolm Fraser in the last few years of his life. I know he had very high words indeed for our Governor and the Vietnamese community, and he was not as impressed with his old political party as he used to be, without wanting to make any aspersions today.

He showed the very best of what it means to be a liberal democracy. He welcomed those boat people to Australia because we had a responsibility to accept them. He worked hard to make sure that they were accepted. He worked hard to make sure that his government, and subsequent governments like the Hawke government, did all they could to protect and preserve their culture and, of course, afford them a new life in a new country, accepting them as we had past waves of migration.

That community has gone on to do amazing things. I went to high school with my very good friend Tung Ngo, who graces the gallery here. On our first day at Adelaide High School in class 8.1.22, we met for the first time, and here we are today again in the parliament. We got together again in the Labor Party in later years. His story is a remarkable one as are many other remarkable stories of refugees who came to this country fleeing a postwar world.

I am the son of migrants like that. I did not have to come to a new country not knowing the language. I did not have to make new friendships. I did not have to try to find a house for my family. I did not have to try to find a job when I could not speak English. I cannot imagine what those waves of migrants went through. They stuck together. The bonds that they have are unbreakable, and they are beautiful bonds.

The morals and the values of those communities are being passed on to their children and their grandchildren. They have enriched our country and made our country better. They are shining lights for us to see the value of family, perseverance and sticking together. They are great entrepreneurs as well. They are in academia, they are in business, they are in politics. They are in all fields of Australian and South Australian life, and they have made our country so much better.

I also want to mention, as people have, our veterans, who were sent to participate in a war to defend Australia's democratic values while we were in the midst of a Cold War. Whatever the thought processes were, they served in our name, and they deserve our gratitude, our thanks, for their valour, for their sacrifice, what that war did to them and how they were treated when they were returned.

We have a responsibility in this generation to make that right. We have a responsibility as political leaders to make sure that we honour our veterans, to make sure that they are given the gratitude that they deserve and that they were not given when they first returned home. I think the Premier, the government and the opposition stand here today united to say that we honour their service and honour their valour. We think of the fallen. We will never forget the sacrifices that they made, and they will always be in our hearts.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (16:58): I rise to make some comments regarding this motion on the fall of Saigon 50 years ago. I want to acknowledge the impact of the Vietnam War, noting that 30 April 2025 marks the 50^th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War. I want to acknowledge the sacrifices made by both Australian and Vietnamese veterans, as well as their families, in the fight for freedom.

As has been indicated today, we certainly understand the long and dangerous journey taken by boat by many Vietnamese refugees to the safety of Australia's shore. We thank and acknowledge the sacrifices made by both Australian and Vietnamese veterans, as well as their families, in the fight for freedom. I also want to recognise the especially significant contribution that Vietnamese South Australians have made to our state in the decades since these events, overcoming the many challenges posed by the legacy of the war.

Sixty-thousand Australians, including ground troops, air force and navy personnel served in Vietnam between 1962 and 1973; 2,400 were injured during this time and, sadly, 523 lost their lives, with 58 of those lives lost being South Australian personnel. Sadly, the Vietnam veterans who returned home were ignored, met with hostility and even made aware that their presence was not welcome because some people believed they had not served in a proper war.

This was the reaction they received from not only the public but from some fellow veterans and RSL branches. It took more than 10 years after their return from Vietnam for the veterans to be given the welcoming they deserved. In 1987 a welcome home parade was held in honour of their service and sacrifices. Over 22,000 veterans marched through Sydney, with crowds amassing to more than 100,000.

I want to talk about some of the important Australian conflicts and battles that happened during the Vietnam War. We were well supported by the South Vietnamese while we were there. Obviously, one of these was the Battle of Long Tan. This was a battle that started on the morning of 18 August 1966. The Australians in the Long Tan plantation were outnumbered 20 to one. The majority of the battle was fought in a blinding monsoon and thunderstorm. The entire battle took place over an area no bigger than two football fields.

