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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-11-10 Daily Xml
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REMEMBRANCE DAY

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (14:29): My question is to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. How will Remembrance Day be marked tomorrow in South Australia?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (14:29): I thank the honourable member for Florey for her question, and I am glad to announce the reappointment of former South Australian governor, Sir Eric Neal, as chairman of the Veterans' Advisory Council for a further two-year term.

Sir Eric is an honorary life member of the RSL of Australia, a former patron of Legacy, a former honorary air commodore of the City of Adelaide Squadron of the RAAF, and a former honorary colonel of the Royal South Australian Regiment. Sir Eric Neal has done a splendid job as the inaugural chairman of the Veterans' Advisory Council over the last two years. He is highly regarded by the ex-service community, and his contribution has ensured that the creation of the VAC has been warmly embraced by the veterans community and the wider community. There has been overwhelming acceptance and pride that South Australia has seized this initiative by creating a council that enables the views of veterans to be carried to the cabinet table. The appointment of an independent chairman has also been supported by the veterans community.

Of course, tomorrow is Remembrance Day, and it commemorates the sacrifice of members of the armed forces and civilians in times of war. It is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918. As Minister for Veterans' Affairs, I strongly encourage all South Australians to re-engage with the custom of observing one minute's silence at 11am tomorrow to commemorate the service and sacrifice of our armed forces and civilians in times of war.

We commemorate Remembrance Day in this manner because, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, the guns fell silent to end the First World War. Some concerns have been expressed that in recent years the custom of one minute's silence appears to have waned, with several approaches made to Veterans SA after Remembrance Day last year suggesting that the acknowledgment be reinstituted.

I ask all South Australians at 11 o'clock tomorrow morning to stop what they are doing for one minute, to pause and reflect on the commitment made by those men and women who served in times of war. I have also asked that all chief executives in the South Australian Public Service make arrangements for this formal acknowledgment of Remembrance Day within government departments. I also encourage all South Australians to wear a poppy tomorrow, as I have been doing this week, as a symbol of remembrance and new life.

On Friday I will have the privilege of marking Remembrance Day by laying a wreath at the site of the Battle of Long Tan in Vietnam in memory of those who fought in that conflict. Long Tan was the defining battle of the Vietnam war for Australia. I was pleased to be able to attend the Battle of Long Tan commemorative service at the Royal Australian Regiment Association clubrooms on 18 August. From memory, I think the member for Florey was present, and the members for Norwood and Bragg were also there.

The victory at Long Tan was so comprehensive that the North Vietnamese never again attempted a major attack against Australians in Phouc Tuy province, nor did they attempt any significant attack on the Australian base at Nui Dat. While in Vietnam to promote further education, I will also visit the recently opened Phong Phu kindergarten at Nui Dat—a current project of the Australian Vietnam Veterans' Reconstruction Group.

In the lead-up to Remembrance Day, I would like to once again thank and acknowledge those wonderful ex-service men and women who have given so much to our state and our nation. I hope that the initiatives we have made in South Australia in this portfolio will show, quite clearly, that we all, regardless of which side of the house we sit, truly value and respect those men and women who have given so much in our name. We remember them not only on Remembrance Day but every day. Lest we forget.

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