Page 1137 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 30 March 2011
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very fortunate to have that kind of knowledge base in the territory, advising policy makers at both the territory level and at a federal level. I understand Eric sits on a number of standards committees and makes a considerable impact right around the country with regard to road safety.
I would like to thank the sponsors which make it all possible, namely, NRMA Insurance, Prime, First Choice Dry Cleaners, ACT Health, Healthpact and the NRMA Road Safety Trust. I would also like to encourage Canberrans to consider making a contribution. It is tax deductible, it will help promote safety and it will lead to a reduction in the number of deaths and injuries on our roads which are avoidable. Again, I would like to put on the record my thanks and congratulations to KidSafe ACT for all the good work they do in the territory.
War memorials
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (6.28): I would like to speak about a public meeting that, with my colleague Ms Le Couteur, I attended last Wednesday evening at the Albert Hall. This was a meeting to discuss the memorials to World Wars I and II that are proposed to be built at the end of Anzac Parade, on Rond Terrace, right on the edge of the lake shore. It was a well-attended public meeting. More than 200 Canberrans were present at Albert Hall.
It was a very passionate evening, addressed by quite a group of eminent speakers. At the end of the evening three motions were all passed unanimously. They were that the memorials be opposed, that the NCA undertake better consultation on the proposal and that a delegation be sent to discuss the matter with the Prime Minister. I was one of the people who were invited to speak at that meeting and I would like to share with the Assembly some of the comments I made at the meeting because, even though this is very much to be determined by the NCA and is now a federal matter, as local representatives, I think it is important that we express our views.
I do not believe the memorials are an appropriate addition to the landscape. I think that the war memorials on Anzac Parade are already powerful testimony to the sacrifice of generations of Australians in war. Situated as they are along the axis between Parliament House and Mount Ainslie, the prominence of those places reflects the gratitude that we as a nation have for those who have served our country. They are a memorial to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice of going to war, fighting, and many not coming home. And I believe we should demonstrate that gratitude. But that does not mean that every memorial is appropriate, nor is the size of the memorial necessarily representative of the size of our gratitude.
In looking into this issue, I was interested to discover that the Australian peacekeeping memorial on Anzac Parade has not yet been funded or constructed. In terms of telling the whole story of Australia’s contribution in theatres across this planet, it strikes me as being a far greater priority to direct resources to ensuring the peacekeeping memorial goes ahead, and that is something that people who have funding for the current proposal might like to consider. To my mind, an essential reason for recognising those who have fought for this country is to remind us of the horrors of war, to ensure we never commit ourselves to such a venture without an eye
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