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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-05-05 Daily Xml
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Motions

Veterans Organisations

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:29): I move:

That this house—

(a) signals its support for the South Australian veterans community; and

(b) recognises the deep and important roles ex-service organisations play in providing advice, support and community for veterans in South Australia.

I think this is very apt at the moment—not that it is not apt at any time considering we have just had ANZAC Day, but I note that the member for Wright is moving a motion in that regard after this one. I want to note the two million Australians who have served or are serving our country, whether it be here or overseas, and the supreme sacrifice that has been paid by over 102,000 of those serving forces in the defence of our nation.

In regard to support for ex-service organisations that operate in South Australia, there is a substantial number of these organisations that provide services to veterans and their families at all stages of life following service. Several community and some commercial organisations also have programs available to veterans and their families as part of a suite of offerings to the South Australian community. These include support for employment, psychosocial support, alcohol and drug rehabilitation services, homelessness support and social inclusion programs.

I want to talk about the Returned and Services League (RSL) South Australia, which has a number of trained and experienced staff and volunteers who provide assistance to RSL members currently serving and ex-service personnel with military entitlements, including wellbeing and lifestyle benefits, compensation, employment programs and advocacy matters.

In regard to advocacy, advocates advise personnel and their dependants on the lodgement of appeals to the Veterans' Review Board and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. They also present cases on behalf of personnel and their dependants. They assist personnel in applying for Department of Veterans Affairs' pensions, military compensation, benefits and income supplementation.

I think this is absolutely vital for people who have served and feel that they do not have a strong enough voice or just feel that they have not been listened to. I really do want to acknowledge advocates and those who come to me, who are working with veterans of conflicts to get the recognition that they deserve. We saw some troubling scenes in the past, especially when our Vietnam veterans came back from Vietnam and were treated rather shabbily by many people.

I must say that I am disturbed by a lot of the commentary after the Brereton report into especially our special forces soldiers like Ben Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross winner. I have not served, so I say this as someone who looks at what happens from the outside. I listen to my brother, who served for 23 years and served in two conflict zones, and what he brings to me. War is an unreal place. Sadly, as we have seen over hundreds of years of conflict, and thousands of years of conflict around the world, civilians can get caught up and civilians can be killed or injured in war.

I really do respect all that our service men and women do, especially our special forces soldiers, who go where everyone else would fear to tread. As has happened to some, when they push down that door, whether it be in Afghanistan or Iraq or anywhere else in the world, it might be the last move they make on this earth as a living soul.

I think some of the reporting, to be frank, around these people and the service they have done for this community is absolutely disgusting. Yes, no-one should shield war crimes, if there are any, but people need to understand the valiant service, especially in the Special Air Service (SAS) or commandos. The high rotation rate of these service men and women—in these two forces I think it is all men—obviously has them in high-stress zones for a long time.

I have spoken in this place before about a warrant officer I thought was a pretty calm and cool cat, as I have described him. He got rotated for the third time into Iraq, and that was one trip too many. He managed to get past the psych officers. He went downhill after that, and it was very disturbing. It goes to show that people can reach their limits. For people who have served, obviously we pay tribute to the ones who have paid the supreme sacrifice. There are those who have come home with physical scars, but also there are the many, many veterans and serving people who suffer mental scars, that torment of things they have witnessed and what they have had to do to keep our community safe. So I do salute advocacy.

In regard to wellbeing, wellbeing officers assist clients with information about health and community services that may be available to them. They also gather information on local community services and how to access them as well as communicate with service providers.

In regard to some of the work with rehabilitation, the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Scheme provides rehabilitation, treatment and compensation for Australian Defence Force members who suffer mental or physical injury or contract a disease as a result of service on or after 1 July 2004. Serving Australian Defence Force members who have been injured at work or have an illness or disease caused or aggravated by their military employment and who need assistance in submitting claims can contact the RSL.

Certainly, another fantastic support for returned men and women is the grocery vouchers. RSL sub-branches, with public support through donations and fundraising appeals, help the RSL to purchase supermarket vouchers for veterans finding it difficult to afford food and basic necessities. RSL Care South Australia, which is another branch of the RSL, provides residential aged care, retirement living and affordable housing to the South Australian community. I have met with the people from RSL Care, and I think they are doing a fantastic job.

They have been looking after a retirement village in Murray Bridge called Waterford Estate, which has many units and a nice setting very close to the river. They are doing a fantastic job. At the moment, they are looking at putting in aged care at the back of that property, and I wish them well in those endeavours. I think the appropriate information has been lodged with council, and hopefully RSL Care can get that project underway so it can provide veterans and others with the appropriate support they need towards the end of their lives.

Another fantastic group in this nation is Legacy. Legacy supports the partners and children of veterans who have seen their loved ones leave our shores to serve in wars from World War I and World War II to Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Many never made the journey home and others, as I have explained, have returned bearing the physical and mental scars of war. Legacy supports the families of those who may have died many years after serving our nation. All are equally deserving of our support for the sacrifices those families have made for their country.

Legacy is there to help a family or individual through the tough times and restore their confidence in the future. Legacy's work with veterans' families can mean that a child gets an education and a fair go, that a widow is not disadvantaged and alone, that a family is not torn apart by the effects of post-traumatic stress or other physiological injuries. Legacy's main work focuses on relieving hardship through financial assistance and claims help, providing a supportive network through social connection services, building resilience and independence through education and personal development programs.

I salute all these agencies that work with and alongside the government in support of service men and women who currently serve as well as those who have served. As I indicated, whether they have served here or overseas, it is all vital work in the defence of our nation, along with programs that we, as a government, have in place supporting veterans. This particularly includes the work we are doing in revitalising the Repatriation hospital at Daw Park, as well as the mental health support we put in for veterans and their families across the board.

We must keep striving to look after these people, as I explained, with the outcomes for people who have served right at the sharp end in the SAS and commando units. That is not to take anything away from any of those in the other arms of the Australian Defence Force, especially those on the sharp end who see things we do not want to witness and we do not want to see. They are put into positions where they have to make a decision in a split second—not a second but a split second—that can mean life or death.

It is not like the old days, when you had the military line-up and it was all quite plain who was who. We have seen it even as far back as the Boer War, when there were guerrilla detachments. Many Australians served in the Boer War in Africa, where guerrilla tactics were used, with the enemy using the cover of civilians, including women and children. It is not a simple process.

