Wednesday, 12 November 2025

 Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (13:44): Deliberate silence is not something our modern society is well acquainted with, but at the stroke of the 11th hour on Remembrance Day we stopped, reflected and remembered those who served and died in conflicts and peace operations at home and abroad. On Sunday and on Tuesday, across Frankston, Springvale, Berwick, Dandenong, Noble Park, Cranbourne and other parts of the south-eastern region, we watched flags being raised, sang the national anthem with pride and paused to remember in silence. Today I pay tribute to our men and women who serve and have served us in the armed services – in the navy, the army and also the air force.

Almost 40 per cent of our male population between the ages of 18 and 44 served in the Great War. Nearly 60,000 were killed and many more were wounded, gassed or taken prisoner. That war that was to end all wars did exactly the opposite: it sowed the seeds for the Second World War and the service of nearly a million Australians. Our nation has been involved in many conflicts since then, from the remote jungles in Vietnam and Korea to the arid deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq and everywhere in between. Many Australians have surrendered their lives to give us a life free from dictatorship and tyranny, and their sacrifice afforded us many rights and privileges. We are duty-bound to ensure that our children, our children’s children and the generations beyond them never forget history’s lessons.