Assistant Defence Minister Andrew Hastie eyes free access for all to Albany’s National Anzac Centre

Assistant Federal Defence Minister Andrew Hastie says Albany’s National Anzac Centre should be integrated into the Australian War Memorial, and entry to the centre should be free. The Canning MP and former Special Air Service Regiment Captain visited the centre last Thursday with O’Connor MP Rick Wilson. Standing outside the centre, overlooking King George Sound, Mr Hastie said he wanted more Australians to appreciate the significance of Albany in the nation’s history. “In World War I this is what the Anzacs saw for the last time as they headed off to war — this was their last view of their homeland, and so it is a very special place,” he said. Last year, a team of City of Albany representatives travelled to Canberra to meet with the AWM in a bid to gain Federal funding for Albany’s heritage precinct. The City pushed for the National Anzac Centre to become an annex of the AWM, as well as forming a partnership with the Federal Government to help with the centre’s management and funding. Entry to the centre is free for people living in the Great Southern who are signed up to the City’s League of Local Legends program. Mr Hastie said he had already approached the AWM to discuss the introduction of free entry to the centre. “I think we should be making Australian history accessible to all, at no cost,” he said. “I have met recently with Matt Anderson, the new director of the War Memorial. I asked him about this specific question. “That is something I would like to look further at while I am Assistant Minister for Defence.” Mr Hastie said he wanted to see the museum integrated with the AWM. “My personal view is that we should be integrating museums of significance,” he said. “The war memorial does a superb job in conveying the history to Australians. “This is a superb museum, the National Anzac Centre, and I think there is a lot of synergy between the two.”