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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (8 April) . . Page.. 705 ..
MRS CARNELL (continuing):
The Canberra/Nara Sister City Committee have said to me that, if the park
was a war memorial in any way whatsoever, of course they would have spoken to
the RSL about it. It simply is not a war memorial; it is a symbol of
Canberra's relationship with Nara; it has nothing to do with Australia's
relationship with Japan at that level. General James is quoted in the
Canberra Times of 25 March as saying that the whole basis of the ACT's
motives appeared to be commercial. The only commercial value of the
development of the park was possibly as a new tourist attraction to encourage
people from Nara to come to see the lanterns that they donated to the people of
Canberra. The whole aim of the park is, and must be, to foster friendship and
goodwill between two cities and to develop mutually beneficial ties.
It seems to me also incredible, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, that the RSL sees the timing of the visit as insensitive or inappropriate, given its proximity to Anzac Day. Again, if this was a war memorial, possibly that would be the case. But the fact is it is not; it is a sign of friendship between two cities. It is unfortunate that some people have attempted to use this issue as a tool in a dispute between two governments. The issue of the peace park has nothing to do with the ACT's position on the Japanese apology for World War II; it is all about friendship. Mr Moore will remember that when he and I were in Japan in 1995 the mayor of Nara got up in front of 3,000 people from Nara, which I thought was a very courageous thing to do, and apologised for any atrocities, any indiscretions - and that would be an understatement - that occurred during the Second World War. In terms of the relationship between Nara and Canberra, the issue is simply non-existent.
The Canberra/Nara Sister City Committee have been very strong on this, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker. They believe that this sort of a gesture of friendship is something extremely important to the people of Canberra. One of the things I think we have to remember is that the stone lanterns and the memorial stone that will be laid in the park are not gifts from the Nara government to the ACT Government; they are gifts from the Nara people to the ACT people. They were made possible as a result of donations made by the people of Nara to a fund to give a very special present signifying our friendship, peace and the future of the relationship between our two cities. I think it was an enormously generous gesture from the people of Nara and something that we really should be very positive about.
I am very disappointed that some people have chosen to use this as the basis for again bringing to the fore some old antagonisms. It has brought to the fore a lot of the distress that many Australians suffered at the hands of the Japanese in World War II. Certainly, that was never the intention of either the Government or the Canberra/Nara Sister City Committee; quite the opposite. I know that they would like me, on their behalf, to make the comment publicly that what they are attempting to do here is create a situation where our children can look forward to friendship, peace and understanding in the future between two cities. That is their motivation. They are, as am I, disappointed - and I suppose we regret - that there has been any concern by anybody in the RSL or any returned soldier as a result of the use of the word "peace".
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