National Legacy Launch

I join Michaela in welcoming Sir Peter and Lady Cosgrove, our service chiefs, distinguished guests, Legatees, families and friends.

Dhawura nguna, dhawura Ngunnawal.

Yanggu ngalawiri, dhunimanyin

Ngunnawalwari dhawurawari.

Nginggada Dindi wangirali jinyiin

I pay my respects to the traditional custodians of the lands on which we meet, and to their Elders, past and present.

And, as we do here every evening, I welcome those of you who have served, those of you still serving, and the families who love and support you.

The families who love and support you.

Families are at the centre of why we gather today in the shadows of Ray Ewers’ remarkable Australian Serviceman sculpture. It was intended to represent all three services, and to ‘symbolise determination, courage, a spirit of achievement and a hope for the future’. Some of you might not remember that this massive statue was originally displayed in the Hall of Memory; from 1959 to 1993.  It was relocated to the Memorial’s sculpture gardens when the decision was taken to entomb the Unknown Australian Soldier.

But you might also notice there are no monuments, no heroic bronze sculptures or memorials on our grounds to represent families. Not yet, anyway.

I think we have come close with Alex Seaton’s moving Sufferings of War and Service sculpture behind you, which asks visitors to contemplate the blood, sweat and tears of service, the many drops shed in anguish, and that they are shared equally by service personnel and their families.

The Australian War Memorial Council met last week, and I hope they will forgive me for betraying their confidence, as there was a moment where the Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond quoted his wife, Jodie: “Our power at sea is derived from our strength at home”.

To reinforce this point, I was in Sydney last week for the final Hearing of the Royal Commission into Veteran and Defence Suicide. One of the booklets we were presented gathered some of the testimony, including a submission by Australian War Widows New South Wales Branch:

“As the Royal Commission has already found, families help veterans join, stay in, serve and when the time is right transition back into civilian life. Families care for veterans if they become unwell due to their service and are the ones left behind and left out when a veteran passes away.

Families in all their forms are the constant in a veteran’s life; they are without doubt a protective factor and have positive impacts on transition and wellbeing outcomes for veterans.”

So, in saying there are no heroic statues on the grounds of the Memorial honouring families, there is today. It is in the form of the remarkable Legatees, those of you who have dedicated your post service life – or those with a civilian background – to embody the promise made in the trenches of the First World War that we would look after the families of those who served.

Today, we join our Legatees and rededicate ourselves to the promise that, as we continue to protect our freedoms and our values through our power on the sea, on land and in the air, we will do all we can to support our families at home.

You are all most welcome to the Australian War Memorial, where Sir Peter will now formally launch Legacy Week 2024.