Retired Australian Army Major Cameron Leckie spoke at the annual Peace lecture in Brisbane’s St John’s Cathedral on the International Day of Peace (21st September) this year. He was introducing the guest lecturer for 2021, retired Admiral Chris Barrie, who has previously made some very critical remarks about Australian involvement in both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Admiral Barrie’s lecture concentrated on the two major threats that Australia faces today – the threat of nuclear war, and the threat of climate catastrophe – and the need for young people to be actively involved.
Cameron Leckie’s talk focussed on both the background to his originally very enthusiastic involvement in the Australian Army over 24 years, and his gradual disillusionment with the way that Australian Governments had deployed armed forces in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq – wars he termed “imperial wars in support of the United States empire”. He is introduced by the MC for the evening, Reverend Pater Catt, Dean of St. Johns Cathedral, Brisbane, Qld.
Listen to his talk here.