Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:15): I rise to commend and second the motion from the member for Dunstan in regard to ANZAC Day and its vital commemoration in this state and our country. I note that the member for Dunstan moved:

That this house—

(a) recognises that ANZAC Day, commemorated each year on 25 April, marks the anniversary of the first major military action by Australian and New Zealand forces in World War I;

(b) pays its respects to the families of those ANZACs who tragically lost their lives during the Gallipoli campaign;

(c) shows its gratitude to all Australian personnel who have served in defence of their country; and

(d) remembers all Australians who have been injured or killed while serving.

Each year on 25 April we commemorate ANZAC Day. On this day Australians and New Zealanders mark the service and sacrifice of their armed forces and remember their fallen. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and the soldiers in these forces soon became known to others as the ANZACs. The soldiers took great pride in that name, and ANZAC Day allows that pride to continue.

The 25^th of April was an important day during the First World War as it was the first landing by ANZAC soldiers on the beaches of Gallipoli and the start of the Gallipoli campaign in 1915. As part of that effort, Australia sided with other commonwealth countries during World War I, and in 1915 an expedition set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula. Thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers were part of the expedition that landed in Gallipoli on 25 April.

The soldiers were met by fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders, and what they thought was a cunning plan to get the upper hand on Turkish forces ended up becoming a stalemate that dragged on for eight months. Both sides suffered heavy casualties during that time, and at the end of 1915 the stalemate finally culminated when allied forces evacuated from the peninsula. More than 8,000 Australian soldiers lost their lives during the Gallipoli campaign, which had a profound impact on Australians back home.

ANZAC Day commemorations were first held in 1916 in numerous locations around the world. In the 1920s it was established as a national day of commemoration for the 60,000 plus Australians who lost their lives at war, and on 25 April 1927 every state observed some form of public holiday for the first time as a commemoration. Following the Second World War, ANZAC Day also served to commemorate the 39,656 Australians who lost their lives fighting with the allied powers. Later on, the day was broadened to include those who lost their lives in all the military and peacekeeping operations Australia took part in.

The first ANZAC Day commemoration at the Australian War Memorial was in 1942, and there have been services held there ever since. ANZAC Day services are held at dawn because of the timing of the landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Certainly, as a member of a family who have had service personnel being part of our allied forces in World War I, World War II, Korea, Malaya, Rwanda—which was peacekeeping and then was changed up to active service a few years down the track—and Iraq, I have had a close association with family members over that period of time.

Some of my most treasured mementos are some letters. Sadly, some got lost after being stored in a shed where vermin got into them, but I have some treasured letters from a great uncle and his mate who were serving in the Somme in World War I, and I have actually got the originals up in my office. It is amazing the messages that came back from the front.

Our service men and women put their hands up for the Boer War—which obviously was before World War I—and for World War I, of course, and all the conflicts and all the service and the service beyond that, and there is no greater gift for those of us at home than for people to put their hand up for their nation knowing that they may have to give their life.

I truly commend all those who have served. They have to put up with the political whims of the day. I have witnessed when political decisions change things rather rapidly. My brother was sent home from Townsville once for four days, which happens before a peacekeeping mission or active service, to go to Vanuatu. As I said, he had come home from Townsville to Coomandook and was sitting there with the family and having his days of just being with us before he left, and I knew that Tobruk was being loaded with supplies.

Next thing, it was all called off, and it was interesting watching the news and the minister at the time said, 'No, we are not going to Vanuatu,' and I thought, 'Well, that is a little bit odd because my brother has been flown a long way and he is sitting next to me.' But that is what happens and sometimes we see some terrible outcomes with some of the political decisions and some of the things that happen, especially when our troops are returned from service.

I reflect on our returning soldiers, especially from the Vietnam War, who had a pretty terrible reception when they came home, and a lot of them in the end had to come home in civilian clothes for their own protection, which is terrible when you think these people had been overseas to protect our country, and the lives of us at home and our future.

As I said, there is no greater gift than all those who have served, and people keep putting their hand up, and in these times of heightened uncertainty we certainly need all those across the fields of service, whether it is the Army, Air Force or Navy, to put their hand up. Whether they are full-time or reservists, they are all equal when it comes to action stations, and I truly treasure that service.

What I do not treasure is misleading reports by media, like the ABC, fabricating stories to hurt our veterans and serving members. I think it is absolutely appalling when media stories are fabricated and it strikes right at the heart of the people who are standing up to defend our country. One comment I will make in regard to that is it is pretty easy for people to be armchair warriors and to be critical, but are they ever on the frontline witnessing what is actually happening instead of being comfortable in their homes that are protected by our service men and women, and then literally fabricating stories around what our defence personnel have had to deal with overseas? It has a shocking impact on our personnel and our veterans.

I have met many veterans as the shadow minister for veterans affairs. A lot of rotations have had to be our special forces soldiers. These are the elite of the elite and you know that they are trained to the utmost degree. I have seen the readiness of training in soldiers before they go overseas: they are ready, whatever rank they are serving. But to see them now, after they have done up to 10 rotations in quick succession with not much time at home and having suffered the impact of being in conflict and essentially being blown up at times, they are paying a massive price.

I take my hat off to all those who serve. We will never fully understand the full outcome of post-traumatic stress disorder. Sadly, we lose too many people who have served to suicide and we must keep working to make sure that we can try to quell that situation. To all our service men and women, I just say: thank you.