Defending Country has co-operated with Defend Sacred Ground in a forum published simultaneously on Independent Australia and Quadrant Online.
The first two articles in the forum, by Peter Stanley for Defending Country and Roger Karge and Peter O'Brien for Defend Sacred Ground, are here and here in Independent Australia and here and here in Quadrant Online.
Defending Country has long argued that the Australian War Memorial should properly recognise and commemorate the Australian (Frontier) Wars. Defend Sacred Ground is vehemently opposed to this change in the Memorial's direction
Despite these differing objectives, the two groups agree on the need for greater clarity in what the Memorial does. Both 'sides' argue for legislative change, Defending Country to insert words in the Australian War Memorial Act 1980 to support proper treatment of the Australian Wars, Defend Sacred Ground to prevent that happening.
In taking this position, Defending Country is effectively an ally of the Memorial - while believing it needs to move faster and more bravely - while Defend Sacred Ground says those in favour of change, from the Memorial Council down, are 'anti-Australian', and captured by '"woke" ideology'.
This forum has been organised with the agreement of the publishers of Independent Australia and Quadrant Online. The protagonists are each providing a 1200 word article, a 600 word rejoinder (around Remembrance Day), and a 100 word summing up. Both publications provide for reader comment. Defending Country and Defending Sacred Ground thank Independent Australia and Quadrant Online.
Picture credit: Detail of cover of Peter Stanley's book, Beyond the Broken Years: Australian Military History in 1000 Books. Detail from promotional poster for The Australian Wars, 2022, dir. Rachel Perkins (used with permission SBS).
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