19 September 1999
E&OE……………………………………………………………………………………
Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve come here this afternoon. My wife, and accompanied also by Mr Kim Beazley, the Leader of the Opposition, and Senator Meg Lees, the Leader of the Australian Democrats, to say very simply on behalf of the entire Australian nation how immensely proud we are of the mission that you are about to undertake, and most particularly how proud we are of the state of readiness and the professionalism of the Australian Defence Force.
We don’t pretend, and I know that your commanding officers have not pretended that this mission is without danger. Any operation of this kind does involve danger and a risk of casualties. The comfort that I believe all of us can draw is that you have been very well trained and prepared for this operation. You belong to a wonderful military tradition that Australia has had of never wanting to impose its will on other nations, but always being ready to stand up for something that is right. We think particularly of all of you in these days. We’ll think and look after as best we can and try and share the anxiety of the family and other loved ones that you leave behind.
No nation with a peaceful tradition of Australia never wants to go to war. No nation with the tradition of standing up for the right thing such as Australia has always done can turn a blind eye to something that is so fundamentally wrong. We are going into East Timor in cooperation with many other countries. We are going there because it’s the right thing to do to restore peace and stability and also because it is in the long-term interests of Australia and all Australians that we do so. And that is why the Government has not lightly, but very firmly taken the decision that we should try and assemble a multinational force and that it should go in.
So can I simply say in a very heartfelt way on my own behalf, on behalf of my Government, on behalf of all of the people of Australia, how much in your debt we are and we wish you luck. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. We will look after your families. We look forward to your very safe return home and we have every confidence that in a great Australian tradition you’ll do it well, that you’ll look after your mates when you are together in East Timor, and they in turn as mates will look after you. And that together you will bring great credit to the Australian Defence Force, and I and my colleagues will look forward very warmly to welcoming all of you home. Thank you.
[Ends]