We must do all we can as a government and we must do all we can in supporting all these support services for our veterans. I acknowledge the vital work that they do for all of our veteran community. It is absolutely vital that we support all these people who, as I said, are either serving or have served, especially those who bear those scars, whether they be physical or mental. They totally deserve all that we can do for them because they have done one heck of a job for our state and our nation.

Mr BOYER (Wright) (11:45): I rise to support this motion. I echo a lot of the words we have just heard from the member for Hammond and thank him for bringing this very important motion to this place. As the shadow minister for veterans' affairs, I am very pleased to have the opportunity today to speak on this motion. Since becoming the shadow minister for veterans' affairs not so long ago, I have in that short time become acutely aware of the very valuable role that ex-service organisations play in the veterans community. I am sure my predecessor in this role, the member for Light, who is sitting behind me, will agree with me that the veterans community is a complex landscape.

There are a number of different ex-service organisations, all of which play really important roles. Many of those organisations have played those roles for a very long time, but of course many of them also intersect in terms of the services and support they offer. It is important that as elected members of parliament we take the time, as I have been doing over the last few months since coming into this role, to learn the details of what each ESO actually does, how the services and support they provide are different from those of other ESOs so that we can learn how we, as members of parliament, can best support them, not just here in this place but also in our local communities.

Members of the many ex-service organisations I have had the pleasure of meeting over the last few months are all, without exception, very passionate in their support of the veterans community. If there is a characteristic which ties together all those different ESOs, I think it is their passion for the cause. I have met some interesting individuals, some real characters in the veterans communities. They are the kinds of people you would not find in other walks of life.

They have been shaped by the incredible experiences that they have had in their own life when they were serving in the Australian Defence Force or shaped by the experiences of their family and loved ones in the past. On many occasions, they have lost people. If they have not lost loved ones, they are still trying to support loved ones who are dealing with myriad complex issues that come with being an ex-serving member of the Defence Force, whether they are issues around PTSD, trying to find employment or just generally re-engaging back into civilian life after spending many years outside it.

Those ex-service organisations are there for ex-serving personnel, usually at the most difficult times in their lives. As I said before, it is hard when freshly coming out of the Defence Force to transition back into civilian life, which is a difficult thing to do in any role or any job which takes you out of the normal movement of life in the community and puts you into an organisation like the Defence Force. But when you add on top of that having to deal with all the issues that come up around post-traumatic stress and the general mental health issues that come with being a member of the Defence Force, it often makes it even more complicated and traumatic to make that transition back. It is something I have heard firsthand from people who have transitioned back.

If they did not have the support of those ex-service organisations—groups like the Defence Force Welfare Association and the RSL, just to name a few—they have told me point-blank to my face that they would possibly not still be here today and would not have made the transition successfully at all. So we owe a great deal to these ex-service organisations and, as is so often the case in our society, they are volunteers.

One thing that has certainly struck me since being an elected member of this place is how many key roles in our community we take for granted that I am sure many people assume are done on a paid basis but are actually done by volunteers. They are roles in our hospitals, they are roles in our schools and they are also roles in our ex-service organisations. In many cases, they are doing incredibly complex and difficult work. The work of an advocate, for instance—someone who is representing a person who has recently transitioned out of the Defence Force to help them with their entitlements and to get the support they need to make that transition—is really difficult. In most cases, it is done by unpaid volunteers who do it for love and certainly not for money.

I would like to take this opportunity today to mention one advocate in particular, and that is Mr Jeff Yates OAM, who is a member of the Tea Tree Gully RSL and a resident of the seat of Wright as well. Jeff really is the absolute personification of a selfless volunteer. He has done it for many years. He was awarded the Order of Australia Medal way back in 1990 for his own service in the defence forces, and since transitioning out he has dedicated and devoted himself to helping other people. I have spoken to some of the veterans who have benefited from the assistance of Jeff over the years, and they could not speak more highly of him.

I was very pleased to be able to lend my own support in a small way to the nomination that was made for Jeff to be awarded the ANZAC of the year award in 2019, which he was awarded, for service to veterans and their families. I want to acknowledge Jeff and the many people like him, and what they do, and let them know, too, that we do not take them for granted. We know how lucky we are to have them doing the roles they are doing. I know that I speak on behalf of all the people they have helped from the veterans community over many years, and I thank them here now in this place for that service.

The member for Light, as the previous shadow minister for veterans' affairs, started a forum with ex-service organisations encouraging them to come together and talk about issues that they might have in common, or new issues in the veterans community that are popping up, and that is something that I have continued to do in my time as the shadow minister. I am very pleased to have seen the number of ESOs attending that forum grow, which only gives it a bit more critical mass, a bit more engagement. The issues and breadth of issues that we are discussing now are greater, and I am thankful to the member for Light for having started that, and I am very pleased to continue those forums now.

Tragically, of course, it is no secret that the number of veterans who take their own lives is much higher than the Australian average, particularly for those who have been medically discharged or diagnosed with PTSD—and that is many. The despair that those veterans and their families go through while dealing with those issues is really soul-destroying stuff. I have seen posts on Facebook groups that are there for the veterans community, where they inform the community of the passing of another veteran who has taken their life. You can see the effect it has on not just the veterans community but the family behind the person who took their own life. It really is like a shockwave through the community every time it happens.

I am pleased that the Prime Minister has now announced that we will have a royal commission, and those terms of reference are being drawn up. I think that we should in this place, the South Australian state parliament, acknowledge the work of South Australia's own Julie-Ann Finney, the mother of the late David Finney, who took his own life. The ferocious advocacy that Julie-Ann Finney has provided is in no small part responsible for our having this royal commission.

I am of course very pleased to support this motion today and will finish by encouraging all members of this place to continue the work they do in their own communities to make sure that those ex-service organisations can do the crucial work they do to support the veterans community every day.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (11:55): I rise to speak in favour of this motion moved by the member for Hammond and cannot stress enough its importance. Many of the privileges we enjoy today have only been made possible because of our veterans who have fought, and in many cases lost their lives while serving our country, during times of conflict. While it is impossible to repay the debt, it is incumbent upon us to continue to support and respect those who sacrificed so much.

Ex-service organisations are an important part of the lives of many veterans. In my own electorate, I know that many veterans are members of local service organisations, such as the Vietnam Veterans' Federation, Brighton RSL and the Marion RSL. These organisations play a vital role in caring for the health and wellbeing of the service and ex-service community. The RSL has five pillars: advocacy, services, mateship, commemoration and sustainability. The Marion and Brighton RSLs demonstrate each of these pillars with fierce passion and commitment, and I commend them for this.

