Thursday, 2 May 2024

Anzac Day

Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Housing, Minister for Water, Minister for Equality) (10:07): Last Thursday at dawn I was at the airport in Mildura waiting for a flight back home after being in the Mallee for a couple of days, and as the sun rose and as the most beautiful light settled over that glorious part of the world, a number of us gathered around a television screen in the tiny airport terminal to watch a dawn service. The point that I make here is that Anzac Day, with rosemary, with poppies and with crowds gathered in the darkness, is an opportunity for us to reflect on how it is incumbent on us at the going down of the sun and in the morning not to forget but also to make sure that our actions match our sentiment. In remembering those who have passed, those who never came home, those who still bear the scars of conflict, of peacekeeping and of the costs sustained by them upon their return, we respect you and we recognise you. We thank you and we commit to making sure that we do better with support every year.