The rubber plantation at Long Tan was approximately five kilometres from the artillery at Nui Dat. The battle lasted 3½ hours with the last contacts occurring around 7.15pm on 18 August 1966. At the end of the battle, 15 Australians were missing. The ANZAC force had no idea of the significant Viet Cong and North Vietnamese army force they had faced, or the significant casualties they had inflicted upon them.

The Australians lost 18 men who were killed, 17 from Delta Company 6RAR; 11 of these were national servicemen Australian Army, six were regular soldiers in the Australian Army; one was from 3 Troop, 1 Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron, who died nine days later from wounds sustained in the battle; and 24 members of D Company were wounded. There were 245 North Vietnamese army and Viet Cong soldiers killed.

In regard to the Coral and Balmoral battles for the fire support bases, during the mini tet offensive mounted by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces in May 1968, the 1st Australian Task Force deployed two battalions to an area 20 kilometres north of Bien Hoa City to intercept and disrupt enemy forces withdrawing from the capital, Saigon, and the Bien Hoa-Long Binh Base complex. Several fire support bases were established to provide defended firing points for artillery and mortars which would cover foot patrols to be sent out by the battalions, both 1RAR and 3RAR. One of these fire support bases was dubbed Coral.

The occupation of Coral was begun on 12 May, but the defences remained unfinished when, at about 3:30am on 13 May, it was attacked following a brief but intense rocket and mortar barrage. The 3RAR mortar platoon position was overrun, along with one of 102 Field Battery's six 105 mm M2A2 howitzers in the base. With the aid of extensive air support, the attack was beaten off by 6.30am and the captured gun pit was retaken, still with the gun in it. This howitzer is now on display in the Vietnam War gallery at the Australian War Memorial. Eleven Australians were killed and 28 wounded, while the attackers lost more than 52. A further three Australians sadly died in patrol clashes on 14 May.

At 2.30am on 16 May, Coral again came under attack, this time from a North Vietnamese Army force estimated at three battalions strong. The base was now defended by armoured personnel carriers of A Squadron, 3^rd Cavalry Regiment and 3RAR's rifle companies, all of which were heavily engaged. Part of the A Company position was occupied for a period, but the enemy was forced to withdraw. The attack was repelled after four hours of fighting, with the Australians having suffered five men killed and 19 wounded. Two members of the American Battery which had reinforced the base were also wounded.

On 22 May, Coral was subjected to yet another rocket and mortar barrage, but this time the NVA troops were dispersed by return fire from mortars as they formed up to attack. Although there were further bombardments on 26 and 28 May, and patrols sent out from the base came into contact with the enemy, Coral was not seriously threatened again. During fighting on 26 May, the base's defenders even turned the tables on the NVA by sending a troop of Centurion tanks from C Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment (which had arrived as reinforcements three days earlier) outside the perimeter wire with infantry support. These engaged and destroyed most of an NVA bunker system that had been discovered.

Enemy efforts on 26 May were primarily focused on another base, named Balmoral, which was established about 4½ kilometres further north on 24 and 25 May by 3RAR, supported by tanks. The defenders threw back assaults launched against Balmoral on 26 and 28 May. On the latter occasion, the attacking NVA regiment lost at least 42, and seven prisoners were taken.

These were just some of the significant battles that were undertaken during the Vietnam War, and the Australian soldiers fought with valour alongside their South Vietnamese counterparts. The camaraderie and the assistance that the South Vietnamese soldiers gave to our men while they were fighting for democracy in Vietnam, and also the families of South Vietnamese who assisted our people while they were trying to defend democracy, can never be forgotten.

On 26 April 1976 the first boatload of refugees fleeing Vietnam sailed into Darwin Harbour, heralding a series of arrivals over the years to follow. The vast majority of refugees from Vietnam arrived by plane after selection by Australian officials in refugee camps established throughout South-East Asia. Since 1976, Australia has become home to a thriving Vietnamese community. In fact, the census from nine years ago shows that there were 219,357 people in Australia who were born in Vietnam.

