Anzac Day is our nation’s most important commemoration, when we remember and acknowledge the service and sacrifice of Australians who have fought in wars and conflicts since the Gallipoli campaign which began on 25 April 1915.

One Nation pays its deepest respects to our men and women in the Australian Defence Force, both past and present. For us Anzac Day always has been, and always should be, a day of profound national significance.

As this article is being written, the drums of war are sounding and the world is a much more dangerous place. The conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine threaten to expand and engulf more countries (Iran has become directly involved by attacking Israel), while communist China has grown much more belligerent about its claims on a free Taiwan.

On the eve of Anzac Day, Australia is once again at risk of being drawn into a war, and that prompts some important questions: what would be our role in a wider conflict involving our allies, what capabilities can we bring to the fight and – perhaps most importantly – exactly what are we defending and why should it be defended? For what reason should young Australians volunteer to serve and defend the nation and its interests?

If history is any guide, Australians will most likely be put in harm’s way on foreign shores thousands of miles away in support of our allies. As our Anzac tradition demonstrates, Australians have never been afraid to fight and sacrifice for a cause they believe is just.

It could be argued there is much for us to defend. Australia has substantial natural resources and agricultural output that many nations rightly envy, and potentially this makes us a target. Our relative distance and isolation from global flashpoints make us a very difficult target, but this is not just about defending territory. It’s also about defending sovereignty, principles and freedom, and supporting allies who would also defend us if the need arose. Armies and navies have always been required to defend the sovereignty that enables democracies like Australia. As Thomas Jefferson famously said, the tree of liberty needs to be watered from time to time with the blood of tyrants and patriots. The Second World War proved that beyond any doubt: perhaps 60 million people died, including almost 30,000 Australians, in the fight to defend freedom against tyranny.

It was almost 80 years ago when that terrible war ended. Today, the ADF’s needs are very different than those of the Second World War. Today it needs highly motivated, intelligent people capable of being trained in highly specialised technical, tactical and strategic disciplines of narrow scope. The question is: who among today’s generation of young Australians is capable? Pauline Hanson makes a point of consulting both the leadership and the ‘rank and file’ of the ADF, and they universally tell her they don’t favour conscripting unwilling personnel who wouldn’t be as committed as they are. They’re not keen on having young people with that tremendous and unrealistic sense of entitlement that seems so prevalent these days. Defending Australia is very hard work, even in peacetime, and requires discipline and commitment.

But something must be done, and soon. Our overall defence posture is in an appalling state. Our modern weapon stocks are low, our platforms (ships, tanks etc) are ageing and in need of replacement, and we are falling far short in personnel recruitment – we can’t even fully crew our current submarine fleet of only six vessels.

This prompts another question: with Labor and Green leaders routinely shaming and bagging our nation and the values which built and defended it, why would the young people believing these lies even be motivated to put on a uniform? For what values or cause would they fight, if not their own nation and its people? Conversely, why would any sensible young Australian fight for a country essentially remade in the perverse image envisioned by the extremist woke left, as Labor and the Greens are trying their hardest to do?

Anthony Albanese better think long and hard about what he is doing to our national ethos and the impression of our nation he is giving to young Australians, as this young generation is the group he will call to war for nice photo opportunities and to show he is the leader we all wished he was.  And as those drums of war beat, we have one thing and one thing alone to fear: Anthony Albanese’s ideology.

Once again, the service and sacrifice of the Anzacs offers the answer and the example he, and we, should follow. That’s why we hold Anzac Day in the highest regard. At the going down of the sun – and in the morning – we will remember them. Lest we forget.