Launch of the Centenary of Legacy 2023 [virtual event]

[E&OE]

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Ngunnawal People, and pay my respects to their elders past and present, emerging leaders and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders gathered here today.

Good morning.

At the national launch of Legacy Week on Monday I said that I couldn’t think of an organisation in Australia that speaks more of what our nation is about and who we are as Australians than Legacy.

In difficult times, mates and strangers alike come together and act on a commitment first made in the aftermath of World War I to look after the families of those who fell in the service of our nation. It is a commitment as relevant and powerful today as it was when it was first made a century ago.

Legacy and legatees epitomise the best of our characteristics – the richness of spirit that is at our core as a people.

Come 2023 Legacy will have been going for 100 years.

As Patron of Legacy Australia it is a privilege for me to deliver this address on the occasion of the Launch of the Legacy Centenary. Linda and I have had a long association with Legacy and I am pleased that she is here with me today.

Linda and I shared the stage at the Legacy Week launch with Emily Johnson whose father, Sergeant Adam Connell, served in the ADF for 23 years including on deployments to East Timor and Afghanistan. Emily, a former Junior Legatee, spoke about the various ways Legacy supported her, her mother and brother following Adam’s passing from cancer in 2018.

She said the first contact from Legacy came about a week after the funeral. While the family understood they had to begin a ‘new normal’, they were still grieving and coming to grips with their loss. Then Legacy stepped in and, in Emily’s words, ‘left an everlasting mark on our lives that continues to hold true until this day’.

And, as is quite often the case, it’s the little things that make the biggest impact. On Emily’s university graduation day, typically a day of celebration for graduates and their families, she experienced feelings of emptiness at her father not being present. Later that day flowers arrived on her doorstep. They were from Legacy. The flowers conveyed the message that Emily and her family were not alone; that her welfare was important. 

This is one example. A simple gesture of kindness that had a big impact. Extrapolate that example by the 43,000 individuals and families that Legacy Australia helps each year. Then, multiply that figure out over a century. ‘Little badge; big impact’ indeed.

I began my remarks by saying that Legacy epitomises the best of Australia.

That’s true of the organisation but it is also true of the individuals – the Legatees – who day-in, day-out, in ways big and small and without fanfare, provide support, compassion and kindness. Ordinary people who accept the legacy of care for their mates and who make the lives of others better. The Centenary of Legacy is an opportunity to reflect on the cumulative impact of Legacy and to celebrate the men and women whose richness of spirit and care are its foundation.

As we celebrate and launch the Centenary of Legacy, it is also timely to reflect on our modern veterans – particularly in the context of recent events.

One hundred years ago Legacy set out to help Anzacs. Our modern veterans inherited the Anzac legacy and built upon it. They are Anzacs too. And Legacy is still there, still helping and still looking after their mates. We will never forget those who served our country. We will always be there for them and for their loved ones. 

Legacy provides all Australians with a very clear and easy way to fulfil this pact. Legacy has set a target of $10 million dollars through fundraising and donations over the next three years.

Badge Day is tomorrow. I encourage everyone to go out, if you can, in your respective state or territory, and make a donation. If restrictions prevent you from doing so, please consider making a donation via the Legacy website. Legacy Week and the upcoming Centenary of Legacy is an important time for an organisation that is central to who we are as a nation.

I often say in speeches and in talking with groups that I’m an unapologetic optimist. I’m optimistic about Australia’s future. Why? Because of people like our Legatees and organisations like Legacy.

Regardless of the challenges that we face as a nation – and I’m not blind to them – and irrespective of the uncertainty and negativity that one sees in media and social media, we are a good people; a strong and caring people.

Last week I made a statement to the nation around our current circumstances and the challenges posed by COVID. I recalled visiting a cattle property north of Julia Creek about six months after the devastating January and February 2019 floods in the Gulf Country. In discussion with a group of cattle station owners and managers I made the comment that they had a lot of hard work ahead of them. Their response was something that has stayed with me: ‘We are not afraid of hard work, just give us a good season.’

That remark captured what I believe we are all about as a nation. For 100 years Legacy and Legatees have been working hard to provide a good season. 

In reflecting and speaking about Legacy the following adjectives come to mind: supportive, dependable, thoughtful, caring, compassionate and kind.

That’s why Legacy is one of the great and enduring Australian institutions.

Indeed those same characteristics will always – ALWAYS – serve Australians well, no matter the challenges before us.

At a time in our nation’s history when we face adversity, I encourage all Australians to think deeply about how best we can overcome current difficulties – to be compassionate, to be kind, and to be supportive.

Legacy – you are an inspiration to us all.

It is now my great pleasure to launch the Centenary of Legacy 2023.

[Ends]