Vietnamese Australians have made significant contributions to various aspects of Australian life, including culturally with their cuisine and certainly with business. I want to acknowledge former Governor Hieu Van Le, here today with his wife, Mrs Le, and their contribution, along with all the other Vietnamese who have made such a great contribution to this great state and this great nation.

The impact of war was terrible, especially for those left behind who were tortured and persecuted for their belief in democracy. Thankfully, we have made a safe haven for many refugees to come and enjoy the benefits of this great state and this great nation. Again, I want to acknowledge all the veterans, the South Vietnamese and the Australian veterans, who worked together in trying to enforce democracy all those years ago in such a terrible war. In closing, I again want to acknowledge the massive contribution that the Vietnamese community has played right across this state and this nation. We are far better for it. Thank you.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Tourism, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (17:09): I rise to speak in support of this important motion moved by the Premier, acknowledging the 50^th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. Today, we reflect on a pivotal moment in history, which took place 50 years ago on 30 April 1975. This day marked the end of the Vietnam War, a conflict that shaped the lives of millions and left a lasting impact on both the people of Vietnam and the global community.

There are moments in history that we can never forget, moments that change the course of history and impact millions of people along the way. The vast human toll of the Vietnam War and the fall of Saigon is one that was captured before the eyes of the world. The Vietnam War is often referred to as the first television war, because it was the first conflict shown with such devastating images in homes across the globe.

The images and stories from the fall of Saigon will never be forgotten. It is often said that in war armies collapse gradually and then very suddenly, and this was no exception. The chaos was such that with North Vietnamese forces closing in on Saigon there were only a few hours to evacuate. In addition to American South Vietnamese troops, there were hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people who had supported the war effort in other ways, whether by working as suppliers, translators or transport workers and many other roles.

When you include their families, there were upwards of a million people who had a reasonable expectation that they should be evacuated by the Americans to safety. These people were at extreme risk of being killed or sent to camps by the North Vietnamese. On 29 April, a code was read out over radio, 'The temperature in Saigon is 105° and rising.' This was the signal to get to the embassy immediately and to board a helicopter to safety, but with only a few dozen helicopters on hand there was no chance of evacuating so many Vietnamese troops and supporters, let alone their families, so many were simply left behind.

The world watched as helicopters took off from the roofs of buildings, with people clinging on in desperation. For those who lived through that moment, it was a time of profound uncertainty, fear and loss. The images of refugees fleeing, of families separated and of a country torn apart are seared into our collective memory, but behind these powerful images are equally powerful stories of the individuals impacted by this war.

These stories are often devastating, with young children separated from their parents and siblings in a desperate scramble for survival. Our thoughts will always be with the families and friends of these brave individuals, especially on this day. Each year, the anniversary of the fall of Saigon remains a sad day for millions of Vietnamese people around the world and all those who fought to defend South Vietnam from communist aggression.

As we reflect on the 50^th anniversary, we must also remember the resilience and strength that emerged from the ashes of war. From unimaginable horror, many Vietnamese refugees boarded boats, fleeing their country in search of safety on foreign shores, and South Australia is all the richer for their courage and determination.

The Vietnamese community faced tremendous challenges when they arrived in South Australia, having experienced unbearable trauma and separation from their loved ones. Despite this, through sheer determination and an impeccable work ethic, newly arrived Vietnamese refugees embraced life in South Australia to become an integral part of the community. They now represent our fourth largest multicultural community in the state. In addition, when they arrived in Australia, our Vietnamese community was able to reconnect with their religion, something which had been outlawed in their homeland.

Today, we also honour the brave men and women who served in the Vietnam War on both sides, and the countless lives that were forever altered as a result of the conflict. As mentioned, we lost 521 Australians who made the ultimate sacrifice, 58 of whom were South Australian.