I would now like to touch on the importance of commemoration. ANZAC Day is one of the most significant days of the year for both local veterans and many members of the wider community, particularly those who have lost loved ones to conflict. After ANZAC Day services could not go ahead in 2020 due to COVID-19, this year's ceremony felt even more important. I am pleased to say that the two RSL branches in my electorate were able to run successful COVID-safe ANZAC Day services.

I had the privilege of attending the Brighton RSL dawn service. Brighton RSL held the largest ceremony in the state, with more than 5,000 attending the service. We came together to remember those who fought for our country. While the ceremony could not take place at the Arch of Remembrance at Brighton jetty, the RSL were able to use technology to have photos of the arch on a large screen and a big canvas behind the ceremony at the Brighton football club.

It was a privilege to be able to lay a wreath at the service in remembrance of all the Australians involved in both distant and recent conflicts. The head prefects of Brighton Secondary School, Isabella Conner and Nicolas Bergoc, represented their school with pride while doing a reading for the service. The atmosphere was sombre and reverent, and I am sure many others felt that as well. I am personally moved each year by the dawn services in my community.

The other RSL in my electorate is the Marion RSL, and they were also able to go ahead with a service attended by many members of the Marion community. It was fantastic that so many people could come together and pay their respects to the ANZACs and to all service men and women on this day. The sense of community and camaraderie built through not only the dawn service but the efforts of the RSL itself is essential. It was great to have one of my staff members there representing me at that service as well. The service was officiated by Monsignor Bob Rice, who spoke about how we can and must support each other in all forms and during trying times, just as the ANZAC soldiers did way back in the day.

I further commend the barbecue fundraising efforts of the Marion football club after the service. They really have joined wonderfully well with the Marion RSL, and it is great to see them support each other every year. Of course, the football club donated the proceeds to the Marion RSL.

I would like to take a moment to commend the Brighton RSL president, Jim Nicholson; vice-presidents Ian Petersen and Graham Bulger; secretary and treasurer, Trevor Whitelaw; and stalwart Rod Murray for the great job they do. Likewise, at the Marion RSL I commend president, Ken Parnell; vice-presidents Patrick Wilton and Darren Pusey; secretary, Rob Kreche; and treasurer, Bruce Wright.

Further, regarding the important work of the Vietnam Veterans' Federation in supporting veterans, I thank president, Mal Thiele; vice-president, Bob Ellis; treasurer, Robin Carbins; secretary Mike Hainsworth; and committee member Phil Scroop. I would also like to mention the ever-passionate Doc Ballantyne. Doc was an active campaigner to save the Repat hospital when the former Labor government sold off that facility. I know it brings a smile to Doc's face when he sees the great work that the Marshall Liberal government has done to reactivate and rebuild the Repat. Personally, I am also so proud of what we have done to save that hospital facility.

As a parliament, we need to remain committed to our veterans and recognise the support that these services provide is invaluable for those who return from conflict, bearing the physical, mental and emotional scars of war. Post COVID-19, one of the most critical lessons we learnt was about the importance of socialising and being part of a community. This is ever more important for our veterans moving into the future. I look forward to continuing to support these members and these organisations within my community.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (12:00): I rise to support this motion and commend the member for Hammond for bringing it to our attention. It is certainly one worthy of the support of this house. The work undertaken by the various ex-service organisations is to be highly commended and it is important that we acknowledge the work they do.

As the member for Wright quite rightly said, we often do not understand or appreciate as a general community that most of this work is actually performed by volunteers under very difficult circumstances. Often there is a lack of resources, often they are dealing with very complex matters in terms of the law and also complex matters in terms of the wellbeing of the veteran they are dealing with. They do it and they do it really well.

There are a whole range of returned and services organisations that provide a range of different services for different needs. It is also true that if it were not for these organisations—and I have a few in my own electorate, such as the local RSL club—our veterans and their families would certainly be poorer. The support they provide is often not only to the veteran but also to their family and children.

One of the things that we as a society seem not yet able to come to terms with is the sort of support that our veterans need. I say that because, as the member for Wright and other speakers have indicated, the number of ex-defence personnel or veterans who take their own life is disproportionately higher than the general population. That needs to be addressed. At this point, I would like to acknowledge the wonderful work undertaken by Julie-Ann Finney and other mothers and dads around this country to advocate for a royal commission so that we fully understand what is behind this appalling rate of suicide amongst our veterans.

It is sad that I have to stand here and say that these families have had to work very hard and tirelessly to get up this sort of inquiry. It seems to be a no-brainer that we should be doing this work to look into the lives of our veterans to see what the causes are of this horrendous suicide rate amongst our veterans. As the member for Hammond quite rightly said, our veterans are in high-stress zones for long periods of time and those of us who have not served cannot really understand that. That constant stress they are under has huge impacts on the mental health of our serving personnel particularly when they become ex-serving personnel because we do not seem to do the transition well.

We do not seem to be able to provide the support to the veterans and their families when they transition from military life or defence life to civilian life, and this sadly results in the high rate of suicide. I recall one ex-serviceman mentioning to me that in his day, 'We do six weeks' training when we go in and we do six hours' work when we exit.' Clearly, that shows we do not do enough work with those personnel when they transition. As I said, the results are there for us to see.

One of the things that I think is very important that we as a society do is show our support for our veterans. One of the things we do that through, apart from day-to-day support and practical support, is to commemorate this service. It was sad in my own town of Gawler this year that there was not a traditional ANZAC Day service, where we get anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people attend. The lack of support given to the local RSL was sad and I think that, as a community, governments at any level and of any political persuasion need to step up in this area and do much better, as the member for Wright has quite rightly pointed out.

Most of these people, if not all of them, are volunteers. Most of our returned servicemen in the RSL are getting old, some of them having their own issues to deal with. Given all those circumstances, they still do a marvellous job. They do a marvellous job in supporting each other through peer support, but they do need our support as a community. I have no difficulty seeing my taxes go to support the work they perform, nor my taxes supporting commemorative services that give us a chance as a community to come together and show our support.

I would like to put on the record that the City of Playford does a wonderful job in supporting and having commemorative services. They have both a vigil service and an ANZAC dawn service. The city puts in quite a few resources to make those events happen and it is great to see the city doing that. I am not sure that is true of other councils in my region, and certainly I will be discussing that with them to ensure that next year and the years after that we provide the appropriate support for these commemorative services.

