SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE PERSONNEL
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE PERSONNEL
STATEMENT
80th ANNIVERSARY
VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC
80th ANNIVERSARY
VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC
Eighty years ago today, in addressing the nation, Prime Minister Ben Chifley uttered words that Australians had prayed for, waited for, served for, and sacrificed for: “Fellow citizens, the war is over.”
The forces of Imperial Japan had finally surrendered – 99 days after the Allies marked Victory in Europe with the defeat of the German war machine.
Crowds formed in main streets where people cheered, sang, danced, threw confetti, embraced, kissed, and waved the Australian flag in celebration.
Amidst the joy, there was also a national sense of relief and a profound sense of what had been done and what had been lost.
After almost six years of war, 39,000 Australians had given their lives for the greater good. Of the more than one million Australians who served, many returned home with the physical scars of conflict, while others stoically battled demons from their experiences of the hell of war.
In the Pacific theatre, of the 22,000 Australians taken prisoner by Imperial Japan, one-third did not make it home. For those who did, many were forever changed by the brutality they had endured at the hands of their captors.
On the home front, Australians knew the war in different ways: from the loss of loved ones, to surviving Imperial Japan’s bombing of our north, to supporting the engines of industry to churn out machines and munitions, to rationing goods.
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Across Australia, barely a city or town, suburb or street, community or citizen was unaffected or unscathed in some way by the catastrophe of the all-encompassing conflict.
On this 80th Anniversary of VP Day, we pay tribute to all Australians who served, suffered and sacrificed for our nation – especially those dear veterans of the Greatest Generation who are still with us today.
We recall the courage, conviction and camaraderie of our forebears – so we don’t forget who we are as Australians and what we can achieve together as a nation.
We acknowledge our allies – especially the Americans – without whom the war would not have been won.
Most importantly, we maintain a tragic sensibility. We remember tragedy to summon the willpower to prevent tragedy anew.
Those before us endured the horror of war to defeat tyranny and restore peace. In their memory, it’s our duty to preserve peace by deterring the tyranny that so often has been the cause of catastrophic war.
Lest we forget. 15 August 2025
