Mrs GASH (4:50 PM) —I move:

On 1 March 1901, just two months after Federation, the states transferred 1,700 regular and over 27,000 part-time and reserve troops to the Commonwealth. And so began the Army. Already, some of its troops who had left the country under state flags prior to Federation being declared were fighting in the Boer War. So Australia's tradition of assisting other countries far from home in battles that revolved around principles of freedom and democracy began with the formation of the Army. Much of the time following the creation of the Commonwealth forces was spent in structuring the force for the long term. This included establishing the Royal Military College to ensure a continuing supply of well-trained officers; establishing the Citizen Military Forces to ensure a continuing supply of Australian civilians who could be called upon in an emergency; establishing the Australian Flying Corps to ensure that aviation support grew in a controlled fashion; and establishing a cadet scheme for young people to ensure a continuing supply of residents interested in joining the services.

Very soon after these steps were put in place, war was declared by our allies and Australia offered to help. After the Great War, Australia's identity and global reputation had been established. The men and women who came back from the war were heroes, applauded by their community and welcomed home. They also carried terrible sadness with them, great friendships and a horror of the carnage of war. They returned to their families utterly changed. Of course, many did not return.

We came out of this war with a modern, well-equipped army, a very promising air flying corps and the basis for a great navy. Unfortunately, as seems to have happened to our defence forces all too regularly, financial constraints on the then government led to enormous cutbacks in defence. And so began the tradition of our Army personnel making do with less by working harder and being smarter. While our forces do have a reputation for innovation and enterprise, often gained through `making do', this is not the best way to routinely run a defence force.

In spite of the frustrations and disappointments, they carried on. Over the ensuing years and many governments later, the Australian Army has performed with great credit in different arenas of conflict in the world. With each crisis or request for assistance, Australian men and women heeded the call and volunteered or agreed to do their duty. It was rare that they were fully funded, prepared and supplied when emergencies did arise, and the Australian Army, because of its excellent reputation and networks, could work with our community and other countries' forces to fill the gaps. Our troops made light of it in the field, using their renowned humour to cope with the lack of resources.

Several governments tried to make sure that our defence forces were well provisioned in terms of well-structured lines of supply for modern equipment and well-trained personnel. They went about, banging drums and talking up the effort. Many in the forces raised their hopes and expectations, while others who had seen it before got more cynical. It seemed as though every attempt to raise the standard of funding and support for our defence forces was immediately followed by some kind of financial struggle for the country. This kept meaning that our defence forces missed out: their budgets, only recently concocted and agreed, were severely trimmed or slashed.

Men and women who joined the Amy and signed long-term contracts to give the best years of their lives to the service of our nation had their conditions eaten away. Rather like the building industry, we would see cycles of boom and bust, where one minister would order up big on equipment but leave nothing for maintenance or gradual upgrade and replacement. It was very frustrating being in any of the forces; yet this is where I believe the Anzac spirit really showed through. Our Amy, in between conflicts and in spite of community indifference at best, or opposition at worst, and in spite of severe shortages of staff and resources, kept the fires burning. Each time when we needed to take them from the cupboard, so to speak, and dust them off and send them out to represent us—in all our instant national pride—they did the job and did it well. Each time they would be given great welcomes home and then be promptly forgotten, like yesterday's news, until the next anniversary—when celebrations demanded that they turn out again. And, of course, those returning from Vietnam did not even get that recognition; they got abuse. And their families bore the pain.

The Amy represented us well, because its people kept on keeping on, regardless of the odds and regardless of the lack of recognition or support. Mr Deputy Speaker, you can imagine that when you train your whole life for something and a real opportunity to put that training into practice does not eventuate for several years—and thank God it does not—it must be difficult to maintain the focus. The men and women of our Australian Amy have done this, year in and year out. Aside from our regular troops, the reservists and other volunteers have also kept the faith and kept training. Many, doing what they saw as the right thing for their country, either volunteered or agreed when conscripted to assist the Army in its work. With whirlwind training and induction, these men and women too served us proudly, to great effect.

With the community consultations surrounding our recent Defence white paper, the degree of public support is significant. Much of this has been brought about by the efforts of our army in peacemaking or peacekeeping missions to neighbouring countries and to others further away. Especially with East Timor there has been an opportunity for ordinary Australians to view the work of our Army, Navy and Air Force personnel and be mightily proud of them. Even any people who previously saw our defence forces as `boys with toys' now agree they have an important role to play in our region and in other developing or troubled countries of the world.

As a result of this widespread community support, and the good economic management of this government, we have developed a plan. This plan is to make sure that our defence forces get what they need, as they need it—with all the training and support that is appropriate. A major part of this plan is to ensure that it works financially, no matter what. No longer can we afford to continually disappoint our service men and women. If our youngest, strongest and brightest are going to sign up to serve their country for several years, they need to know that their conditions include the best training and support that we can give them. They need to know that there will be secure positions for them and that they will be properly prepared to meet the challenges along the way. We need to build on our nation's pride in its Army and we want people to aspire to joining the Army as a career. I will not be here to see it but I expect the Australian Army will still be at the forefront of our nation's international contributions in another 100 years.

There is a group of people whom the public and government often forget in all of this. This group is the friends, partners and families of our service men and women. During each conflict where we send our troops off to represent us, they alone sit and wait to hear of their loved ones' continued health. They alone wait and worry, and carry the weight of the normal lives of our service personnel while they are away. They do without mum or dad at birthdays and school speech nights. They carry out the role of both parents because the other is not there. They wait to hear that their son or daughter is alive and well and coming home. They carry a different, and sometimes tougher, load. During times of peace, they are the sounding boards for the frustration of service life. They are not paid as services personnel but they are part of the service community.

As part of our plan to reinvigorate our defence forces and put their standing back where it belongs, we are encouraging more of our best to try the services as cadets. In one of the last Labor squeezes, Gough Whitlam abolished school cadets and withdrew ADF support for them outside of school. An announcement yesterday by my colleague the member for Bradfield and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence re-established funding for the Australian Service Cadet Scheme to the tune of $30 million per year, commencing in four weeks time, and will ensure high-level training, uniforms, proper equipment, and access to military personnel.

In Gilmore we have a large Navy defence base, HMAS Albatross, but we are also very proud of our Army parachute training school. They are wonderful, fit, motivated, intelligent, positive people who make a real contribution to the Shoalhaven community. In so many ways we are working to ensure that the Army will be there in another 100 years and that we Australians will still be very proud of them.

Mr Cameron Thompson —I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.