One of the things I would like to also touch upon, for those of us who do not move around a lot, and by that I mean move house a lot in terms of from state to state or from country to country, is that sometimes we do not understand the pressure that defence families are under. We do not often understand perhaps the impact on the children and the partners of continuously moving. I have lived in my community for many more years than I want to say publicly. I am fortunate: I know my community. I have childhood friends from schooldays, etc.

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner: When was that?

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: A long time ago. I can actually say that my school does not exist anymore.

Mr Whetstone: You really are that old?

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: Yes, I am, but I am in much better shape than some people across the table, too.

Mr Whetstone: How's your heart?

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: The ticker is going well. I am still here. I am still a candidate in the next election as well. Don't worry, I will be there to make sure that we win government next time.

Mr Whetstone: In your next life.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: I think I have a better chance than you have, mate. Kids who grow up and their lives are dislocated a number of times have their own issues. As a society, we sometimes glamorise that life, but certainly some of the young people I have met in more recent times have made it very clear that that constant dislocation has had an impact on them because they do not have those childhood friends and they do not have those connections to community and it does weigh heavily on them because they lack those community networks that we all find very valuable in the communities we live in. We find that social interaction very important.

Interestingly, one of the students made a comment to me recently that often at school they are excluded from discussions because they have not been in that community a long time. They talk about things they are not party to and that makes them feel excluded. That is a challenge we need to understand. I know that if you are defence personnel you sign up and you make those sorts of choices, but equally we need to understand the impact if we do want people to sign up and we do want people to participate in our armed services. We need to make sure that we do support families.

As I said, this motion is worthy of our support and again I thank the member for Hammond for bringing it to us, but we also need to remember that we need to support those organisations that support our veterans and I think we can do that better.

Mr DULUK (Waite) (12:09): I also rise to speak on this highly commendable motion that has been brought forward by the member for Hammond to highlight such an important part of our community. I know this is an issue of real importance for the member for Hammond, so I thank him for bringing it to the house. Indeed, our community would be nothing without our veterans, and it is right and proper that we should always express our deep gratitude for them, for their service and for protecting our freedoms and our nation for over a century now since the creation of the Australian Defence Force.

Ex-service organisations are an integral part of our wider communities and provide an important space for our ex-service personnel. While these organisations have been at the front of our minds recently with the recent ANZAC Day commemorations just past, it is vital that we continue to recognise their work and support them all year round. I would like to make mention of some of the fantastic veteran outreach work that occurs in my community. This mainly happens through the Blackwood RSL, the Mitcham RSL, the Colonel Light Gardens RSL and the RAAF Association Mitcham Branch.

Each group is run by dedicated veterans and volunteers who commit their time and effort to ensuring local veterans have a welcoming place to support them in their life after serving the Australian people. Many of our World War II veterans who are still with us are now well into their 90s. Providing welfare and wellbeing for those veterans is so important. Residents at Myrtle Bank, on the edge of my community, certainly appreciate that.

Welfare and wellbeing across the board is such an important connection for these people. I am honoured to be the patron of the Blackwood RSL, and I regard it as an absolute privilege to be able to spend time there with local veterans and volunteers and hear their stories and continuously work with the volunteers to promote the good work of the RSL.

For all RSLs this year, ANZAC Day services presented a tough challenge in the world of COVID-19 restrictions. COVID-19 directions meant that local RSLs had further administrative steps to deal with and costs to incur when attempting to organise this year's services. With my office working closely with the Blackwood RSL for their dawn service arrangement, I know firsthand how difficult it was for every RSL across the state. There was a lot to organise: fencing, COVID management plans, QR codes, traffic management plans, road closures and detours, sign-in sheets and, in the case of the Blackwood RSL, finding 25 COVID marshals to volunteer their time at 5am.

All that hard work came to fruition when, at dawn on the morning of Sunday 25 April this year, thousands of local residents and veterans gathered together at the soldiers' memorial at the Blackwood roundabout to commemorate the ultimate sacrifice of those whose names are on the statue of the soldier and the service of our veteran community over the last 121 years. It was a solemn occasion, where many local ex-service organisations were represented along with local schools. A particularly moving part of the service was the contributions by local schoolchildren, who spoke about the importance of ANZAC Day and what the day meant to them.

My thanks go to all who volunteered their time to ensure the service was safe and met COVID restrictions and requirements. A big thankyou goes to the volunteers of the RSL, led by the president, Phil Cotton, in his first year as the president of the Blackwood RSL. Thanks also go to the Sturt SES volunteers, Blackwood Hire (to the Quirk family there, thank you very much), City of Mitcham, St John Ambulance, Blackwood Scout Group, Coromandel Community Centre, Blackwood Lions, Coromandel Valley Rotary Club and so many others, including local residents and members of other groups.

I had the privilege of laying a wreath at the Upper Sturt Soldiers Memorial Hall service later that day. Thank you to Dr John Halsey and the whole committee for a wonderful commemoration service, led by retired Colonel Moose Dunlop OAM. Whilst I was not able to attend the Mitcham RSL dawn service, which was a much smaller service this year, I was honoured that Mr Wally Beale OAM, a decorated World War II veteran, and Mr John Hatwell from the RAAF Association Mitcham Branch laid a wreath at the Mitcham RSL on my behalf and on behalf of the community of Waite. Big thanks go to Dr Robert Black AM from the RAAF Association Mitcham Branch for his assistance in organising this.

As touched on by a few other members in this contribution today, the Repat hospital in my community plays a big part, an important role, in supporting veterans and their families and has done so for many years. Indeed, it was the veterans community who slept on the steps of parliament house night upon night, week upon week, and tens of thousands of South Australians signed a petition to ensure that the Repat did not close.

Unfortunately, the former Labor government did close the Repat, and I think that will forever be a great shame to that party and those under their watch who presided over the closure of the Repat. It is fantastic to see at the moment the Liberal government reactivating the Repat with a lot of work from the community. It is fantastic to see the progress of that reactivation.

We will see the new Dementia Care Facility unveiled, and that will create a lot of jobs at the moment. More importantly, in terms of supporting veterans is the opening of the newly refurbished wards for patient care and the opening of the Veteran Wellbeing Centre in the old SPF Hall, which has been so important not only to ANZAC commemorations at the Repat but also to the Vietnam community, especially the Vietnam veterans community.

I want to thank people such as Tich Tyson who does so much work with the Plympton veterans wellbeing centre to support veterans in our community. As so many other members have said, it is important that we support our veterans. We ask them to go above and beyond the call of duty to protect our nation. I support the motion before the house.

