Lieutenant-Colonel Simon Renolds (Retired) spoke at the ANZAC Freedom Fighters Service, held at Cornwall Park.

This is his speech:

Assembled friends and freedom fighters,

Firstly thank you IWI for giving me the opportunity to present some of my thoughts to our gathering this ANZAC day.

I have been fortunate enough in a past life to deliver a few ANZAC day speeches.

But in living memory, I do not recall a time when the cost of our Nation’s past sacrifices in the name of Democracy and freedom…appears to have been lost on our leaders.

ANZAC day commemorates the dogged spirit and determination of Australian and New Zealand troops sent in to capture the Gallipoli Peninsular. The assault was in essence reinforcing the Allies’ previous failure to achieve the goal of commanding the Peninsular by deploying a naval task force. This action saw the Allies lose 3 battleships and fail to remove the Turks from their defensive positions on the Peninsular.

The Offensive action at Gallipoli turned into a costly failure for the allies, and by early January the next year, all allied forces had been withdrawn from the peninsular.

The cost to human lives was terrible. The British Commonwealth forces alone sustained over two hundred thousand casualties. One in every 5 Kiwis who landed on those beaches did not survive.

The ineptitude of the British commanders responsible for the planning and execution of the Gallipoli campaign was not lost on Kiwi Servicemen and women.

In WWII Kiwi troops were far less forgiving of incompetent leadership, and New Zealand ensured that there was wherever possible, a Kiwi General in command of Kiwi troops.

Over the subsequent 100 plus years, we have commemorated the terrible loss of Kiwi and Aussie lives, and what Australian and New Zealand Nations stand for, we have completed the ode of remembrance to those that fought with the words “We will remember them”.

Sadly recent events around the western world, and especially here in NZ and Australia make me think that our Politicians have conveniently forgotten them.

Even at the height of WWII, New Zealanders here at home were subjected to blackouts and rationing….but never curfews or full lockdowns. New Zealanders were needed to work the land and the factories to continue supplying foreign and domestic markets with the necessities of life.  Businesses adapted and flourished, unlike the tens of thousands of small to medium businesses that have failed at the hands of our current incompetent Political decision making.

Sacrifices made a century ago by this fledgling nation’s youngest and fittest, in the name of democracy and freedom, appear to have been conveniently forgotten by our Leaders.

The depth of concern against the draconian measures taken here in NZ first became apparent to me during the Convoy to Wellington. February is a busy time on our farm, but when my wife and I heard about the convoy we concluded that the Convoy and Protest were going to be more important than the work on the farm, and with only a few day’s notice we joined the convoy at Taupo.

When we drove into Taupo it was immediately apparent that this was going to be no ordinary protest.  The depth of feeling and a broad swath of people from all walks of life joining in was moving to the core.

And as the Convoy progressed, that feeling only became heightened. People standing in the rain in the remotest locations along the route, waving and tooting us on was unreal. In many rural areas, it appeared that almost all inhabitants had turned out to offer their support. In some small towns, our convoy took almost 2 hours to pass through.

Once our little campsite in the old Government house grounds was set up it only took half an hour wandering about ‘Camp Freedom’ to see just what a  diverse group the protest had brought together. People from all walks of life were genuinely concerned about the erosion of our freedoms and liberties that our supposed ‘Representative Democracy’ were forcing on our population.

Those same freedoms and liberties that over one hundred years ago our forebears believed warranted travelling to the other side of the globe to fight and die for, appear to have been exchanged by our politicians for some freedoms, but only those we choose to give you, and removal of the liberty to go about your way unhindered, or the freedom to earn a living for yourself and your family.

Politicians of all flavours showed their selective understanding of the term “Representative Democracy” when none would come out and speak with those same people they claim to represent. It will stand in our history books as a truly shameful moment of our leaders’ actions.

The grounds of Parliament may now be clear of our ‘Camp Freedom’, but the relationships forged therebetween so many different sectors of Kiwi society, and the collective memories of thousands of committed and peaceful protestors will live on.

The sacrifices given by our past generations of warriors must not be forgotten.

Freedom and liberty within our Representative Democracy must not be given and taken away at the will of Politicians. It must become unalienable. It must become our right.

Or do we waste the benefits earned for us by those that have gone before us?

“The ode of remembrance ends with…  “We will remember them”

I would like to add… “We MUST remember them”.

Thank you