On this day, at this dark, quiet hour, we are brought together as communities of Australians to honour and nourish the memory of our countrymen and women who served and died in wars and other operations.

We pause to quietly thank the more than one and a half million Australians who have served in wars and those who died.

It is well known that Australia has lost more than one hundred thousand sons and daughters in active service. That is easy to remember.

Yes, she has lost one hundred thousand. But what is the exact number? How many more than that number of one hundred thousand that rolls off the tongue?

Our nation has lost each one of a further two thousand seven hundred and thirty four lives.

Such a heavy price to pay for the freedom we may occasionally treat too lightly.

Whatever the many home towns, backgrounds and levels of society from which they came to their posts, they served under the same cause.

They wore our uniform, carried our weapons, held up our flag, nursed our injured and communicated our despatches. They retrieved our prisoners to the sound of cheers and they buried our dead to the last post.

Some, perhaps, joined in misguided wanderlust – only to yearn, having seen too much, for home, for family, for touch, for safety.

Certainly others enlisted for Empire, for God, King and Country – to quickly come to wonder if there can ever be justice or peace on Earth wherever there is power wielded by man.

And we know that some joined at the demand of their government – and yet they fought with honour and valour in the desperate hope, like all the rest, that having performed their duty they would live to return home.

What made these once ordinary people special is that they were prepared to pay the ultimate price in defence of nation, our democratic way of life and freedom of speech, worship and conscience.

From the most decorated brave of whom books, songs and portraits are made through to the unknown soldier who lies anon below a marble stone in a distant land, we love them both. In our country, every person is equal.

And what were their names? What colour was his hair? How old was she? What joke would make him laugh? What was hidden in her glory box? What was his sweetheart’s name and where was their favourite place? What were her plans for the future? What dreams did he have for his children?

Sadly, these are the people we never met, can never know. These are the ones whose stories were never finished as they should have been because of mankind’s terrible and repeated failure to love peace.

Our forebears started our continuing tradition of stopping on this day and forcing people of their time and indeed future generations to be mindful of these servicemen and their sacrifice.

Their names are scripted on enlistment forms and typed on service records. Their names are forged on the great bronze plaques of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, they are recorded on cenotaphs in town centres, they are painted on wooden boards in war memorial halls and they are engraved in rows of medals lovingly mounted on living room walls when there is no longer a breast to wear them.

In this way, we Australians protect their legacy. We do it out of pride, gratitude, sorrow and regret. We wish it had never been necessary. But we do it because the selfless legacy of both the deceased and the returned servicemen and women has become our national inheritance.

No one present is here to glorify war. Neither do we boast in the victories we have won. We remember the fallen. We honour those who have served. We pledge faithfulness with those who mourn and have felt the sharpness of loss and unexplainable waste of human life. And these noble promises today will come at a cost to us tomorrow when we must decide if we will give to our fellow man what is required when it is needed. We can resolve to live our lives in a way which is worthy of yesterday’s sacrifice that was paid for our freedoms today.

Our gratitude is inadequate and we cannot repay this debt. But still, our gratitude will never cease.

These men and women didn’t just serve the Australia they knew or decades past. They served the generations of Australians that followed and are yet to follow. They served the noble causes of freedom and peace.

They will never be forgotten.

For, as they have been promised, “Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore”

Lest we forget.

Mr Speaker, I am particularly sad tonight to bring to the attention of the House the passing of the late Mr Thomas Albin Gray, known as Tom to his family and friends. My thoughts tonight are particularly with his wife, June, and their family. Tom Gray was a wonderful pastor of a local Christian church in Launceston and in other places around the world. He had a wonderful demonstration of selfless concern for others, reaching out to children, families and older people. He was constantly, throughout his life of ministry, called upon to serve people during times of spiritual and physical need, which often happen together. He taught the Christian message in that unique way of gentleness, compassion and truth in love.

For a time he was also a missionary abroad. His Christian message, though, was not just one of spreading the gospel. It was coupled with humanitarian work, which was a steadfast devotion, alongside his wife, June, to the physical needs of vulnerable people who are so often forgotten in Western life.

Like other important people in our lives, I remember Tom as a wonderful encourager. I remember him particularly as a young boy for his love of teaching of wisdom as told by the book of Proverbs. He would constantly come back to that and share from it. A few words of tribute in this House tonight cannot come even close to describing the admiration that thousands of Tasmanians and people from far-flung places will have for him, and equally their sadness at his loss. Christians believe in a resurrection, in that free gift of eternal life, paid for by the blood of Christ. In that sense there is hope, as Tom, in the words of his family, is now in the presence of the Lord he loved.

I am thankful for the life of Thomas Gray, as are so many in the Ferguson family and, as I have said, countless people around our State and the world. As I am sadly prevented from attending his funeral tomorrow afternoon, this tonight is my tribute to that life of wisdom, generosity, faith and love.

Mr Speaker, I was very sad, along with many people from Northern Tasmania and, indeed, around our State and the country to learn recently of the sudden passing of the late Mr Frederick Royce Edwards AM, known as Fred to his friends, who lived an active and vibrant life and in his senior years was able to boast an incredible record of achievement and service. Mr Edwards served as president of the Rotary Club of Launceston in 1974-75. He also was district governor for Rotary in Tasmania in 1985-86 and was recognised in May 1986 with the highly-esteemed award in Rotary by being named a Paul Harris Fellow. Fred is very well known for the many exploits through his career and service clubs. His late wife, Nona, supported his many initiatives, as did his two sons, who of course grieve the loss of their father today.