The Hon. S.J.R. PATTERSON (Morphett—Minister for Trade and Investment) (12:16): I would also like to speak in support of this motion, which has two parts: it signals its support for the South Australian veterans community and also recognises the deep and important roles that ex-service organisations play in providing advice, support and community for veterans in South Australia. That really is an important point, and in the electorate of Morphett there are some fantastic organisations that dedicate themselves to the support of veterans.

One of those, of course, is the Plympton Glenelg RSL based just off Marion Road. It is the unification of two RSLs and was initially founded in 1919 after World War I by a World War I veteran, Bob McGhee, who also went on to fight in World War II. In this area, the Plympton Glenelg RSL has a long history of supporting veterans in our community on ANZAC Day, and they are very prominent at Moseley Square.

When I was Mayor of Holdfast Bay, the Glenelg council should be commended, together with the federal government, for supporting what is a beautiful monument in Glenelg. It is in the shape of a setting sun, and we are so accustomed to seeing the setting sun over the horizon there. It appeals to those who were at Gallipoli, of course, and it represents the rising of the sun and includes the words, 'At the going down of the sun we will remember them.' It is there every day of the year for people to remember all the soldiers who sacrificed for their country. Of course, on ANZAC Day we do remember that, and the Plympton Glenelg RSL does a fantastic job.

This year we were very fortunate to be able to conduct a ceremony, which was a lot smaller than usual. Usually, there is a crowd upwards of 5,000 who come to Moseley Square. This time it was a much smaller affair around the monument—it was invite only—but of course passers-by could observe the ceremony as well. Tich Tyson was instrumental in organising the ceremony, and he was the MC on the day. It was fantastic to be able to lay a wreath on behalf of the grateful community of Morphett.

Also in attendance on the morning was the Holdfast Bay deputy mayor, Bec Abley, and a representative from Nicolle Flint's office, who is the federal member for the area, so you could see all three levels of government there to recognise the sacrifices that were made. Also there, interestingly, was Ms Christine Rothenhauser, who was the former Honorary French Consul for South Australia. It was really interesting talking to her. She laid a wreath with the French tricolour.

She spoke of her ancestors fighting on the World War I battlefield of Verdun, which was just a horrific battle where both German and French soldiers were involved in basically a war of attrition and so many died. She said that many of her family members were victims of that terrible battle. She also paid homage to the sacrifice that the ANZACs made on the battlefields of France, and they still remember the sacrifices to this very day. I thank them and, importantly, thank their president, Bill Hignett, of the Glenelg Plympton RSL.

It should be noted that they are very entrenched in the community. Not far down the road from the RSL club itself is the Plympton Bulldogs football club, and on the day the footy club had a special guernsey made to commemorate ANZAC Day. Of course, the Plympton Bulldogs team colours are black and red stripes, and in the place of the red stripes were red poppies. It was really magnificent.

After the ANZAC Day service, I went back to the clubrooms in the morning, and at the presentation ceremony in front of all the members the president and the captain of the Plympton Bulldogs football club presented one of their guernseys to the RSL club. I commend the football club for doing that. There was junior sport on the day, which was of course very respectful of the veterans. Societies opened up for sport on these days after the ceremonies.

I went along and watched the under-13 boys play. They played a terrific match. All the boys lined up for a minute's silence. I think that was a thrill for them. They commented that it was great to be able to play football on ANZAC Day and commemorate the veterans. They see it on the TV on what has become a significant occasion, and they felt a big part of it as well, bringing that history to the next generation. They certainly played a very good brand of football that day, so congratulations to the Plympton Bulldogs football club.

I would like to talk also about another great organisation in the local area that looks to support the veterans. That organisation is based at Glenelg North, which is a suburb that was once part of Morphett and is coming back to Morphett in the 2022 election. They are at Kibby Reserve, off Kibby Avenue in Glenelg North, which is named after a famous ANZAC Adelaide war hero, William Kibby. He won the Victoria Cross for what were courageous actions, putting himself in harm's way on the battlefield of El Alamein in Egypt in 1942, the first time the German army was defeated. Australians had a huge part to play in that.

William Kibby rushed against a machine gun nest, not once but on multiple days during that battle. Ultimately, he was the last soldier standing in his battalion. He rushed against the enemy. Basically, they had won the day and he was killed right at the end of that action but still helped to achieve victory. At the Kibby Reserve, not only is the reserve named after him but a veterans organisation has been set up there, the William Kibby VC Veterans Shed. That is run by a fantastic and tireless worker, Barry Heffernan.

Barry was one of the first people I met in my role in public service, when I was first elected to Holdfast Bay council. He loves having a brew, so he reached out to me and asked to have a coffee and explain his vision, which was to set up this veterans' shed for veterans. Of course, there were men's sheds already operational and this was the very first veterans' shed that was set up to help veterans heal from trauma and with health issues, getting them together and sharing experiences.

Barry is certainly a talker, but he is also a doer. The shed has no government funding. The council gave support for some land for them to set up the shed. They went about raising money to be able to create that shed and have been operating there since October 2011. They provide fantastic support for veterans, both men and women. It is not just a men's shed; it is also for women, and increasingly Barry has found the need to provide that support to women as well.

Of course, Barry acknowledges that he might not be the best person to help in terms of women dealing with trauma, but he can certainly put them on to a similar group who have come through this veterans' shed to be able to share their experiences. He really credits that with saving lives. It saves veterans who find themselves with no alternative but to consider suicide.

By having this fraternity and shared experience, these veterans are able to navigate their way through this. I certainly commend Barry Heffernan and also Graham Rose, who is down there. They are often at the Mitre 10 in Glenelg North doing a sausage sizzle and trying to raise funds. As I said, there is no government funding for it, so that is a terrific exercise and undertaking by their shed.

To finish, I had the opportunity to go down to the Torrens Parade Ground last week to help launch a fantastic initiative by Operation Unity. Bill Bates is going to be walking 10,000 steps a day over the next 366 days to raise funds for veterans to put them into Operation K9, which is therapy dogs to assist with veterans and their post-traumatic stress. They also support Legacy—another organisation to help veterans—and Trojan's Trek, which allows veterans to go on walks in the northern Flinders Ranges and be able to share experiences. I commend the member for Hammond for bringing this important motion to the house so we can recognise our veterans and the organisations that support them.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (12:26): I, too, rise to commend the member for Hammond's excellent motion. I would like to also pay tribute to the contribution that many of our veterans have made to give us the freedoms and the democracy we have in this modern world. Our Returned and Services League clubs right across South Australia, and particularly in the electorate of Chaffey, continue to do a fantastic job. Not only do they rally around returned servicemen and their families but they continue to reach out to give support and garner support for those who are looking for some level of assistance in the much different world that we live in today.

