It was an honour to see One Nation South Australia's 7 new members of parliament get sworn in this week.
As someone who started this political party 30 years ago, seeing the results today give me hope that we will make a difference.
It's about transparency, accountability and putting the people first.
Congratulations to the South Australia team, led by Cory Bernardi, on a massive effort at this election.
The people now have a voice and they are fighting back.
While Australians are tightening their belt, the government is wasting tens of billions on net-zero projects.
Snowy 2.0 has blown out to more than $40 billion, 20 times the $2 billion Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told Australia it would cost.
Every Minister who's overseen this project since then should have been sacked for keeping it alive.
It's up to Energy Minister Chris Bowen to do the right thing now and pull the plug, but I won't hold my breath.
Just remember while you're struggling to get by, Labor is happy to keep throwing billions of your money onto the bonfire.
Enough is enough.
I’m very sure the Australian soldiers who went ashore on that beach at Gallipoli in 1915 had little idea they were writing one of the most definitive chapters in the history of their young nation.
Although we had already been a country in our own right for a few years, it’s arguable Australia came of age on that very first Anzac Day.
Australians were a different breed in those days. In the early days of the Great War, many young men rushed to volunteer for king and country. They had little idea of the suffering and deprivation that lay ahead of them, but even when they experienced it they fought bravely and they fought well for years before that terrible conflict came to a close.
And they wrote a legacy which we still commemorate to this day. That’s an important point: Anzac Day is not a celebration. It’s a solemn commemoration; for me and many Australians, it’s the most important on our calendar.
I believe that as a nation we’ve lost some of the national spirit embodied by those young soldiers at Gallipoli, and embodied by all Australians who have served in uniform since the first Anzac Day.
Do many younger Australians today understand the significance of the sacrifices we commemorate? I don’t know, but what I am sure of is that many young Australians today have been taught the very existence of their country is a crime, an injustice, and something to be ashamed of.
It’s hardly a view that’s going to encourage someone to put on a uniform and serve. It’s not a view to which anyone would sacrifice something meaningful like their liberty or their life.
Fortunately it’s not a universal view. I’ve met many veterans of recent service. Some are carrying on family traditions of service; others are forging new traditions. That spirit I spoke of still defines them, and above all it’s this spirit which we acknowledge on Anzac Day.
I’m a proud Australian and proud to commemorate Anzac Day. I’m always proud of the national spirit which defines the service and sacrifice of our veterans past and present, but I’m worried it’s slipping though our fingers.
I believe that makes Anzac Day supremely important today: a solemn reminder that when the world was at its worst, the best of our country stood up united and defined what it means to be Australian.
Have a look at Energy and Climate Minister Chris Bowen wriggle and squirm when he's confronted with questions that he's been avoiding for months.
Liam Bartlett from 7 News Spotlight puts the blowtorch to him after Chris Bowen dodged interview requests for 3 months.
How's this for the "most accountable" government ever?
Pauline Hanson has slammed the arrest of SAS hero Ben Roberts-Smith for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, calling it "disgraceful".
"I will not abandon him like so many other politicians"
https://t.co/Ff0I8qq5BQ
Pauline Hanson erupts over Ben Roberts-Smith's arrest and the detail that infuriated her most - as Aussies lash out in anger while the Greens GLOAT https://t.co/EbiH0hTZGT
We’re watching Australia punish its MOST DECORATED war hero based on a media fishing expedition.
Then we’ll turn around and ask why no one wants to step up and fight for this country.
Sad day.
Especially today, my instinctive sympathy remains with all of our special forces soldiers from the Afghanistan campaign, fighting at our country’s command against a merciless enemy, often under highly restrictive rules of engagement that meant known terrorists were captured and released many times.
As prime minister during multiple deployments, and having spent time with our troops in war-zones, I could not have asked for a more loyal and professional military and my respect for their service is undiminished.
Of course, there are rules that have to be observed and enforced, even against soldiers in times of war. Still, it’s wrong to judge the actions of men in mortal combat by the standards of ordinary civilian life.
If Ben Roberts-Smith transgressed, why wasn’t this picked up prior to his gallantry awards and why wasn’t any culture of brutality towards prisoners detected by his more senior officers, and dealt with quickly, rather than being allowed to fester, as has been alleged, for over a decade?
The Brereton investigation commenced in 2016 and only concluded in 2020. The first war crime charge against a former special forces soldier was only laid in 2023 and three years later, this has still not been finalised.
After doing their best to serve our country, dozens of former special forces soldiers should not still be in limbo years later because of ongoing investigations that have only resulted in charges in two cases.
Justice delayed is justice denied. If evidence is clear, and cases are strong, they should be brought and concluded without delay. Otherwise, people should be cleared to get on with their lives lest the process itself become the punishment.
In Afghanistan, our soldiers fought bravely and well for a just cause. I am very sorry that some of them have been subjected to a form of persecution by the country they served.