In supporting this motion today, I pay tribute to our Vietnamese community here in South Australia, in particular Mr Dang-Thao Nguyen, President of the Republic of the Vietnam Veterans' Association, and Mrs Quin Tran, President of the Vietnamese Community in Australia, South Australian Chapter—the first female president of the community and also a member of the South Australian Multicultural Commission.

I would like to also recognise our former Governor Hieu Van Le whose comment of coming to Australia with a suitcase of dreams has been repeated back to me so many times from other refugees who have come here. I would like to recognise his impact when he was Governor of opening Government House to a large diversity of South Australians. He made sure the time that he was in that role made a difference, and that is something that has also continued under Frances Adamson: to make it open to the public, to invite lots of our diverse communities in to make them understand that Government House is their house.

Can I also pay tribute to my friend and colleague the Hon. Tung Ngo whose story, like so many other Vietnamese refugees, is one of incredible resilience. Tung fled Vietnam at the age of nine with his sister. They were separated from their parents and they travelled on a small fishing boat to the Philippines before being accepted by Australia. After being elected as the first Vietnamese-born person to local government and then to the Legislative Council, Tung played an integral role in the establishment of the Vietnamese Boat People Monument on the banks of the Torrens. He is an inspiration to me and my colleagues, and I recognise Tung's work in making that monument happen and bringing the community with him to fill the sense of ownership of what that monument stands for.

Today is one of those days when we reflect on history, and we recognise that we continue to be in a world that experiences significant conflict and people are impacted as we speak and as we stand here. We recognise, however, most importantly the sacrifices today of our Vietnamese community and recognise those who fell in freedom's name who will be forever remaining in our hearts. We must not forget how many people are impacted when there is conflict, but what we today also recognise is what resilience, hard work and determination to live life to the fullest can mean to a community. I support the motion.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta) (17:17): I rise to support this important motion and particularly acknowledge all of those Vietnamese community leaders, those Vietnamese veterans and those Australian veterans from the RSL who have paid commemoration today on the 50^th anniversary of the fall of Saigon—50 years to the day, a black day, on which Saigon fell: a liberal democracy taken over and defeated by a violent, corrupt, authoritarian, totalitarian, communist dictatorship. The motion we are debating acknowledges the trauma of this, and it is good that it does so unambiguously. It is an acknowledgement of the torture, disease and starvation visited upon millions of Vietnamese people: victims of the invasion, victims of so-called re-education camps—people forced to flee as refugees in small boats on deadly, treacherous waters.

Today, at the commemorative service, attended by a number of members of parliament including myself and the Leader of the Opposition, leaders in our community, dozens of veterans from both the Australian and South Vietnamese services and one American serviceman, also particularly along with their representatives, we paid tribute to all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. We acknowledged the mateship and camaraderie felt by Australian and South Vietnamese forces.

Today, it was also important to acknowledge some difficult truths. The speeches acknowledged the regret that we now have for the way in which our returned service personnel were treated upon their return. The member for Hammond highlighted the gap of more than a decade before there was welcome home acknowledgements on a national scale, for example. They were fighting for our nation. They were fighting for our freedom and our values.

More than 500 Australians gave their lives, both conscripted and voluntary services. They deserve every honour that is given to them, and it was a positive thing today that the Vietnamese community in particular demonstrated their gratitude to these dozens of service personnel this morning with particular acknowledgement. As members reflected earlier in this debate, it is incumbent upon us all to ensure their sacrifices are not forgotten, their service is honoured and the way in which they were maltreated and insignificantly supported upon their return is never repeated.

Today in the service, Bill Denny, as a returned Vietnam veteran, also reflected upon the significant regret that was felt by many of the Australian personnel who were serving in Vietnam when the announcement and the order to return to Australia was given. The South Vietnamese forces were understood by many of those personnel, as Bill Denny reflected, to be abandoned in many ways to fight their fight alone, without sufficient support, without sufficient resources and without the air defence equipment necessary to enable their continued survival and successful defence of their country.

