“Patriotism and Values”

This is a Speech delivered by Michael von Berg MC OAM to the National Agriculture and Relates Industries Day Conference 21st Nov 2022 and the National Mining and Related Industries Day Conference 22 Nov 2022

Good afternoon, ladies, and gentlemen.

My appearance here today all started with an open letter I wrote to Mr Adam Bandt, the leader of the Greens, on behalf of the members of our Royal Australian Regiment Association, to call him out for his disloyal and disrespectful act of not wanting to stand in front of our national flag at a press conference.

He had deliberately moved the flag out of camera focus, off to one side, and when confronted with this act, he said that it represented nothing but hurt, anger and dispossession of our indigenous people. Obvious racial assertions.

 The letter received national media attention and the response from others who were equally angered by this dishonorable behavior has been enormous. Including an email from Gina Rinehart which when first received, I thought was a scam, but when looking at its structure, grammar, spelling, and as you would expect from a patriot, a letter from the heart, I knew it was not from Nigeria, Romania, or Bulgaria.

For Bandt to suggest that we are all racists, was an insult to me and all veterans and those who still serve.

In particular, in my case, to see my own army stretcher bearer/ medic risk his own life in incredible combat danger to treat and recover a wounded soldier, a proud indigenous man, in a major contact with the enemy, exemplifies our colour blindness, where we leave no individual behind, no matter what race, colour or creed. It took us some three hours under enemy fire to recover the wounded soldier, who sadly died. Peter Fraser my young national service man was appropriately awarded a Military Medal.   

To respect our flag is sacrosanct.

We fight under it, we die under it, we are buried under it, and we fly it at half-mast to honour our dead. Symbolically, the flag draped over a coffin are the arms of the nation embracing that warrior to thank him or her for their sacrifice and service.

Our national flag at half-mast are the tears of the nation mourning the passing of a warrior. To have our national flag treated purely as a piece of cloth, or a spare prop in a TV studio was a disgrace. We are still awaiting an apology from Bandt but that is not about to happen: but we will not forget.

Sadly, his behavior and the poor behavior of so many others, mostly from the vocal minority in disrespecting our national flag and constitution, should anger us all.

It is our national symbol; it is what unites and defines us as a nation. It is patriotism and sadly this too is under attack, as a nation, from within.

“Young Australians are now so ashamed of themselves and their country that given the choice between fighting for the nation or fleeing they would choose to leave, according to new polling. The Institute of Public Affairs undertook a survey of 1,000 Australians in March and found 40 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds would leave the country if it was in the same position as Ukraine. That really disturb us in the Royal Australian Regiment Association.

The institute’s Director Daniel Wild believes there are several reasons for what he described as a “deeply concerning and revealing result”.

“One is that we’ve simply taken our way of life and our values for granted for many years,” “But the second point is also that young Australians are too often presented with a very negative view of our way of life, a very negative view of Australia’s culture and history.” This all starts in the schools and universities.

There is a misconception that patriotism is some sort of nationalism, or right-wing white supremacy, pushed by some to highlight their own warped narrative.

Being patriotic is a devotion to and a vigorous support for one’s country at all levels. Patriotism is something much deeper. Its personal, its spiritual, its emotional in embracing all indigenous, ethnic, cultural, political, and historic aspects, both good and bad, because we learn from the bad.

There is so much goodness in Australia, and so many good people and enterprises, that tends to be cancelled out by the continuing knocking of our country by those that just want to tear it down, aided and abetted in many cases by a left-wing jaundiced media, who seem to focus more on the negatives than the positives that our nation, Australia offers.

Nationalism which still has many negative post WW2 connotations, is however, a policy or doctrine of asserting one’s own nation’s interests, which is politically driven, whereas patriotism is driven from within the individual’s deepest emotional connection with the country and the land.

From personal experience we cannot underestimate the pull that this country has on us that is difficult to explain. In my case 12 years overseas and I can understand the pull that land has on our indigenous brothers and sisters. It constantly had that pull on me where through my birth, that of my parents and grandparents and my Texas Republican life partner we could live anywhere in the world but this unexplainable pull of country is simply far too great.   

Patriotism all starts in the home, at a very young age, and being patriotic should be a part of our national values, but how can we have strong national values without strong family values.

The family be it a family of father and mother and children, a one parent family, a blended family, a same sex family or a foster family, values to live by, as a family is the foundation of a society. Without it, there is a breakdown of society, and considerable estrangement, creating disharmony and resentment.

