ANZAC DAY

The Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP spent ANZAC Day in Villers-Bretonneux, France, addressing an audience that included Australian Government representatives he said:

“We are mates, brothers in arms?—?just as the Australian digger and the French Poilu were mates a century ago. Just as they are in freedom’s cause today.

Let us remember the value of friendship on this day and in this year?—?one-hundred years since the First World War, and its terrible destruction, ended.

Let us vow to learn the lessons of that destruction; to open our arms, and our hearts, to our neighbours.

And let us commit to forging a stronger, safer world. Together.

We honour the sacrifice of the ANZACs and we honour the values for which they fought. Freedom, democracy and the rule of law?—?our Australian way of life. In every age, freedoms hard won and hard fought. 

Lest we forget”.

Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Bill Shorten MP, marked ANZAC Day by visiting Australian troops in Kabul. Mr Shorten told troops:

“On this, one of our most important national days, a lot of high-minded sentiment is spoken. Powerful words are expressed.

Duty. Honour. Courage. Freedom. Sacrifice

But what I want to tell you is that standing here in the early dawn, in the shadow of the mountains around Kabul, these words take on a new meaning.

You are not talking these words. You are living these words.

Back home in Australia, people will be paying tribute to the Anzac tradition, but over here you are adding to it. You are writing our next chapter, you are giving new meaning to Anzac,”.