They were opposed by not just the North Vietnamese forces but also all of the communist bloc countries: the Soviet Union, China, Cuba and other Eastern Bloc countries, as was described, who were supporting the North Vietnamese invading forces. For all of those people who continued to fight for the principles of freedom and democracy, we in this parliament should also give thanks. There is a sorrowful and a particular trauma as we think of the flame of democracy and democratic liberty being extinguished by a belligerent invading force.

Fifty years later, our reflection on this trauma should stiffen our sinews and firm our resolve to continue supporting our friends in Ukraine as they continue to fight for liberal democracy and its values against a belligerent invading force. As I laid my wreath this morning, along with the Leader of the Opposition, we did so knowing that our local florist, a Ukrainian migrant Natasha, had done a magnificent job, and it felt a particularly salient moment.

The second part of this motion is equally important and perhaps a more cheerful note on which to end because, as we commemorate 50 years since the fall of Saigon, we can at least celebrate the 50 years that the Vietnamese community in South Australia has had such a remarkable impact upon all our lives. It is unthinkable to imagine South Australia today without the extraordinary contribution made by so many Vietnamese migrants, so many of whom came as refugees in extraordinarily difficult circumstances in the late 1970s.

As a Liberal, I am so proud of the work done by former Liberal Prime Minister the late Malcolm Fraser, who made that active choice that we would welcome and support those refugees coming to Australia. It was virtuous, it was righteous and, ultimately, it was a decision that has been in our country's interests and in the interests of our state, because every time that I go to a Vietnamese community event I am overwhelmed first by the sense of gratitude that the community feels with the songs that have been written.

Quin Tran, as the President of the Vietnamese Community in South Australia, this morning read us a rewritten version of Dorothea Mackellar's I Love a Sunburnt Country with words about the gratitude of the Vietnamese community integrated into its text. Every time I hear one of these statements, and they are invariably at almost everyone of these events, I am overwhelmed by the sense that we are more fortunate as South Australians to have the Vietnamese community here.

It is a positive thing for the tens of thousands of South Australians of Vietnamese background or birth. They are able to live safe and free in this country and, indeed, make that extraordinary contribution to our state. It is important, therefore, for our state. May we always provide a safe home for them and their families, where they may prosper and achieve as they have done, and where the sacrifices and losses on their part and their forebears will not be forgotten. Lest we forget.

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS (Cheltenham—Minister for Trade and Investment, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (17:24): It is a great pleasure and with great pride that I join many people in this chamber today in speaking to this important motion, on this particularly important day, and a day that is not without significant trauma for the Vietnamese community here in South Australia.

Can I begin by acknowledging the extraordinary service that I and many members of this house attended today at the Vietnam War Memorial. As always, with the Vietnamese community and the Vietnamese veterans' community, it was solemn, it was respectful, but, as I think the member for Morialta just reflected, full of a unique joy, a unique joy that is often shared and uniquely shared amongst the Vietnamese community.

Growing up in Royal Park and being the local member representing Athol Park, where many of the Vietnamese community in South Australia are based, and being the local member for the Phap Hoa Buddhist Temple, which is such an important spiritual place for members of the Vietnamese community and those of Buddhist faith, gives me great pride. I have spoken in this place before, too, around the important contributions that personally I have felt, received and continue to enjoy from my friends, my neighbours in the Vietnamese community.

The fall of Saigon and the Vietnam War has shaped our nation; it has shaped our nation and our state. It has shaped our nation in the first part because of the extraordinary and immediacy of the stepping up of a contribution from Australia in the pursuit and defence of freedom in Vietnam. It is important to note that the war in Vietnam was only mere years upon the conclusion of World War II, the war that was meant to be the war to end all wars. It was just years after Australia's enormous contribution in the war in Korea.

