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Report on public meeting on 23 March 2011
The company proposing the lakeside war memorials has abandoned its original plans, which we are delighted to hear. However, they now propose to build two shorter monuments along Anzac Parade. The National Capital Authority invited comment on the proposal through their website and by direct submission. This discussion is now closed. The formal submission from this Forum to NCA can be downloaded from this site (66 pages; MS Word format; 403K), and an addendum which was also sent is available (1 page; MS Word format; 25K).
We have written to the Australian War Memorial seeking their views on the proposed new locations for the war memorials, and they have replied indicating their opposition to the duplicate memorials. We have issued a press release applauding their decision.
Two reports prepared in 2012 give more details about the NCA's failure to consider its own guidelines in 2005-07 and give the lie to the argument that the Korea and Vietnam memorials in Anzac Parade are precedents for the proposed memorials. These documents were prepared with the active co-operation of the National Capital Authority, which waived FOI charges and predicted the findings of the papers.
Welcome to the Lake War Memorials Forum website. We've created it to give
Australians an opportunity to express their views about the proposal to build two
large war memorials on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra.
This website is intended to expose this proposal to the open, democratic scrutiny it has so far evaded. The proponents of these memorials to the two world wars claim that they have complied with 'due process' in obtaining approvals from official agencies. They have certainly secured the backing of powerful individuals in politics and government. What they have not done is to be open with the people of Australia about their plans and their implications.
The website presents various expressions of opinion and information about the proposal, both for and against - but mostly against, since a lot more people seem to disagree with it than support it. It gives you a chance to read and judge for yourself whether these memorials are justified, and an opportunity to have your say.
The proponents of these memorials argue that they will enable Australians to commemorate the two world wars and their effects on Australia. That's important, of course. But whether these memorials are the right ways to remember in the right place is very much an open question; or ought to be. This forum lets you say so.
This website is the result of a diverse group of people coming together after
finding that they oppose the memorials - but for a variety of reasons.
Indeed, it is notable that people of very different persuasions are opposed to
them. Why?
- Some believe that siting these large and dominant memorials on a prominent position on the lake shore compromises Walter Burley Griffin's vision for the central symbolic area of the National Capital.
- Many want to retain the recreational nature and purpose of the lake shore and the uninterrupted vista between Parliament House and the Australian War Memorial.
- Others believe that giving such prominence to these memorials unduly emphasises the place of war in Australia's history - and that wars are already very fully remembered through the war memorials on Anzac Parade and the nearby national War Memorial itself.
- Still others argue that the memorials would needlessly duplicate and detract from the Australian War Memorial - the nation's tribute to those who have served and died for Australia in war. Does Australia need a memorial that could diminish this important national statement?
- Some contend that as the funding of these large memorials may well come largely from arms manufacturers they will be used to legitimise industries that foster a warlike spirit - the opposite to what is needed in our troubled times.
This is the current view of Anzac Parade
and this is what the proposers say it will look like if the memorials are built
The Lake War Memorials Forum Steering Committee
A report on the public meeting held on March 23 2011 at Albert Hall is available.
This site was officially launched at a ceremony at St John's Church, Reid, on 2 February 2011.