Page 90 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 12 February 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
to Le Hamel. The marks of shrapnel from World War II on the memorials to those who were killed some 25 years earlier in the war to end all wars carry their own poignant message.
We continued to Pozieres, to Hill 69, to Papillon, to the Cobbers memorial at Fromelles, which remembers what has been termed the worst night in Australian military history. And we continued to Tyne Cot, the largest commonwealth war grave cemetery in the world, with almost 12,000 graves.
Madam Assistant Speaker, you may be able to imagine the depth of the feeling and the honour that I felt when I arrived in the location of the Menin Gate. Since 1928 on every night, other than during the four years in World War II when it was occupied, there has been a time of remembrance and honour within the memorial that lists 55,000 names, including around 6,000 Australians.
It was my enormous honour to recite the ode for the 31,283rd ceremony and to lay a wreath on behalf of the people of the ACT. The Australian connection there that night was strong amongst the crowd of several hundred people. I spoke with a young veteran from Adelaide who had recently studied in Canberra and I shared the ceremony with a school from Port Macquarie.
As you are aware, each day here in Canberra at the War Memorial a last post ceremony is held which both honours a specific veteran and also enables the remembrance of all who have served. The War Memorial is of course now the location of the lions that formerly sat on either side of the Menin Gate as our World War I solders passed along the road on the way to and from those significant and defining battles. I encourage Canberrans to join one of those daily ceremonies.
I am indeed aware of the privileged position that I have been in to have been able to travel to the World War I battlefields and to participate in times of significance. That privilege arises from the broader privilege that I have in my role with veterans here in the ACT. Again I confirm my commitment and this government’s commitment to enabling recognition of and support for those who have served and those who continue to serve this country.
Proximity Canberra Triathlon Festival
MR PARTON (Brindabella) (4.28): I rise today to heap praise on two of my colleagues. Strangely, these two MLAs do not sit on this side of the chamber. This afternoon I wish to give a big pat on the back to Ms Cody and Mr Rattenbury, who both joined me on the weekend to do something very special.
On Saturday Ms Cody, Mr Rattenbury and I put our political differences aside. We linked arms and together we took on the Proximity Canberra Triathlon Festival as a tripartisan team. Did it feel a little dirty? No, it felt good. I was the novice on this team. Mr Rattenbury, of course, is a triathlon veteran, going back decades, and Ms Cody has racked up a number of triathlons in recent years. I understand she is currently preparing for Huskisson. They were both able to tell me things that I had no
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video