Thursday, 2 May 2024

Anzac Day

Lily D’AMBROSIO (Mill Park – Minister for Climate Action, Minister for Energy and Resources, Minister for the State Electricity Commission) (09:42): I rise to speak about the many Anzac Day commemoration events I attended recently in my electorate of Mill Park. I am honoured to have attended the Turkish sub-branch of the Victorian RSL’s 109th anniversary of Anzac Day traditional dinner alongside special guests Mehmet Ali Cevheri, an MP from the Parliament of Türkiye, and consul general Doğan Ferhat Işık. This annual event remembers the special, enduring friendship between Türkiye and Australia and the tragic loss of lives at the battle of Gallipoli. Many other Labor members of Parliament attended that event, and it was fantastic. I want to thank the branch president Ramazan Altintas and vice-president Sucettin Unal for the work they do in the Turkish community.

On Anzac Day I attended the Epping RSL’s dawn service and laid a wreath on behalf of the Mill Park electorate. The service was very moving, and I want to thank Epping RSL president Kevin Ind and vice-president Mike Reid, as well as the rest of the Epping RSL community, for their hard work organising this service, which is always well attended and inclusive.

The following day I attended Mill Park Secondary College’s Anzac Day assembly, where school leaders laid a wreath beneath the school’s flagpoles to honour and remember the ongoing legacy of the Anzacs. It was wonderful to hear from Zachary Melvaine, who was one of 12 winners of last year’s Premier’s Spirit of Anzac Prize and who spoke about what Anzac Day meant to him. School principal Tim Natoli gave a speech about the importance of learning from the past and the importance of upholding peace. Thanks to school leaders Frensi, Honey, Zachary, Mily and Ethan for running the assembly, and to Tim Natoli and his team for the amazing work they do every day for our young Victorians.