Many of those returned servicemen have been affected by the battlefields and by their war-torn experience. We must also acknowledge the great contribution they made to return home, which should never be forgotten. Of course, those who paid the ultimate price are also what this motion is about. It is about acknowledging those who gave their lives for our freedoms today, and we should be eternally grateful.

In the electorate of Chaffey, RSLs are prominent around many of the Riverland towns and many of those RSL clubs are very active. Two of the most active clubs—I say this with respect—are the Waikerie RSL and the Loxton RSL. They have museums, and the passionate, dedicated volunteers continue to collect artefacts, memorabilia, medals and historic items to put on display to showcase what those returned servicemen are prepared to put into custodianship in those museums.

If we look around the electorate, we have Bob Deidre at Swan Reach, Rob Manuel at Loxton, Paul Croft at Waikerie, John Forrester at Morgan, Jim Rolf—a real character—at Barmera, Chris Ware at Berri, Peter Higgs at Renmark and Kym Parry at Blanchetown. They are great presidents or representatives of those RSLs. Of course, we cannot forget Legacy. That is a great institution for support of returned servicemen, wives and partners, and gives them the support they need after the horrific era that people had to go through.

Of course, many of the sub-branches were unable to celebrate their centenary last year due to COVID. COVID-19 really did throw the world into turmoil, especially when it came to our being able to celebrate and acknowledge ANZAC Day. I think now we are seeing a lot of those sub-branches that are coming out and celebrating.

Recently I attended the Loxton RSL—the 101-year celebration—which was very fortunate to have His Excellency Hieu Van Le and his wife, Lan, there. They are dedicated people, too, to come out to the cause and as a sign of respect. They were ably assisted by Howard Hendrick. Howard Hendrick OAM is an absolute legend. He is a Riverland legend, a returned servicemen. He is 97, born in 1923. He was the son of a soldier who returned and set up a soldier settlement block in Renmark, and he has a great story to tell.

One of the stories in his memoir is about how he completed 30 missions in Europe. He was a pilot of not only Lancasters but also Halifaxes, and he completed 30 missions into Europe with the same crew. That says volumes—to go into battle with a crew and come home 30 times shows just how successful he was and how brave he and his crew were to do the great work that they did.

He was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The reason I know this is that two weeks previously I was at his book launch—the launch of his book called Full Circle. It was just a great story. It is a great read, and for any of those of you who are into the stories of conflict and war Howard Hendrick's story is just something that is a joy to read.

What I must say is that also at the Loxton RSL centenary, or the 101 celebration, we were very lucky to have Colonel Steve Larkins. Steve is from the Virtual War Memorial in the nation's War Memorial. The virtual war memorials are gathering data so that those stories are easily accessible, easily gathered and made public so that people can understand what their family ties are with conflict, who are those people within their regions who served the country.

It really is something that is gaining momentum and huge popularity, particularly with giving acknowledgement to those returned servicemen, those who died who were never recognised, those who returned and were able to tell a story. It really is a great part of acknowledging our veterans and their community.

What I must also remind people is that we have just been through ANZAC Day. I think we are going to run out of time for everyone to speak on our second motion, but I will talk a little bit about ANZAC Day because it is a day of great pride, particularly in my electorate up in the Riverland and the Mallee. I think it was very especially memorable this year, after last year with the restrictions that were put on ANZAC Day. What we have seen this year is it has given everyone the ability to come back out, celebrate, stand around a campfire in some instances, where most people in the city do not actually have that opportunity.

In the electorate, I was given a task to get around to as many of those dawn services, the morning services or the late morning services, to acknowledge. I would say that it was a busy day. It was a proud day for me to be able to stand tall, particularly at The Last Post, to acknowledge and show some respect to those veterans and their communities.

Deputy Speaker, as you would well know the tyranny of distance does present challenges. On ANZAC Day, I left home at 3.20 am, and I headed to Mantung. Mantung is a small community in the Mallee, population 21. It certainly is a drawcard for many of our veterans and the supporters and their families. We saw over 150 people at the Mantung hall for the dawn service. I would like to thank Lou Westbrook and Neil Slyne for their great work for that service but also Susi Evans and Leanne Parker for keeping that service in order and making it run as smoothly as it did.

After Mantung, I headed to Waikerie where I attended a morning service, which was very well attended. The numbers were probably as good as they have ever been. Then I got back on the highway and headed up to a service at Renmark where many hundreds of locals paid their respects, and that was the second service of the day. The dawn service had been run, but I was able to get there for the late morning service.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who assisted me in laying wreaths where I could not attend. Some of those dawn services were at Swan Reach, Loxton, Morgan, Barmera, Blanchetown and Moorook. It certainly was a great day and I was very proud to go along to talk to some of those returned servicemen and, in particular back at the Renmark RSL, to have a beer, a snag and just listen to some stories. Again, those stories never seem to fall into a conversation where you would say, 'I have heard that story before,' because there is always another story to listen to, and they are always willing to engage.

I think it is great to see so many of our young out and about paying their respects. It really is something that I think should be part of history forever. I would like to acknowledge all our veterans, those who are still with us, those who have passed and those who have served. I returned at 3pm, some 12 hours later, having clocked up some 750 ks for the day. It was a great honour to be able to get out to acknowledge our returned veterans and their communities.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey, it seems like the town of Mantung might be about the same size as the town of Edillilie.

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (12:36): I rise to support the member for Hammond's motion and to speak a little bit about some services in my electorate. I want to pay tribute to Bob Sandow, the RSL President and his committee for an amazing ANZAC Day service. It culminated in the mid-morning march down the main street where there were at least 5,000 or 6,000 people lining the streets as the march went through. He had organised for the RAAF to fly a plane from Adelaide very low down our main street and coordinated the timing of that flight with the mid-morning march. It was a truly remarkable experience for all involved, and of course the RAAF was celebrating 100 years of service.

