Senator Brown asked the Minister representing the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, upon notice, on 29 January 2004:

(1) What support has the Australian Government given to the construction of war memorials at Gona and Buna-Sanananda, sites of critical World War 2 battles in the New Guinea campaign of 1942-43; if no support has been given, why not.

(2) Have any government ministers visited the sites that were constructed at Buna-Sanananda and Gona by volunteers in 1995; if not, why not.

(3) Does the Government contribute to the maintenance of these memorials; if so, how much.

Senator Coonan (Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer) —The Minister for Veterans' Affairs has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

(1) No funds have been allocated by the current Government for construction of memorials at battlefield sites of Buna, Gona and Sanananda. Instead, the official memorial commemorating the Buna, Gona, and Sanananda campaign was completely redeveloped by the Government during 2002. This memorial, located at Popondetta, was originally built by the Australian Government in the 1960s and then redeveloped by the current Government as part of the commemorative activities for the 60th anniversary of the Defence of Australia.

This project was one of three major memorial construction projects in Papua New Guinea during 2002 to commemorate the service and sacrifice of our veterans in the Battle of the Beachheads, the Battle of Milne Bay, and the Kokoda Track campaign. Since 1996, the Government has allocated funds for construction of other major overseas memorials, including Gallipoli, the Western Front memorials at Le Hamel and Fromelles in France, Hellfire Pass in Thailand, Crete, Sandakan, Tarawa, and most recently for the Australian War Memorial, London.

(2) No. The Minister for Veterans Affairs, the Hon Danna Vale MP, led a major commemorative mission to Papua New Guinea in November 2002 to dedicate the the official memorial commemorating the Buna Gona and Sanananda campaign. The Popondetta Memorial serves as an appropriate and accessible site for education and commemoration of the Battle for Buna, Gona and Sanananda.

(3) During 2002, the Government agreed to assist with maintenance of the existing battlefield memorials at Buna and Gona during the redevelopment of the Popondetta Memorial. A total of $1610 was spent on the existing battlefield memorials.