Anzac Day National Service 2024

Rere ana nga roimata o Hine tērā te pae o Te Riri. Huihuia mai tātau katoa tēnei te pae o Maumahara. E nga iwi, kei aku rangatira wāhine ma, tāne mā tēnā tātau katoa.

I specifically acknowledge:

• Taranaki Whānui
• His Excellency Alfredo Rogerio Perez Bravo, Ambassador of the United Mexican States and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps
• The Honourable Nicola Willis, Minister of Finance
• Members of the Diplomatic Corps
• The Honourable Peeni Henare, MP
• Members of Parliament
• Her Worship Tory Whanau, Mayor of Wellington
• Mrs Françoise Rossignol, Mayor of Dainville
• Air Marshal Kevin Short, Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force
• General Angus Campbell, Chief of the Australian Defence Force
• Major General Martyn Dunne, Board Chairman, Royal New Zealand Returned Services and Association

I also acknowledge and welcome all veterans and service personnel, their families, friends and whānau. To those who are present in Wellington today, and to those watching from home - we remember and pay tribute to you and your service today.

Every year on the 25th of April, we take time to remember the actions and courage of our ANZACs at Gallipoli.

With the passage of time, the focus of our remembrance on Anzac Day has broadened to recognise the service and sacrifice of all those who have served New Zealand in armed conflict and global peacekeeping efforts.

At the National Dawn Service, we reflected on a number of significant milestones in the Second World War, including the 80th anniversaries of the Battle of Cassino and of the Normandy D-Day landings.

We are fortunate to still have in our communities a few surviving veterans of this conflict, and I pay special tribute to them today. I also acknowledge the descendants of those who served or who were involved in the war effort at home and across the Pacific.

The Second World War affected almost every household in New Zealand. Almost 12,000 New Zealanders lost their lives during the conflict - the highest percentage of population in the Commonwealth.

The New Zealand poet, Kevin Ireland, recalled his childhood impressions of the shadow cast by war on homes around the country:

'I remember going into people's houses where sons and brothers had been killed and it's an aspect of the war that's been forgotten largely, the gloom that's cast throughout the house, the special kind of grief. Because there was no body; nothing to concentrate the grief on, it was a lost grief.'

In war zones around the world, too many families continue to experience the immediate horrors of war, and their futures will be marred by their lingering grief at the loss of their loved ones.

It is timely then to also reflect this Anzac Day on the important contribution of New Zealand troops and personnel to peacekeeping operations around the globe.

New Zealand has been involved in more than 40 peace operations in more than 25 countries over the past seven decades, under United Nations auspices or as part of coalitions.

2024 marks 70 years since New Zealand military personnel first contributed to the UN Truce Supervision Organisation, in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War - the United Nations' oldest peacekeeping operation.

This year also marks 60 years since New Zealand Police joined a United Nations mission in Cyprus, the first overseas peacekeeping deployment for New Zealand police officers.

This week has seen the gathering of New Zealand and Australian Somalia veterans to mark the 30th anniversary of the completion of New Zealand Defence Force operations in Somalia.

And it was 25 years ago this September that violence erupted in East Timor, now known as Timor-Leste. The unrest prompted an international outcry and a call from the United Nations for a multinational force to restore order and provide humanitarian assistance until a UN peacekeeping force could be organised.

Our enduring Anzac partner, Australia, led INTERFET - the resulting International Force East Timor. More than 5,000 Australian defence personnel were involved. New Zealand was the second largest contributor, and by October 1999 more than 1,100 New Zealanders were in East Timor, making it our largest military deployment since the Korean War.

Lieutenant Colonel Martin Dransfield described the positive impact of his Battalion's efforts on the people affected, when he said:

'I think our success is best measured by the condition of the East Timorese people, who at last see the prospect of peace and stability after so much suffering. Their smiles, their gratitude makes us feel really humble. They are now planting crops, putting up buildings, and occupying empty villages where previously they had been too scared to return to them … That's how I measure the success of the Battalion's efforts here over the last six months.'

This Anzac Day, as we reflect on our service personnel's reputation for courage and steadfastness - a legacy forged at Gallipoli - let us also take pride in New Zealand's continued willingness to do what is necessary for peace and international security.

In doing so, we can collectively honour the legacy of our ANZACs and our nation's shared commitment to peace.

Kia maumahara tonu tātou ki a rātou. We will remember them.

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