Costley TimTIM COSTLEY (National—Ōtaki): Can I start by just taking a moment to wish the Rev. Hector Davis a happy 100th birthday today resident in my hometown Waikanae. To you Rev. Davis happy 100th birthday.It was 2 January 2008 and most Kiwis were relaxing on the beach maybe recovering from New Year celebrations. In East Timor for the 35 of us with the Air Force's peacekeeping contingent the call came in midafternoon: a UN police station in a small town called Ermera was under attack. Over the next few minutes I watched as the men and women around me leapt into action ripping off the covers fitting door guns servicing the aircraft. By the time I strapped in the copilot had the rotors turning the maintenance chief had the technical log ready for me to sign at the door and the boss was running over with the approval to go flying. Twelve minutes after that call first came in we were airborne Australian soldiers from Bravo Company of 2 RAR in the back and able to hold off the attack until further help arrived on the ground.I tell that story for two reasons. Firstly for me it puts into perspective the service and the sacrifice of those who left these shores 110 years ago. And that was in 2008 about as exciting as East Timor got. But I also tell that story because it reminds us that the indelible Anzac spirit lives on today and that Anzac spirit is a unique and defining quality one that sets us apart I believe from the rest of the world and something that we should all be justifiably proud of. I saw it in East Timor as a dozen Kiwis scrambled over a helicopter to get it airborne in record time to stop a riot. I saw it in Afghanistan as a dozen Kiwi Special Forces soldiers rolled out of the gates to stop a terrorist attack on a local hotel. And I saw it here in New Zealand as helicopter crews raced to get airborne to winch to safety people from rooftops in Hawke's Bay.I'm proud that no matter what the challenge our Defence Force is always willing and able to respond. Be it a cyclone in Fiji a volcanic eruption on White Island a humanitarian evacuation in Kabul or training soldiers to fight in Ukraine that same Anzac spirit that saw 100000 Kiwis march off to Europe in 1914 lives on in the women and men who serve today. They do not seek conflict but they are ready to serve in conflict zones around the world if that's the only way to bring about a lasting peace to be a light in the darkness and a beacon of hope in a hurting world. That same Anzac spirit lives on today and today I want to honour the selfless service of all those who put on a uniform whether in our military our police or our emergency services to serve at home or abroad as we lead up to Anzac Day this year.But if I'm really honest I always feel a little bit inadequate on Anzac Day as I line up with my medals on. I wasn't brave enough to wear them today. I feel a bit inadequate as I think about my grandparents' war service and what all our servicemen and women went through in World War I World War II conflicts like Vietnam. How can I compare my time in Afghanistan or peacekeeping around the world to what many of them must have gone through? I am in awe of their service humbled by the price that so many paid and grateful for all those who served and returned most with scars some with visible scars none of them ever to be the same again.We also must remember those who have lost their lives in more recent times. Two of those who were racing to get that helicopter airborne with me in 2008 lost their life a couple of years later a third seriously injured. So this Anzac Day as we approach it we do not celebrate war but rather we honour the service and the sacrifice of those who went to war those who went in the hope of saving our country and indeed the world for future generations. To quote my late father we must remember the mateship agony courage and compassion of war service but save us from ever glorifying the horror and the tragedy of war. You know to me Dad has captured the very essence of Anzac Day. It's a day to celebrate service and sacrifice not the wars and the conflicts in which those sacrifices were made.I will forever be proud to have served and immensely proud of those who served alongside me but I will always be in awe of the service and sacrifice of those who went before me and in particular those who never returned home. Ka maumahara tonu tātou ki a rātou—lest we forget.