Again, in that case it was an important moment in our nation's history around the emerging spectre of communism across the region. And then, mere years thereafter, Australia once again stepped up into conflict, into conflict in pursuit of defence of the freedoms and ideals which our nation was built on. That has shaped our nation because of the immediacy and the extent to which Australia's contribution to resolving conflict and defending freedoms are known across the world and, importantly, across our region.

As other members have reflected on today, it has shaped our nation because of the shame that our nation continues to bear because of the response, the reaction, the welcome that was received by those who fought in Vietnam. It is not just those who voluntarily signed up, not just those who voluntarily, with courage and conviction, stepped up to serve their nation, but it was those whose nation chose them that were also spat on in the streets. It was those that were called upon from their nation to serve that were ostracised and shunned. There is shame, our nation's shame that that occurred.

But that history and response from our nation has shaped us. I see and know and trust that the nature of our nation's response—the inadequacy and the shame of our nation's response in that moment—has made us a better nation, because our response to those who served, the response to the complexities of conflict and the complexities of war, is now better and it is more befitting of a nation which, continually to this day and into the future, calls upon our young men and women to serve, often for the purposes of pursuing and defending freedoms that were defended in Vietnam at that time.

Shaping our nation has also occurred upon the extraordinary response that has been touched upon today by other members to the humanitarian response that our nation provided. We are a nation that should define ourselves by the welcome that we give others. We are a nation and we are a state that should define ourselves by the care, the love, the support, and the hope that we can give and provide to those who seek it. We saw that with the tens of thousands of Vietnamese boat people who fled Vietnam and were welcomed into the safe embrace of this nation. That has shaped who we are.

We have been doing this for some time, of course. Many of us in this place have spoken of the impact that the conflict of World War II has played on the shaping of our multicultural communities. In my very first speech in this place I spoke about my own father's experiences as a refugee from Hungary. I reflect on that today because of the important understanding that I had of the Vietnamese conflict as a child. The war ended, Saigon fell well before I was born, but my dad fought the very same communist oppressors in Budapest, the very same communist oppressors that rolled through Saigon on this day 50 years ago.

In my home, with my mum and my dad at the kitchen table or in the loungeroom, we spoke often and I understood innately the need, the desires and the obligations for us to continue to tell the stories of those who stood up against the extreme enormity of the Soviet, the communist oppression, through the fifties, the sixties and the seventies.

To fast forward now 50 years and find myself with the extraordinary privilege of serving as the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, I think back to those days when I was six or seven around the kitchen table hearing my dad so eloquently speak about the communist oppression through Vietnam and the bravery of the men and women who withstood it.

In conclusion, I will reflect in the manner in which I did earlier on today at the memorial on the way that we as a community, that we as a parliament, can and should keep the memories alive of those who have sacrificed so much, the way that we can truly and adequately, some 50 years after the tragic fall of Saigon, pay our lasting respects to those who served, those who lost, and those who sacrificed.

The world is a difficult place, the world is seeing conflict, but we are a country and we are a state that has always stood on the side of what is right and what is just. Every time I drive down Hanson Road in my electorate, at Woodville North I look with great pride at the yellow flag that flies so proudly. We are a state and a council in the City of Charles Sturt that stood proudly and resolutely to say that that flag, the flag of the Republic of Vietnam, has pride of place in our city. We are also a state that has stood, across all partisan, non-partisan politics and across all sides of politics, proudly on the side of what is right and what is just in Ukraine.

As the challenges, the struggles, and the oppression in Vietnam continues, I also pay my respects today to those in Vietnam who continue to be the advocates for freedom, for democracy, for those things which we take for granted in such a profoundly enormous way here in South Australia. I express my enormous gratitude to the Vietnamese community for their friendship, for their bravery, for their leadership, for their humility but, most importantly, for their resolute support of what is right and what is just. I hope that, in the years I have the privilege of continuing to serve in this place, I can do them proud by always standing on the side that they stand on. Lest we forget.

