Columnist HUGH SELBY wonders if it isn’t time to do away with the too-selective, government-funded memorial and funeral services.

HALF his lifetime ago the now NSW premier got up in Nazi digs and went out to party. He was born some decades after the liberation of the concentration and prisoner of war camps and would likely have grown up oblivious to the nightmares of the survivors.

As a 21-year-old I doubt he considered who might be offended, or why.  Rather, one might expect that he was concerned with how “good” he looked in a uniform.

Today’s self-appointed moral guardians froth and bubble about the gross insensitivity of such conduct and some suggest that it shows an underlying anti-semitism or pro-fascism. A parallel claim, but of racism, is made each time some “public figure” in America or Canada is “outed” for having painted their white face with a colour 20 or more years ago.

Claims of “insensitivity” assume prior knowledge that some other person will be hurt by the act. But if there is no such knowledge then the act, but not the person, can be criticised. Hence it is appropriate for the minders of the Holocaust memory to use the premier’s apology as an occasion to remind us all  that there are good reasons why “we should not forget”.

Those who see his youthful ignorance as an occasion to score political points against the premier should focus upon issues with his government’s present policies and keep in mind that there is no one without a stain that will show in a well-lit mirror of self-reflection.

Which brings us to another current topic of who, if anyone, should get a state funeral or memorial service, this question following Cardinal Pell’s unexpected demise in Rome.

The Victorian premier was quick to say that his state would not offer such a service because to do so would be distressing to all the victims of sexual misconduct. I see his point, but better to have said only that this Prince of the Church would be appropriately and sufficiently honoured by his church that he had served throughout his life.

The guidelines followed by the states and the national government refer to such services being to honour the deceased for their achievements and contribution to our community.

Nationally, there is a convention that the honour will be offered for present or former governors-general, prime ministers, other listed political figures and the chief justice of the High Court. Other “worthies’” arguably rather more worthy than the “official” group, have included Don Bradman, Neville Bonner, Fred Hollows and Edward “Weary” Dunlop.

Over the past 20 years about 50 deceased have received services arranged by our national government, about 90 per cent being men. That’s a telling disparity in the recognition of contribution to community.

The present NSW premier took office shortly before the state service for Mr Eddie Jaku, holocaust survivor, who lived to 101.  At age 100, his successful book “The Happiest Man on Earth” was published. For those seeking inspiration on how to get on with life and see the bright side, go to https://www.nsw.gov.au/about-nsw/state-services/state-memorial-for-eddie-jaku-oam

If the newly minted NSW premier had thought to fess up to Eddie about his inappropriate attire when he was 21 I can imagine Eddie asking what wisdom he had acquired about symbols and costumes in the years since. And I can imagine the premier giving a thoughtful and honest answer, one on one, to that question, to which Eddie might have responded with the gracious nod of the wise and fearless.

Given the current commotion about the NSW premier’s “Nazi get up” and the national government’s convention about who can expect to have their funeral/memorial rites at taxpayer expense I am troubled as to what to expect when some of our still living former political leaders and ministers pass on.

Would I be alone in thinking that those well-established politicians who decided to stop the boats and set up offshore processing and containment facilities – aka concentration camps killing the spirit if not the body – for humans brave enough to risk their lives, are much more deserving of trenchant and lasting criticism than a 21-year-old, ignorant, wanna-be politician?

The Victorian premier had a point of broader application. A service for any of them would be distressing to all refugees and their families in our community, especially those who had lost family members.

But that distress goes wider still. Some years ago I heard a former naval commander describing in horrifying detail what he and his crew were obliged to do in response to orders to “stop the boats”.  When he gave that talk he was still visiting crew who were in long-term psychiatric hospitals. He and his crew were, are, my kind of heroes.

Isn’t it time to do away with these too-selective, government-funded memorial and funeral services? In their place let’s do something fitting at local, state and national level to honour the heroism of our recently departed community heroes from all walks of life, on each Remembrance Day, November 11 at 11am.