We owe our freedom to brave serving members

ANZAC Day is a day to both reflect on the gravity and impact of war and to give thanks to those men and women who gave so selflessly during World War I to ensure that we enjoy our freedom today.

It is also a time to think of their families who are left at home keeping the home fires burning.

I have not served in the armed forces, lost a close relative to war and I certainly have never faced a shot fired in anger, so I am in awe of the Anzac gen- eration, who were tested almost beyond endurance.

Anzac Day goes beyond the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in 1915. It is also a day where all Australians remember the serving men and women who lost their lives at war and on operational deployments.

I pay my respect to their families and honour the legacy that these men and women have left behind and I acknowledge their extraordinary service.

It is also a time to give thanks for the courage and service of the many veterans and ex- service men and women in our community and their families; they too have risked their lives for our freedom.

The Anzac spirit of courage, integrity, mateship, and sacrifice, continues on in today’s defence forces and it also holds a very special place in our national sense of identity. These attributes have shaped our values, beliefs and what it means to be Australian.

Today I thank our current serving personnel across all armed forces who selflessly put their lives on the line to protect the freedom and democracy that we experience in Australia today.

My thanks also go to your families who also make sacrifices while their loved ones are away.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them. Lest we forget. CATHY O’TOOLE, Member for Herbert