Sitting extended beyond 18:00 on motion of Hon. J.K. Szakacs.

Mr BROWN (Florey) (17:35): The capture of Saigon by invading North Vietnamese forces on 30 April 1975 led to the collapse of the South Vietnamese government and the evacuation of thousands of South Vietnamese people. This event and its aftermath, known as Black April, marked the end of the Vietnam War.

To say that the long and complex conflict in Vietnam had a profound impact on Australian society is undeniably true. For many Australians, the legacy of that impact still influences aspects of the way we think and what we believe. Our Defence Force personnel who served in the conflict, numbering in total around 60,000 and among whom over 15,000 were conscripts, had their lives forever changed by the experience. So too did their families, and none more so than the families of the over 520 Australian service members who lost their lives.

More than 200 of Australia's casualties in Vietnam were conscripted men. In fact, the first Australian conscript to be killed in action was Errol Noack, a 21-year-old South Australian, the only child of a single father, who died after only 10 days of service. In carrying out the missions they were given, our ADF personnel in Vietnam gave so much of themselves. It is also the case that our veterans returned to a nation that did not uniformly extend its understanding and gratitude. For a variety of reasons, many of our living Vietnam veterans still suffer.

But no group of people was more profoundly affected by this complicated conflict and its devastating impacts than the men, women and children of Vietnam. After more than a decade of turmoil and war, the fall of Saigon had devastating consequences for the people of South Vietnam. A long period of political and social upheaval followed. A great many South Vietnamese soldiers and civilians fled. Many of those who did not or could not flee were sent to re-education camps, where they endured torture and unthinkable conditions. Many urban residents, particularly in Saigon, were forced to relocate to rural areas, leading to significant social disruption and economic hardship.

Over the months and years that followed the fall of Saigon, hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese residents left to seek safety, freedom and opportunity. Many of them took the difficult decision to embark upon a perilous journey by sea. They crowded in number onto boats that were unseaworthy and unsafe. The strength of their hope for a better future was enough to drive them to risk their lives and the lives of their families in such a way.

Of course, it was a minority of the total number of Vietnamese refugees to Australia and ultimately to South Australia who arrived in this manner. But among the most memorable images for many South Australians when we reflect on the arrival of Vietnamese refugees seeking to make new lives in Australia is that of boats arriving in Darwin Harbour, full of exhausted but courageous and determined people who had succeeded in braving an angry sea's violent storms, who had endured the frightening threat of piracy and who had survived the ravages of extreme hunger and thirst in their quest to reach safety on our nation's shores.

When many South Australians think of such brave people, we think of people such as the Hon. Hieu Van Le, who was the first person of Asian heritage appointed as a state Governor in Australia and the first person of Vietnamese background appointed to a vice-regal position anywhere in the world. We think of the Hon. Tung Ngo, who was the first Vietnamese person elected to local government in South Australia and the first Vietnamese-born member of parliament in South Australia. Both these distinguished and accomplished community leaders fled Vietnam and made their way as refugees to Australia by boat. They each speak regularly and openly of the terrifying and uncertain journeys that brought them here and the challenges they faced after they arrived.

On an occasion such as today, we should reflect upon the understanding that so many Vietnamese South Australians have stories much like theirs, having faced and overcome so many of the same hardships. Whilst it is true that every Vietnamese South Australian has their own unique story, the common story that they all share is that of becoming, in this place that is now their home, fundamentally interwoven into the fabric of our state and its communities. Once they had found the safety they had sought, significant barriers remained to realising the lives they imagined for themselves and their children.

