ANZAC Day Commemoration Services

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (15:39): Thank you for this opportunity to speak about our veterans, RSL clubs, youth cadets and ANZAC Day. These last two years have caused many disruptions to the way that we would usually pay our respects to the fallen and those still serving. Despite these disruptions, we have continued to come together as a community to remember the stories of the past and the present and the stories yet to be told.

In 2020, we lit up the dawn in our neighbourhoods with mini services in our driveways, our gateways and on our verandahs. Last year, some ceremonies were able to go ahead, albeit in a reduced and COVID-safe capacity. In those uncertain times we still came together as a community to pay our respects because we know remembering our past is essential for forging our way through the future.

This year, I once again had the privilege of attending the Payneham RSL ANZAC Day dawn service and the community gunfire breakfast. While it is always incredible hearing the stories of our returned and fallen soldiers and to remember their service and sacrifice, this ANZAC Day I was struck by the number of young people at the service. A bridge between generations was on display at the dawn service as veterans stood beside young cadets, cub scouts and students from nearby schools.

Among the veterans were the 36 cadets, five staff and over 60 parents from the 47 Army Cadet Unit, headed by their incredible captain, Ashley Ruth. Among the 36 cadets stood Jesse, Alex, Renee and Amelie. I wondered whilst at this service what had inspired these teenagers to get out of bed and leave the warmth of their beds so early in the morning. As it turned out, each of them had a very special reason.

Jesse, who is the unit's Cadet Under Officer, shared the pride he has felt being a leader in his community, commanding 70 other cadets in his unit and joining his family's four generation long military legacy. Alex, who is the unit's Cadet Warrant Officer, spoke about how special it had been to meet our state's retired veterans through the cadet's volunteering program, sharing many cups of tea and many stories with them. Amelie and Renee shared how they had seen a growth in women and girls joining the cadets and the pride they have felt in being part of this important cultural change.

I would like to thank the hard work of Ashley's 47 Army Cadet Unit—Jesse, Alex, Amelie and Renee, as well as the Payneham RSL, which is headed by President Mark Lawson-Kent, who you can be sure will ask you many important questions when you go to visit his RSL—for leaving the warmth of their beds and for keeping the ANZAC Day spirit alive and well for the next generations in South Australia.

I would also like to thank the many who kindly shared their stories with me after the service and during the community breakfast—stories of strength, hardship, courage and resilience. After all, storytelling is one of the most powerful tools that we have. It is how we remember, how we teach and how we learn. I am humbled and proud to see that these ANZAC stories and our stories are continuing to be told through the next generation of families, students, cadets and cub scouts.

I have no doubt that these stories will continue to be told and celebrated for the next 100 years and so on for it is through our younger generations that the ANZAC spirit will live on for centuries to come. It is through the younger generations that mistakes of the past will not be repeated into the future, and it is through the younger generations that we will not forget the incredible sacrifice many have made for our great country. Lest we forget.