I also want to talk about Sergeant Stephen Wyte and his endeavours to support veterans. He is doing this with Laurie Mann as well by running a fundraiser at the Mount Gambier Attamurra golf course. I want to talk a little bit about Stephen Wyte. He has written to me seeking support and it is quite timely that it comes in with the member for Hammond's motion. Of course, this is on top of the member for MacKillop speaking yesterday in his grieve about the township of Robe and the very tight-knit community there. They are offering their houses to returned servicemen to come down to Robe, stay for three or four days, watch the ANZAC Day football and participate in the ANZAC Day services. It is just a wonderful gesture from that community to support our veterans.

Stephen Wyte is certainly doing his part to not only raise awareness but raise funds for veterans and the establishment of a veterans' service hub. I will go through his letter which I think is quite apt. It states:

My name is Sergeant Stephen Wyte and I served 14 years in the Australian Army as a Soldier. I served in both the Army Reserves and the Australian Regular Army. My main employment was as a Rigger Parachute in the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps. As a Rigger Parachute, we were responsible for packing and maintaining the Army's parachute fleet and also had to be volunteers for parachute operations. In 2016, I discharged from the Australian Regular Army and next year I will be discharged from the Army Stand-by Reserves.

Australian Defence Veterans are people who have proudly served Australia and the Australian community in any of the three services; the Royal Australian Navy, the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Airforce. A Veteran is one whom has served not only during wartime or conflicts, but during peace keeping operations, natural disasters, and times of peace. Serving in the Defence Force is not just a job, it is an honour.

Unfortunately, this service often results in personal sacrifice and can come at a steep cost to Veterans, their families and loved ones. The personal costs often include physical and mental injuries taking a huge toll on both the Veteran and their support networks, impacting their quality of life and employment possibilities even leading to suicide.

I myself was injured in a parachuting accident in 2008 resulting in my medical evacuation from the parachuting exercise. I am still dealing with the conditions from this and other events or incidents which continue to have daily impact on my life both mentally and physically.

The Limestone Coast Veterans' Services Hub (LCVSH) is a group of veteran volunteers who see it as their social responsibility to assist Veterans and their families in the South East of South Australia and across our Victorian border in their own time. They draw on a strong sense of mateship and comradeship among those of us who have served our nation. That strong bond of mateship is the motivation that drives them as volunteers to assist Veterans and families in need

Their mission is to support Veterans with their wellbeing needs and advocating on their behalf with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The [support group] will be holding a Veterans Friendly Community Charity Golf Day as a fund raiser to finance the new Veterans Outreach Program. The program aims to support Veterans and their families, ensuring our younger veterans do not think they have been forgotten; and they do not feel isolated or are experiencing hardship in our community.

I feel it is vitally important that Veterans know they are supported, they feel welcomed and engaged in their community; that each Veteran knows their service is recognised. I feel the support shown by the community this ANZAC Day demonstrates this sentiment. The Veterans Outreach Program will also support Veterans and their family's with assistance for rehabilitation into the community, increasing their quality of life…

We are seeking your help [as the member for Mount Gambier] with the operation of this Charity Golf Day. All donations are supported and care of the Plympton RSL alongside the Plympton Veterans Centre, which is a charity listed on the Charity Register and regulated by the Australian Charities and Not for Profits…

Mount Gambier and indeed the Limestone Coast is a fantastic place to reside and raise a family. I relocated [here] three years ago as I recognised what the area has to offer myself and my daughter. We would like all Veterans to know they are an important part of the Mount Gambier and Limestone Coast community and we welcome them and their families or support networks.

Stephen Wyte

I thank Stephen for sending that to my office and taking the very important step of not just supporting veterans but raising money and engaging with the business community of our electorate to have that holistic approach, so congratulations to Stephen on that.

Briefly, I would like to acknowledge the entire community of the RSL, with Bob Sandow as the president; Peter Bruhn as vice-president; Leigh Newton as treasurer; Margie Winterfield, who is a good, close personal friend of mine; Ian Summers; Malcolm Driscoll; Dieter Merkel; Kelvin McRae; and Kelly Copeland. They do an amazing job for our community.

I would say that our services, whether it is Remembrance Day or ANZAC Day, are some of the best in the state, certainly by number as well as coordination and impact on the community, particularly the next generation coming through. Without such a strong committee, that type of impact and professionalism would not be what they are today. According to official records, I am sure we only had about 900 at the dawn service, all spread apart. Of course, the unofficial record would be much greater than that.

With those words, I commend the member for Hammond, who is not only a fantastic member but also a fantastic South Australian and Australian. His support for veterans needs to be acknowledged and certainly the passion he brings to this place. I am very happy to support a great member and a great motion.

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (12:45): I rise to add my voice in recognising the significant role our service organisations play in providing advice, support and community for veterans in South Australia. In doing so, I also acknowledge the contribution and the sacrifice made by Australian Defence Force personnel and their families—those who have served, those who are no longer with us and those currently serving.

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Royal Society for the Blind Operation K9 graduation in Gilles Plains at their training centre across the road from my electorate office. This event celebrated the passing out of the Royal Society for the Blind assistance dogs to spend their working lives assisting veterans who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. It is a day of celebration and sharing of experiences from those provided with an RSB assistance dog. It was truly inspiring to hear firsthand from the recipients on the day as to how an assistance dog will significantly improve their quality of life for years to come.

When an Operation K9 dog senses their owner's trigger, it is trained to perform a specific task to help alleviate the symptoms. This may be by making eye or body contact to comfort their owner and divert their attention. This brings the veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder back to the present moment. For someone with PTSD, what may seem a small problem to others, like misplacing their keys or looking for an object like their wallet, can be the tipping point that triggers an episode. If a veteran is experiencing night terrors, the dog can assist in turning on the light.

The RSB Operation K9 program, funded by Veterans SA, is delivering results and assisting people in our communities who need support. Clinical measures show that genuine results are being achieved, and it is a combination of the RSB's vast experience and the quality of the dogs and the training carried out here at Gilles Plains in South Australia, in my electorate of Torrens, that is making a real difference.

On this particular day, eight veterans and their assistance dogs, along with their puppy educators, their boarders and feeding volunteers, formed the graduating class of 2020. It was an amazing experience for me and my colleague, the member for Wright, to meet some of these veterans. In particular, I recall meeting Sam and his assistance dog Xena and listening to the emotional story of his journey while serving overseas with the Australian Defence Force.

I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge and thank the Royal Society for the Blind for the amazing work they do in our local community, especially through what has been a very difficult time for many during the COVID-19 pandemic. I would also like to thank all the people involved in the graduating teams—those involved in the assistance dog program, in puppy education and the bed-and-breakfast boarding—for their dedication and commitment that really makes a difference to our community. Of course, I also thank all the other organisations that assist our veterans who have served our country so well.

