Speeches 

It is with thankfulness, a sense of pride, duty and destiny that we stand together to express our love of our New Zealand, and the standards of selfless service which bequeath us such a wonderful country. The character of our community produced the character of the servicemen and women whose souls we summon here today. We join together to give thanks for them of the district, of substance, spirit and strength, who lifted up our land, put aside all pettiness and strove to serve, to win and to never, ever, ever give in …. praise God.

As the new day has dawned, let us recall the young who fought so selflessly that we may share this day of freedom. As autumn lights up our countryside we remember the red blood spilled that we might live, and that we might work to build up a nation on the firm foundations of our fighting fusiliers, our stealthy sappers, the doers among our diggers, air corps and naval personnel.

In each year, ANZAC is the great New Zealand day, tatau tatau together, together, the day to recall those who faced the black and bitter night so that we might live. Each day as I sit in the Speaker’s chair in parliament, I am reminded of the lesson of the valiant warriors whose deeds are commemorated in plaques about the chamber. I am inspired by their calling to service.

In the First World War, New Zealand, with a military age male population of barely 250,000, sent more than 100,000 soldiers overseas. 18,000 of these men never returned home, and another 41,000 were wounded.

This year, 2007, is the ninetieth anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele, which remains the worst disaster in New Zealand military history in terms of lives lost in a single day.

During the Second World War, New Zealand once more made a massive commitment. Over 200,000 men and women served in our Armed Forces, and 135,000 of these were mobilised overseas. With over 36,000 casualties, our casualty rate was proportionally the highest of Britain’s Commonwealth allies.

I want to acknowledge also today New Zealand’s peace-keeping forces around the world. The last time New Zealand as a whole had to face the reality of a state of war was during World War II. Since then, however, our service personnel have served in many conflicts, emergencies and peacekeeping operations all over the world. Those deployments include J-Force, Korea, Malaya and Borneo, Viet Nam, Bosnia, the Gulf, East Timor, Bougainville, Afghanistan, and more recently the Solomons. Some of these are still in progress, most notably in Afghanistan. In March Prime Minister Helen Clark announced a further extension of New Zealand’s deployments there, a move which means that on a per capita basis, New Zealand ranks in the top half of the 37 nations providing military contributions there. In fact, the New Zealand provincial reconstruction team is regarded by the Afghan people themselves, and by other contributing forces, as a model for others to follow.

There are 192 countries in the world today, of which about ten are able to supply very good soldiers for peace-keeping. The deployment of Maori women soldiers in Bougainville is an example of the exemplary work our peace-keepers are doing. In a briefing to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee meeting in parliament on 29 March this year, Commonwealth Secretary-General the Rt Hon Don McKinnon made the point that the best peace-keeper is a highly trained combat soldier taken to a higher level. It is important for us to recognise the contribution that these soldiers continue to make to international peace and security.

I want to especially acknowledge the Viet Nam veterans here today. The Viet Nam war was this country’s longest and most controversial military engagement of the last century. I know that for many veterans of that conflict, there is still a feeling that the country doesn’t fully understand the realities of New Zealand’s involvement, and the aftermath for veterans and their families. But progress has been made: I am pleased that last year, in the Year of the Veteran, the government was able to reach an agreement with the Ex-Vietnam Services Association and the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association in response to the concerns of Viet Nam veterans. We do remember.

On ANZAC Day we think of those who fought so that our democracy, our distinctive sense of justice and fairness might ensure that each of us is inspired to give our best fully and fearlessly. I also think of my two uncles – and I am sure many of you are in the same position - one of them saw service in North Africa and Cassino, and the other who joined him in Africa and then served as part of the occupation forces in Japan. I also think of a constituent and good friend of mine who last year provided me with a copy of his Memories of War, 1939 – 1947. I was impressed by his personal and moving account of his time in the New Zealand Navy, serving on board the “HMNZS Leander” when it was torpedoed in July 1943 during the battle of Kolombangara, in the Solomon Islands. The photographs he showed me of the young men on that ship serving their country, followed by the list of those same men subsequently killed or injured on that fateful day, made sobering reading.

This New Zealand democracy, the quality of life that they fought for, has delivered much for Counties/Manukau – for now we are a vibrant, rich and diverse community. But as we look at today’s wreaths, let us never rest on our laurels. Let us recall those who gave up so much for our common good. Let us focus on the democracy they delivered for us to enjoy today, because like the red poppies of Flanders fields, democracy is a precious flower that needs our continual care, our eternal vigilance.

Last year I visited Tbilisi, Georgia, in the former Soviet Union. The scars of Russian occupation from 1922-1992 are still visible today. Yet the spirit of the people lives on through the immortal words of the Georgian Orthodox Churches’ Patriarch, His Holiness the Beatitude Ambrose. In a humiliating trial conducted by the Bolsheviks in 1924 his concluding remarks were “My soul belongs to God, my heart to my country, and you my executioners may do with my body what you like.”

As ‘King’ Dick Seddon observed after returning home from an overseas trip around 1900: “It is good to be back in God’s own country”; and it is due today to those who fought and fell so that we might stand, that we might have freedom of speech to debate the issues with passion and commitment.

Winston Churchill used his last Parliamentary speech – more than 52 years ago – to wonder and warn…“what lies before our children if God wearies of mankind”. So let us honour our servicemen and women. Let us join our hearts and minds in reverence and respect for all that our RSAs represent. May God bless us all, encourage each of us to deliver our best in New Zealand – for as we are called so must each of us answer, so that Churchill’s farewell words are forever just a speculation. God will not grow weary of us if we are forever in awe of what our ANZAC means to each and every one of us.

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