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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-06-13 Daily Xml
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Aboriginal Veterans Commemorative Service

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:25): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Will the minister inform the council about the recent Aboriginal Veterans Commemorative Service held during Reconciliation Week?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:25): I thank the honourable member for his question and his strong interest in this area. As we heard earlier today, when he tabled reports from the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Committee, he has a very strong interest in matters affecting Aboriginal people in South Australia.

I was honoured to attend the Aboriginal Veterans Commemorative Service as part of Reconciliation Week recently at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander War Memorial at the Torrens Parade Ground. The service poignantly acknowledged and commemorated all First Nations peoples who have served with the Australian Defence Forces valiantly and without hesitation since the Boer War, despite often enduring exclusion from Australian society as a whole.

We know in some cases Aboriginal people were refused permission to enlist and would go to the next town to enlist, such was their desire to serve their country in times of war. In some cases, Aboriginal people returned to Australia, their traditional lands having been taken from them while they were deployed overseas.

The keynote address at this year's Reconciliation Aboriginal Veterans Commemorative Service was by Flying Officer Jason Enchong, who hails from Mer Island in the Torres Strait and now serves as the Indigenous Liaison Officer at RAAF Edinburgh.

Flying Officer Enchong spoke about the hardships he has had to overcome during his time in the Australian Defence Force. He recalled cruelties he, his father and his sister, who also serve in the Australian Defence Force, have faced at the hands of their colleagues, including being told to take a dip in white paint to change the colour of their skin.

The very personal stories that were told serve as a stark reminder of the barriers Aboriginal people still face and are often overcome by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as they stand alongside their peers in the service of Australia. Flying Officer Enchong, along with his father and sister, are exemplary beacons of a commitment to serve their country and were deserving of recognition at this year's ceremony.

Once again, we were fortunate to hear the touching music delivered by Aunty Vonda Last, accompanied by the Navy Band, where she sang her original songs For Love of Country and Home or Ngurra, which she sang both in language and in English.

A number of members of this parliament attended and placed tributes at the ceremony, including the Minister for Veterans Affairs in another place, the Hon. Geoff Brock; the member for Waite, Catherine Hutchesson; the shadow attorney-general in another place, the member for Heysen, Josh Teague; and the shadow minister for veterans affairs, Adrian Pederick.

The service was presented by Aboriginal Veterans SA. Aboriginal Veterans South Australia undertake very important work and have been able to deliver a number of notable outcomes for Aboriginal veterans as well as be involved in these sorts of services. One such important work that Aboriginal Veterans SA has been involved in is curating the travelling Call of Country exhibition, which was on display at the Torrens Parade Ground after the service, creating a register of Aboriginal veterans and taking responsibility for Aboriginal veteran grave restoration.

I commend, in particular, the very important work of Aboriginal Veterans SA and thank Aboriginal Veterans SA for putting on another moving service during National Reconciliation Week.

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