In this special event, Keith Wolahan MP will discuss Australia’s involvement in the Korean War and its lessons for the modern world.

The Korean War is in many respects the war that never ended. This year marks 70 years since the signing of the Armistice Agreement which ended the three-year conflict in which 340 Australians lost their lives. These soldiers were part of a United Nations force which defended South Korea from an invasion from the Communist North. The conflict was the first clear flare up of the Cold War in the Asia-Pacific and the first to which the Menzies Government committed Australian ground troops. While the armistice served as an acknowledgement of a hard-fought stalemate in which the border between the two Koreas ended up in virtually the same place it had been at the outbreak of hostilities, the respective sides have never signed a full peace treaty. Tensions between North Korea and the West remain high to this day. In many respects the conflict is a lesson that history never ends, and that the maintenance of international peace and security is a constant work in progress.

In this special ANZAC Day event, the Robert Menzies Institute is proud to host the Federal Member for Menzies, Keith Wolahan MP for a talk on Australia’s involvement in the Korean War and its lessons for the modern world. Prior to being elected to Parliament at the 2022 election, Keith served in the Australian Army, completing part-time officer training at Duntroon, reaching the rank of Captain. He qualified as a commando, serving several periods of full-time service within Special Operations Command, including one tour of Timor-Leste (2007) and three combat tours in Afghanistan (2008, 2009/10, 2014). In the 2011 Australia Day Honours, he was decorated with a Commendation for Distinguished Service for performance of duty in action as a platoon commander.