He was also a friend and mentor to Colleen McGann for 47 years. In his career working with St Luke’s Health Insurance and St Luke’s Health, he was a staunch advocate for private health in the community and health policy more generally at a local, national and international level. As a Rotarian, he lived a life of service to the cause.

Yesterday there was a celebration of Fred’s life in Launceston which, due to parliamentary and pre-parliamentary commitments, I was unable to attend. However, Colleen McGann, Chris Dockray and Ross Hart spoke compellingly of Fred’s life at that celebration and described him as a strong advocate for equal opportunity in the workplace. The eulogies noted his commitment to family, his vocation, his work as a mentor to many and as a business leader and through his service to the local community and the world community through Rotary International.

From my point view, man to man, I always found Fred a wonderful encouragement to me both personally and as a career politician. He really was a gentleman and, as was said to me today by a fellow Rotarian, Mr Routley, he described Fred as one of those rare people whose contribution will be remembered in 50 years’ time, especially his contribution to health.

This is a speech I gave on Wednesday 28th March 2012, celebrating some great people I am proud to call fellow Tasmanians.

Mr FERGUSON (Bass) – It is my pleasure tonight to report to the House some news that has popped up on the Examiner’s website this afternoon.

Our own Launceston runner, Jake Birtwhistle, has won his first World Schools Athletics victory, the International School Sports Federation’s under-18 world cross-country championship. He is in Malta at the moment. He won the 6-kilometre race at just 17 and is a member of the Australian team at those championships. He has done northern Tasmania and Australia very proud with his success. I know that his school mates at Launceston College and those from Riverside High School will share with his family and the athletic community in northern Tasmania in being very proud of those amazing achievements. The Examiner reports that that takes him to 11 national titles now, at the age of just 17. Also this season he recently won the Coles Bay Triathlon and came eighth in his age group at the recent Australia and Oceania Triathlon Championships in Devonport, even though he went missing for eight weeks with a broken collarbone. We can be very proud of him – I hear Mr Wightman agreeing – and want to wish him every success in what is obviously going to be a very bright future.

I am very happy to say that he shares selection in the National Triathlon Academy with Natalea Smith, who has qualified to join that academy. She is another 17 year old from my electorate of Bass and attends Launceston Church Grammar School. She also recently won the bronze medal in the 17-18 age group for our State in the Australian Youth Championships in Queensland which were held this month. Even though she was unlucky enough to crash her bike in bad weather at the final stage, she kept going with her injuries to the finish line so that she could share the dais with other placegetters.

I also want to draw attention to other members from my electorate who participated at the Youth Championships in Sydney, in particular James Hansen, Samuel Alderson, Abbey de la Motte – who is another notable runner in our community – Claire McClenaghan, Emma Walker, Courtney Stanley and Jordan Bennett.

I want to touch on two events that I have been involved with since our Parliament last met. The first is to draw the attention of the House to
the Isolated Children’s Parents Association, which is a highly-esteemed national federation of councils whose interest is the education and other needs of young people who call remote and regional Australia home.

I want to particularly tip my hat to Kate Thompson who is the president of the local branch and all of her team on the State executive for what was a fantastic and first State conference here in Tasmania. I was very proud to be the first politician to address their first State conference and we were able to discuss and talk about the Liberals’ plan to keep Tasmanian schools open and to retain our strong and longstanding commitment to no forced closures of Tasmanian schools. There was great support for that position, as there was great interest and support for our policy to extend our high schools and what they provide to the community to year 12. In relation to that I want to congratulate the ICPA, Kate Thompson who I have mentioned, and the Federal Executive members who were in attendance from the Northern Territory and South Australia.

Mr Speaker, the last subject I want to mention tonight is the wonderful – and it can only be described with that adjective – St George’s Truck Run which I attended in my electorate once again earlier this month. It is a fantastic event that is run by big-hearted people from the Tasmanian Truck Owners and Operators Association. I again compliment to the House Bob Imlach and Alf Waters and all the other volunteers and committee members from the association who do this event for our northern special children who are enrolled at St George’s Special School.

This is a very tough time for truck operators, not just in the logging industry but across the sector. With all of the economic challenges that
are occurring their generosity was as big as ever and the look on the faces of our special children as they boarded those big rigs and were taken to Myrtle Park was a great delight. It is supporting a great school led by great educational leaders and it is not too patronising to say that they do amazing work on behalf of our community.

World Teachers Day is a great time to recognize the positive contribution teachers make to the future of each and every Tasmanian child.  Great teachers make learning fun, they inspire, encourage and bring out the best in every child.

Clear links have been found between participation in Education with higher wages, better health and increased life satisfaction.  This means a good teacher can help determine a child’s opportunities beyond school.

For parents, today is also a good time to reflect on that special teacher who stood out when you were in school and made all the difference in your own learning pathway.

I urge all parents and students to find a way to thank their teachers (both past and present) for the important and worthwhile influence they play for our families.