Radio interview, 6PR Mornings with Gary Adshead

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
6PR MORNINGS WITH GARY ADSHEAD
TUESDAY, 25 APRIL 2023

SUBJECTS: Anzac Day 2023

GARY ADSHEAD, HOST: The 25th of April 1915, the date of the Gallipoli landings. So, the Anzac legend begins, but so does the carnage of war. Across eight months, more than 8,700 Australians gave their lives and 2,779 New Zealanders. Now, the Defence Minister, sorry, the Defence Personnel and Veterans’ Affairs Minister, Matt Keogh, is in Anzac Cove as we speak, preparing for the service there, the Dawn Service in Türkiye. He joins me on the line. Thanks very much for your time, Minister.

MATT KEOGH, MINISTER FOR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS: It's lovely to be with you this morning.

ADSHEAD: Well, it must be an honour, too, not to be with me, but to be where you are, ground zero on this very special day, the place where it all began.

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, it is an absolute honour to be here in Gallipoli for the Dawn Service and the many commemoration activities that occur over the few days leading up to Anzac Day. And not just to participate in these commemorative services, but to literally be able to walk through the valleys and trenches, the footsteps of our diggers that were here, and to visit the war graves of so many lives lost.

ADSHEAD: What's that been like for you? This is your first occasion there. What's it been like?

MINISTER KEOGH: It is my first time here and it's a humbling experience. You certainly feel it through the core of your body. I have to say, when you're standing on the beach and you think about the guys that were half my age jumping into the water to run at that beach under fire, bodies dropping next to them, bullets whizzing past them in the dark, just what a surreal experience that must have been. It certainly is, to just stand there on the beach and to follow in their footsteps more than a century later. And it's a real difference when you're standing in a war grave where headstones set out, where bodies lie, and to think in the serenity that you can experience with birds chirping today, how very different it must have been 108 years ago for them.

ADSHEAD: Can I ask you, have you got a sense of who's on the journey there with you this time, in terms of Australians? Have you met many?

MINISTER KEOGH: I've met some of the Australians that have come over for these commemorative services, and in particular the Dawn Service, of course, and they really range in ages. And I've met, for example, a family that currently lives in Europe and has driven hours and hours to get across to Türkiye. They have a great, great uncle who was engaged here in Gallipoli. So, lots of people that have got a family connection, trying to reconnect with family by coming here to their last resting place, as well as people that have got no direct connection to Gallipoli, but just understand its fundamental importance to the Australian story. Even now, 108 years later.

ADSHEAD: I understand there's quite a few people there that would be under 40 years of age, and so that's an indication of how people feel about this in terms of the legacy and the memory of Anzac Day.

MINISTER KEOGH: Yeah, over a third of the people attending are under the age of 34, which I think tells you that this is an enduring legacy and an enduring, of enduring importance to Australia. And it's probably not to be forgotten that whilst the Anzac story is the beginning of that story, it's something that continues on even through every conflict and peacekeeping operation and humanitarian effort that our Defence Force provides. And we've now got 30 odd thousand veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. And so I think having that opportunity to pay respects, to come back to where it started, is something that's important for Australians of all generations. And there are children here with families that are reconnecting to their family history, but also reflecting on what's been much more recent events in our history as well.

ADSHEAD: Can I just ask you, you've obviously had a look around. How is it laid out in terms of getting the balance right for the significance of that area? Obviously, tourists want to go and see it as well, but have they got it right as far as you're concerned?

MINISTER KEOGH: I think they do have the balance right and certainly it's a site that is quite remote from the main population of Türkiye here. And so there is a big effort that the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, in conjunction with the New Zealand Government and of course, with the support of the Türkiye government as well, to make sure that we set up an appropriate opportunity for the Dawn Service and to give people the opportunity to participate in the other commemorative activities that have occurred over the last few days and occur after the Dawn Service as well. But to leave in place that opportunity for people to really experience what was here. So, it's not artificial in any sense. I went for a walk through a place called Shrapnel Valley yesterday, which is where there's a war grave. But then walking from the war grave all the way up the ridge to the neck, and it's pretty low fire. There's a few signposts and some stairs now, which obviously weren't there before, but you do get the sense that you are literally walking in the footsteps of our diggers.

ADSHEAD: Can I ask you whether you've sort of stood there and thought, why, why here? Why was this a place where we thought we could overrun the Turks? Because clearly history would show that in many respects, Australians and New Zealanders and others were sitting ducks.

MINISTER KEOGH: Absolutely. And I can tell you, standing on those beaches and talking to, even to my counterpart, the Defence Minister from New Zealand, we've spoken about that, the impossibility of that terrain, and thinking, why would you even attempt to do this? And I'm not going to try and summarise the many, many books and movies that have canvassed that ground and the history of that. But you are very much confronted by that when you stand and walk through the Gallipoli peninsula and when you stand at the different war graves and as well as at the bottom of those huge cliffs and think almost the futility of it. But also what that brings to presence for you is just what an effort our diggers made to get that ground, hold that ground, sometimes lose it and win it back in such a difficult situation. Must have been - I'm sure they all scratching their heads at times as well. And it does speak to that tenacity to just dig in and to hold ground and in the most difficult of terrain, let alone the onslaught that they were confronting from the other side as well.

ADSHEAD: So, what does the day look like for you now, because you will be at the service fairly soon, then what? What sort of takes place over the course of the day? Or is it all over after the service?

MINISTER KEOGH: No, so we have the Dawn Service, which we're about to head to right now. And the Dawn Service is an amazing service. We'll be hearing from not just politicians like me giving speeches, but some of our Defence Force personnel who will be providing part of the service. People like Chloe Bruer-Jones, who is just an amazing singer and I've seen her over the last few days, not just sing the Australian national anthem, but the Turkish national anthem, the French national anthem. Joseph Canning will be leading off the service with a didgeridoo, which will be it'll be amazing seeing it in rehearsals yesterday. Everyone should be looking for that. And we've got some amazing buglers at the Dawn Service, but also at Lone Pine. There's a service after the Dawn Service at Lone Pine. Michael Fraser is playing the bugle there. These are great performers from our Defence Force, but who are also just so honoured to be part of what's occurring here today. There's a further service after the Lone Pine service for New Zealand forces as well. So, it is a number of ceremonies over a number of days. Of course, this is of huge importance to Australia, but of significant importance to a full range of different countries that were fighting here in Gallipoli. Obviously those from Türkiye, but so many at the side of our diggers as well.

ADSHEAD: Minister, I'll let you go and get on with it. We'll obviously bring some of that to our listeners today as well, some of the service, appreciate your time, enjoy the privilege of being there.

MINISTER KEOGH: Thank you very much.

ENDS

Editor’s note: For veterans and families this day may be an emotional time and lead to feelings of distress. You are encouraged to include the contact information for Open Arms Veterans and Families Counselling in your stories. Open Arms is available 24/7 on 1800 011 046 or visit OpenArms.gov.au.

Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling provides 24/7 free confidential crisis support for current and ex-serving ADF personnel and their families on 1800 011 046 or the Open Arms website. Safe Zone Support provides anonymous counselling on 1800 142 072. Defence All-Hours Support Line provides support for ADF personnel on 1800 628 036 or the Defence Health Portal. Defence Member and Family Helpline provides support for Defence families on 1800 624 608