One night Denise and I sat down with a good bottle of McLaren Vale Shiraz and decided to write down what we thought our family values were, and it was very difficult. Not that we disagreed on our values but how to best describe and articulate them in words was somewhat difficult, but we arrived at the following and although there is much written about it, we are all different and hopefully these align with your own values in some way.

The values we arrived at are: –

  • Love and Respect
    • Honesty and Integrity
    • Empathy and Kindness – a fair go for all
    • Moral Courage and Boundaries
    • Responsibility and Accountability

We sort of paired these up as they seem to complement one another.

All families will have their own, but I am sure that they align with most of these in some way.

These values then extend out to other families and communities, sporting clubs, social groups, the corporate sector and a far broader community at regional and hopefully at national levels and in particular through our political class, which sadly in some cases is lacking, because our values and way of life is being attacked from within.

I’m personally sick of being told what to drive and what not to drive, what to eat and what not to eat, what our children are being taught in schools and universities, gender dysphoria, pronoun misuse, mother and father being obsolete, birthing parent not mother, men can have babies, gender blockers for minors, men can compete in women’s sport, virtue signaling by the corporates and sporting teams,  discriminatory behavior by banks and lenders in not supporting certain industries, the Covid overreach and the politicization of the police.

And the biggest international fraud of all time, the climate change hysteria and frenzy destroying our economy, country and working families.

Professor Plimer is much more competent to talk on this subject than me, but I don’t see how we, with less than 1% of the world’s emissions, are going to save the world, when my rugby club on a Tuesday and Thursday nights scrum sessions emits more farts and methane than the entire national herd. I do follow the science but with my background in risk management, I follow the money, and what is happening to our taxpayer’s money is a disgrace.  

It’s a nonsense, and along with all of these other issues, isn’t it about time that we, the silent majority spoke up.

The easy going, good old Aussie attitude, “she’ll be right mate”, “go with the flow”, and “why worry”, has to stop, because if we don’t, we are going to leave our country in terrible shape for our grandchildren and those that follow.

Some of these so-called progressive agendas are sheer lunacy and cannot be tolerated. In the interests of patriotism and national values, we need to stand up, speak up, and fess up.

If we don’t, we are in breach of our citizen rights and duties, lacking conviction and moral courage.

I am sure if you see something not right in your companies or organizations, you will correct it very quickly, because that is what is expected of management.

Then why when we see something wrong or what we don’t agree with or doesn’t align with our values at the national level, we remain silent?

The silent majority and as John Howard described many of us as “the forgotten people” needs to act. Not through demonstrations, civil disobedience, or anything improper or illegal, but through a professional and well-presented discussion with your local member of Parliament at State and Federal level. Not just at election cycle time, but during the course of the term, so that your concerns and mood and of your family and community can be conveyed to the Party Room. Remember the book by Bryce Courtney “The Power of One”. You here are all that “power of one” which starts here with you today!   

They need to know what the mood is in their electorate, and the best way to do that is to eyeball them face to face to see if their direction and values align with yours. If not, you have the wrong person in the job, and they do not deserve to represent you no matter what side of the political aisle they sit on.

We need to exercise our rights and we need to hold our politicians to account and the only way to do that is at the grass roots level, in the electorate, where it matters. If we don’t nobody else will. We must stand-up as a caring patriots and protect our values. 

In conclusion another patriotic action I would request of you is to employ a veteran. They may not be agronomists, mining engineers, or accountants, but they bring so many soft skills to the table.

  • Communication Skills 
    • Flexibility
    • Integrity
    • Leadership
    • Teamwork
    • Planning skills
    • Some Technical skills
    • Problem-solving skills

Veterans are extremely loyal providing that loyalty is a two-way street.

In my six years on the Prime Ministers Advisory Council for Military and Veteran Mental Health, the most important subject constantly under consideration is the transition process from military to civilian life and getting a meaningful job.

Our veterans don’t need a handout, they need a hand up, and should you employ a veteran I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Some of you may already have veterans on the payroll and we thank you for that, but more can and should be done.

The suicide rate amongst veterans is a national tragedy and a lot of that is due to despair and no hope for the future and a lack of self-worth. We would really appreciate your help in that area.

Finally, Dorothy McKellar sums it up very well.

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror –
The wide brown land for me!

We are all Patriots of this nation. Treasure it and protect it.

Thank you for listening to me, I will take any questions.

Become A Digital Member




Visit State or Territory Associations

Click here for Queensland Branch Click here for Northern Territory Branch Click here for Western Australia Branch Click here for South Australia Branch Click here for New South Wales Branch Click here for Australian Capital Territory Branch Click here for Victoria Branch Click here for Tasmania Branch

Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Campaign Donations

Follow Us