The Whitlam government passed the Racial Discrimination Act in 1975, the same year in which Saigon fell, but some types of change cannot happen overnight. Many Vietnamese South Australians faced both racial discrimination and practical obstacles to opportunity. They faced difficulties in rebuilding their lives because of a lack of proficiency in English, because of the inability to have qualifications they gained in Vietnam recognised here, or because they were not able to retrain due to an immediate need to support their other family members.

With time, however, Vietnamese South Australians have not only persevered but flourished. They excel in work and in education. They are strongly represented in professional and creative endeavours throughout our community, as well as in positions of leadership. They have distinguished themselves across every area of endeavour.

When one reflects on the contribution that Vietnamese South Australians and Vietnamese Australians have made to this state and this nation, what stands out in particular is the way in which they helped Australia and its people grow. Their arrival and their integration into our community was a powerful catalyst for our country's development into the proud multicultural nation we are today. Their arrival can be regarded as the first practical test in Australia's willingness to grow after the Whitlam government's dismantling of the White Australia policy in 1973.

What a benefit to our state and our nation that this willingness to grow was realised. We are all much richer for the continued contributions of Vietnamese South Australians to the place we are all fortunate to call home. They and their culture are so much a part of the social, cultural and economic life of our state that it is hard to imagine the place without their influence. Especially in Adelaide's northern suburbs and western suburbs, and particularly in Pooraka in my own electorate, they have made their powerful and indelible mark, and they have built and continue to build the lives for themselves and their families that they imagined and that they deserve.

It is so fortunate that Australia as a nation recognised and upheld our responsibility to extend safety, freedom and opportunity to the hardworking, ambitious, industrious, creative, strong and vibrant Vietnamese people who wished for the sorts of lives and futures that we had ample ability to offer to them then, and still have today.

On this solemn milestone anniversary, I pay my respects to those Vietnamese South Australians and, indeed, to all South Australians for whom this is a day of mourning and sad reflection. To those who directly endured the distress and trauma of the hardships and horrors that occurred before, during and after the fall of Saigon, and to their families, I extend my thoughts and sympathy.

To our veterans and their families, I offer my gratitude, as well as my regret to those Vietnam veterans who suffered and still suffer from the impacts of their experiences in the defence of democracy and in the face of international communism aggression.

I am grateful to the Vietnamese South Australians within my community and all around our state and nation for their deep love of the home that we share, for their embracing of its culture, which they have helped to build, and for their respect for the values and the opportunities that make our state and our nation such a wonderful place to live. I commend the motion to the house.

Mr FULBROOK (Playford) (17:42): I will keep this brief, but with at least 3,000 people from my electorate born in Vietnam, this motion has deep significance to the many people I am privileged to represent. On their behalf and in memory of those who suffered, I rise in its support.

In acknowledging the 50^th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and subsequent settlement of Vietnamese refugees in Australia, I see both the good and the devastation within this milestone. It was good because it brought a community to us and enriched us as a nation, but it was devastating for the reasons that brought us together. When history makes a dark turn, there can be no argument that this a solemn occasion. Together we, as South Australians, stand shoulder to shoulder with our Vietnamese community in remembrance of events leading to the deaths of what I understood to be four million people, the lingering effects of defoliants and to one of the largest refugee crises of the 20^th century.

While I know I only touch the sides, I raise these points in appreciation that the effects and memory of this conflict haunts both Vietnamese Australians and, indeed, veterans to this day. In a week when we pause to remember those who defended our country and our way of life, I extend my deepest thanks to the veterans of this conflict. Their sacrifice must not be forgotten. Of those who said goodbye to loved ones and made a new life within our shores, while we cannot erase the pain, may today's expression of gratitude to the contributions they have made to South Australia ease this slightly.

I also hope seeing the success of subsequent generations gives them good reason to be proud of their decision to settle here and the collective contributions that they have made. I echo the sentiments of previous speakers to honour the bravery, generosity and spirit of the Vietnamese community in South Australia. Just as 30 April marks a solemn occasion, there can be no argument that we are a better place because they have joined us.

Motion carried.