Labor MP Michael Danby attended the 2019 Anzac Day Dawn Service at Villers- Bretonneux in France last week, as the Federal Opposition’s representative.
The service was held at the Australian National Memorial, near where Australian troops helped recapture Villers-Bretonneux from the Germans on April 25, 1918.
“The Dawn Service was a deeply moving experience, after which I had an opportunity to meet with a number of local residents, dignitaries, members of the French military and many visiting Australians,” Mr Danby said.
“The recapture of Villers-Bretonneux during World War One remains a defining moment in Australian military history and we cannot underestimate how significant it is to French residents of the village, even today.”
Mr Danby lauded the new Sir John Monash Centre, which tells Australia’s story of the WesternFront in the words of those who served. The Centre is set on the grounds of the Villers- Bretonneux Military Cemetery and adjacent to the Australian National Memorial.
He also acknowledged the Lefebvre family for opening their chateaux to General Monash from March to May 1918, during the defence of Villers-Bretonneux and Amiens.
Additionally, Mr Danby visited the battlefields of Fromelles and Bullecourt, where 10,000 soldiers died or were injured.
Mr Danby will retire at the next election on 18 May after serving 21 years as the Federal Member for Melbourne Ports and securing seven successive election wins. The seat has been renamed Macnamara and will be contested for Labor by Josh Burns.
My local MHR getting a taxpayer funded trip overseas just before he retires as an MP is dodgy.