(1) Will the national Battle for Battle for Australia Day ceremony, which was held at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra 6 September 2000, become an annual commemorative event.

(2) What arrangements has his Department or the Battle for Australia National Council made for official commemoration of the Battle for Australia in 2001.

(3) What effort has his Department or the Battle for Australia National Council made to involve school students and teachers in the electoral division of Prospect to learn more about the events of the Battle for Australia.

(4) What effort has his Department or the Battle for Australia National Council made to involve RSL clubs and other organisations in the electoral division of Prospect in ceremonies commemorating the Battle for Australia.

(1) The 2000 ceremony was organised by the Battle for Australia Commemoration Committee (ACT). The Committee is organising a similar ceremony at the Australian War Memorial for Wednesday, 5 September 2001. I am advised that it is the intention of the committee that it become an annual event, occurring on the first Wednesday in September each year.

(2) Battle for Australia commemorations will be held this year in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and in regional centres, including Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Tamworth, Cooma and Bendigo. These commemorations are organised by the Battle for Australia State committees at the instigation of the Battle for Australia Commemoration National Council. My Department attends meetings of the National Council and the State committees in New South Wales and Victoria. National Council and State committee members are responsible for disseminating information about the commemorations to ex-service organisations and other veterans and encouraging their participation.

(3) My Department has assisted the National Council and State committees in developing their media and communication strategies. State committees encourage the involvement of schools in annual ceremonies and in 2000, many school students attended ceremonies in Sydney and Melbourne. State committees anticipate that an increasing number of students and teachers will attend this year's ceremonies. My Department has asked the NSW State Committee to ensure that students and teachers in the electoral division of Prospect are informed about the events of the Battle for Australia. The National Council is developing a website that will contain information about Battle for Australia ceremonies and events, the roles of the National Council and State committees, and information for schools on the background to the Battle for Australia ceremonies.

(4) Most of the major ex-service organisations are represented on the National Council and State committees. The National President of the RSL, National President of the RAAF Association, Federal President of the Naval Association of Australia, National President of the Australian Legion of Ex-Servicemen and Women and Executive Officer of the National Legacy Co-ordinating Council are members of the National Council. Chairpersons from the NSW, Victorian, Queensland and ACT committees are members of the National Council as is the National President of the History Teachers' Association of Australia. A representative of the Australia-PNG Friendship Association has been coopted on to the National Council.

Members of the National Council and the State committees have the responsibility to communicate with their sub-branches. My Department has asked the NSW State Committee to ensure that every effort is made to involve RSL clubs and other organisations in the electoral division of Prospect in ceremonies concerning the Battle for Australia.