Anzac Day is, of course, a time to remember, and to remember with gratitude.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
It falls on this day because on April 25, 1915, Australian and New Zealand troops set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey.
They met fierce resistance and the assault turned into a stalemate which lasted for eight months in the most terrible circumstances.
At the end of 1915, the allied forces were evacuated. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. More than 8000 Australian soldiers were killed. The events that followed had a profound impact at home, and the 25th of April became the day on which we have continued to remember the sacrifice of those who died in that and succeeding wars.
According to the Australian War Memorial, 103,021 Australians have died as a result of military service (including 61,674 in the First World War; 39,656 in the Second World War; 340 in Korea; 523 in Vietnam; 46 in Afghanistan).
We remember and honour them all.
But we must also look forward, and that is what the Defence Strategic Review does.
It makes clear that we are moving into a more dangerous time - the "missile age", as the review puts it, in which Australia can no longer rely on its distance from conflict. There is now no safe distance.
"China's military build up is now the largest and most ambitious of any country since the end of the Second World War," the authors say. That has prompted the radical overhaul of policy which the government has indicated it accepts.
As we were reminded by the Cold War, in order to defend itself, a country has to be prepared to go to war. Deterrence has to be credible.
Accordingly, an aggressor has to know that war would be costly to itself, and with no victory guaranteed.
That means investment by Australia and its allies in the newest technology - and in research to develop technologies as yet barely dreamed of. We can be sure that scientists in China and elsewhere will be doing the same.
The government has already confirmed that it will accelerate its acquisition of mobile rocket launching systems. Long-distance means of warfare are the future.
We now realise, too, that warfare is not just about boots on the ground but it is about confrontations in cyberspace and, potentially, one day in space itself. Research is absolutely crucial.
The government is already committed to spending nearly $60 billion on the AUKUS submarine program. The sums are eye-watering but we are going to get used to spending of this magnitude.
There is an unspoken question in the back of some minds: how dependable is the United States? The alliance seems solid with President Biden in the White House but he will be there only for five years, perhaps less.
The Prime Minister indicated, perhaps with that question in mind, that Australia must be more self-reliant. Either way, a heightened sense of danger and rising budgets in the many billions are going to be the way of the future.
The hope is that democratic countries like Australia and the likes of South Korea and Japan can reach an understanding with China to ensure a reasonably stable, if fractious, relationship. That is what happened with the Soviet Union, though even that stability had its dangerous moments where nuclear war could have occurred either by accident or by misjudged brinkmanship.
For that reason, the old adage to speak softly but carry a big stick is now important. We must be resolute and prepared in defence - but we should also indicate to China that we do not want war. We seek a stable relationship based on respect and trade.
Military hardware is not a substitute for diplomacy.
