Miranda Live: Should we honour those who ‘stopped the boats’?
THE Australian War Memorial should recognise the Navy personnel who carried out the Abbott government’s controversial turn back the boats policy — but Brendan Nelson has stressed the memorial is apolitical and not “cheerleaders of government policy”.
THE Australian War Memorial should recognise the Navy personnel who carried out the Abbott government’s controversial turn back the boats policy — but Brendan Nelson has stressed the memorial is apolitical and not “cheerleaders of government policy”.
The former Liberal Opposition Leader and Defence Minister made the controversial call last week, saying the memorial should eventually include an exhibition on those involved in “stopping the boats” as part of Operation Sovereign Borders.
But he stressed the memorial was apolitical and purely there to highlight the service and sacrifice of Australia’s servicemen and women.
“We are not cheerleaders of government policy, we’re not critics — but we reflect the sacrifice of these young men and women,” he told Miranda Live.
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Operation Sovereign Borders was implemented by then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott in an effort to stamp out illegal migration to Australia but was roundly criticised by United Nations representatives for turning back boats full of asylum seekers.
But Dr Nelson said the Australian War Memorial — which is now requesting $500 million in additional funding for an expansion — needed to grow with the times.
“If my predecessors had sat on their hands, there’d be a gallery that ended at the Second World War or maybe the start of the Korean War,” he said.
Dr Nelson also flagged the importance of reflecting the various actions of the Australian military — even when unpopular.
“For example, our Vietnam War veterans ... some of those men might not have suffered as much if we’d told their stories earlier,” he said.
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