Finally, I would like to also mention Gilles Plains and Hampstead RSL and their successful ANZAC Day service. With COVID-19 restrictions, there were a whole lot of things that had to be put in place, and they managed that very well. We had a beautiful service. I know that for many it was just really good to be able to get out and to attend those services.

The Hon. R. SANDERSON (Adelaide—Minister for Child Protection) (12:50): I would like to thank the member for Hammond for bringing this motion to the house and also signal my support to the South Australian veteran community and the organisations that support them, in particular the RSL and Legacy and The Road Home. I am sure there are other organisations as well that do a wonderful, important job looking after both veterans and their families.

Of course, we have had ANZAC Day just recently, so a special tribute goes to the RSL clubs and the work that they do and the volunteers who organise what were quite large events this year. I attended the Walkerville memorial, where there were hundreds of people. We had large screens set up so that there could be better social distancing, using the park adjacent to the memorial gardens. Prospect also had their traditional gunfire breakfast after their memorial service, and of course there is the Torrens Parade Ground that hosts the march every year. There is also the Light Horsemen, which I have been going to ever since becoming a member of parliament. This year we did not have the horses. However, we still had a wonderful tribute towards the former servicemen and their horses.

I would also like to make a special mention of Rena Pascoe, who was one of the first female members to join the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. I have had a good chat and spent many, many hours with Rena, hearing about her. She was spray-painting the camouflage on the aeroplanes during the World War II effort. In fact, she was born in the same year that the RAAF was started, which was 1921.

She was very much looking forward to celebrating this year as a special guest. It was incredibly sad to lose Rena last year at the age of 99 and about a half. She did not get to make it, and she was really, really was looking forward to that. Next week, it would have been Rena's 100th birthday on 12 May. We have a special memorial that I have been invited by the family to attend in recognition, so it is very timely that this motion is coming to the house.

I would also like to put on the record a wonderful poem that was written by Jeff Cook at Minlaton. It is a poem that I read out on ANZAC Day, with his permission, and I would love to read it into Hansard because I think it is such a wonderful poem about ANZACs and the dawn service and other veterans. This was written by Jeff Cook:

They came from every walk of life, enlisting by the score

And offered up their very lives, to fight on foreign shore

They learned to use a rifle and to wield a bayonet,

In circumstances that survivors never could forget

Many even brought their horses to offer them as well

A reminder of all they'd left—p'raps homesickness to quell

For each one left a family—wife and children, parents too

None knew what future lay in store, but they'd do what they could do

They sailed off to a living hell to shoot at foreign foe

Fought seasickness and bullybeef with mates they'd yet to know,

But when they reached the beach-head, they still were far from shore

And were attacked while in the water, dying by the score.

Eight thousand died at ANZAC Cove and the legend was begun

Of the brave heroic ANZACS and their battles lost and won

The name and fame spread far and wide, of their courage and their skill

Of their stamina and their recklessness, and the name is with us still.

Though it still reflects the bravery that was earned in the first World War

It has a meaning of its own for it's come to mean much more

So ANZAC Day is how we now pay tribute to all those

From every war and every fight, in foreign lands with foreign foes

From the Boer War; World Wars One and Two; Korea; Vietnam;

Peace-keeping forces everywhere, and now Afghanistan

We honour all who served or serve, every single one who went

To fight for right and uphold the peace, while living in a tent.

In stinking sweaty jungles, or gale-driven desert sands

Crossing snake-infested swamps, or land-mine covered lands

In a submarine or jet fighter, or sailing stormy seas

We all owe a debt of gratitude to our people such as these.

Nursing in a makeshift hospital, or maybe feeding all the troops

Working in supply chains, or juggling bureaucratic hoops

They're not all on the front line, but they all play their part

Knowing thousands may depend on them, though perhaps a world apart

And so we gather here at dawn, and each year the number grows

As people recognise the debt that each one of us owes

There is no way no matter what, we can't repay that debt

But let's be thankful every day, lest we should just forget

Lest We Forget!

Ms LUETHEN (King) (12:55): I rise to support the excellent motion moved by the member for Hammond. Honouring our veterans and thanking them for their service is a cornerstone of the Australian story.

In particular, I would like to highlight the commitment of my local community to ANZAC Day commemorations, in addition to the commitment of Returned and Services League sub-branches in my electorate, as we recognise the roles ex-service organisations play in providing advice, support and community for veterans. We almost take RSLs for granted as a building block of Australian and South Australian society, and their social and cultural influence was only researched in depth relatively recently.

Most historians have described the RSLs as organisations that rallied the troops on the home front during wartime; however, Associate Professor Martin Crotty, writing in the Australian Journal of Politics and History, suggests that the RSL has been more than meets the eye since its 1916 inception. He says the institution has an honourable history of advocating for returned soldiers' needs and interests, as well as leading the charge to have ANZAC Day recognised as a national holiday in 1927. As former RSL President W.K. Bolton said in 1918, the soldiers who fought valiantly in Gallipoli worthily upheld ‘the honour, the credit and the prestige' of Australia and everything we stand for.

The RSL has been and continues to be one of the key pillars of South Australian society. Despite the height of the pandemic coinciding with last year's ANZAC Day, I remain proud of South Australians' commitment to remembering those who have served. I put to this house that initiatives to Light up the Dawn with ANZAC Day commemorations on people's driveways got even more people participating in the ANZAC spirit than ever before.

Because of time, I will just wrap up today on this motion by acknowledging the Salisbury RSL sub-branch and the Tea Tree Gully RSL sub-branch and their committees for everything they do to keep our community committed, everything they do to invite our communities in, and for the lengths they went to this year to make sure we could commemorate the people who have served. Lest we forget.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (12:58): I would like to acknowledge all the heartfelt contributions from right across the chamber, whether from the opposition, the crossbench or members of the government. It is very important that we give full acknowledgement of our veteran community as well as the service organisations that have assisted our veteran community in the past, that assist them now and that will assist them into the future.

I commend this motion, but I also want to acknowledge the next motion by the member for Wright. I will work with him if there is anything we can do, working together, with party rooms and the crossbench, to bring that motion honouring our ANZACs and all our service men and women for their service to this country over many years. I will do my best to make sure we get vital debate around their service in light of what they have done in the defence of this country.

Again, I thank everyone for their kind words in relation to our service men and women and the service organisations.

Motion carried.

Sitting suspended from 12:59 to 14:00.

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