STATEMENTS ON INDULGENCE
Mr TAYLOR (Hume—Leader of the Opposition) (14:01): on indulgence—South Vietnam, Phuoc Tuy province, 18 August 1966. D Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. A hundred men spread across three platoons.
They enter a rubber plantation near the village of Long Tan at 3 pm. The Australians find themselves pinned down and outnumbered by well-armed, highly skilled enemies some 2,000 strong. They fight in a torrential downpour which hits the red earth and kicks up mud mist, reducing visibility.
On the verge of being overrun, the Australians are saved by the guns of the New Zealand Artillery battery. And then, as ammunition runs low, two RAAF helicopters fly a daring mission in atrocious conditions and resupply D Company at the crucial moment. As the Viet Cong prepare for an all-in attack, hope appears on the horizon.
Like a friendly cavalry coming over the hill, Australian armoured personnel carriers arrive carrying A Company. The enemy withdraws and the battle ends. At least 245 Viet Cong soldiers have been killed.
The men of D Company have endured 3½ hours of hell against all odds—but not without cost. Seventeen Australians have fallen and 25 have been wounded. One would die of wounds just days later.
The Battle of Long Tan reinforces the courage, the camaraderie and the composure that defines Anzacs in war, and it came to represent Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War. That's why every year on 18 August, this day, we commemorate Vietnam Veterans' Day. And today, on the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, we not only remember those who fought and fell in that fray; we also acknowledge the spirit, the suffering and the sacrifice of all of our Vietnam veterans.
Between '62 and '73, some 60,000 Australians served in Vietnam, with 15,000 nashos, men's conscripted, who went to war without complaint and served as wholeheartedly as the regulars. The war saw 3,000 Australians wounded and 523 tragically killed, and, as we just heard from the Prime Minister, this country did take too long to recognise the sacrifice of our Vietnam veterans.
To the war fighters, freedom fighters and heroes of Vietnam: on your day, Vietnam Veterans' Day, we remember you, we honour you, we thank you for your service, your suffering, your sacrifice. Lest we forget.