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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-09-18 Daily Xml
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PEACEKEEPERS DAY

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (17:18): I would like to speak this afternoon about an event I attended last Friday morning, 14 September, which was Peacekeepers Day, a commemorative service for the Australian participation in peacekeeping and humanitarian operations at the National War Memorial at Kintore Avenue in North Terrace, Adelaide. I attended on behalf of the veterans' affairs minister (minister Snelling), but I often attend these events as I have a keen interest in the veterans' affairs and defence industry portfolio, with my electorate holding the base at Edinburgh, where the RAR and the RAAF are located.

At this particular event, which was organised by the SA Peacekeepers Sub-branch, the RSL state branch, the ADF and the RAAF Association, with the assistance of the Adelaide City Council and the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, we commemorated many people who have unfortunately either given up their lives or been injured serving our nation and helping our neighbours in humanitarian and peacekeeping operations over many years. Conducting the service was Col. Steve Larkins and Carl Aiken, a chaplain who does many good deeds in hospitals as well as with our military community, was conducting and officiating the ceremony. Brigadier Rob Atkinson who has been a longstanding member of the forces for 41 years spoke very movingly at the service. We did the ode, which is traditional at one of these services. I would like to read out to those people here their names so that we remember the honour roll of the people who have died on peacekeeping and humanitarian operations for our nation.

There were 339 Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen who died in the service of the United Nations during operations in Korea from 1950 to 1954. We also lost Lt Gen. Robert Nimmo who was in Kashmir in January 1966; Sgt Llewellyn Thomas, UNCIVPOL Cyprus, in 1969 due to a motor vehicle accident; Insp. Paul Hackett, UNCIVPOL in Cyprus, due to an accident in 1971; Sgt Ian Ward, UNCIVPOL Cyprus, in a mine incident in 1974; Capt. Peter McCarthy of the UNTSO Lebanon in 1988 due to a mine incident; Lance Corp. Shane McAliney of UNITAF Somalia in 1993 in an accidental shooting; Major Susan Felsche in the Western Sahara due to an air crash in 1993; and Lance Corp. Eisenhuth, INTERFET EastTimor in 2000 due to natural causes.

Also, in Bougainville in the Asia Pacific area was Lance Corp. Shane Lewis, in 2000, due to a diving accident; Corp. Stuart Jones, East Timor in 2000 in an accidental shooting; Protective Services officer Adam Dunning, RAMSI Solomon Islands 2004 with a murder shooting; and Private Jamie Clark, RAMSI Solomon Islands in an accidental death from a fall while conducting his duties in 2005.

We also remember the six Navy and three Air Force personnel lost as a result of the Sea King helicopter crash off Nias Island in Indonesia in 2005; Private Ashley Baker in Timor Leste, November 2007; and Craftsman Beau Pridue, Operation Astute Timor Leste MVA on 15 September 2011. All of those people gave their lives for our country and deserve to be recognised in this place as much as we did on North Terrace on Friday.

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