Subjects: The Centenary of Federation
E&OE................................
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister what sort of message do you think people would be taking out of today?
PRIME MINISTER
Pride, gratitude, and a great deal of joy at being an Australian and reflecting on what this country has achieved. No country is perfect and we have our flaws and our blemishes but we have achieved a tremendous amount and I don't think we should be reluctant to take pride and satisfaction in what this country has achieved, what it's stood for, what it's defended and what it represents. It is an occasion where we can all put aside our differences on other issues and unite in honouring what was done a hundred years ago, but particularly expressing a sense of pride and gratitude in what we've been able to do as a community over the last one hundred years.
JOURNALIST:
Which did you have a greater sense of honour; standing on that stage or standing on the stage of the Olympics?
PRIME MINISTER:
They're different things, I must say that comparison has not occurred to me, it's not occurred to me at all. This is something that represents the whole history of the country, the Olympics was a great international event. But they're two separate issues, you can't really compare them.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, as you were going around you obviously see a lot of different faces, people from all over the world who now call Australia home, what do you think that means?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think it shows what a tolerant, open, cohesive country we are. The greatest Australian achievement is our social cohesion. I mean we've taken people from everywhere and we've mixed them all up and we've produced a marvellous product. But it's a product that allows people to treasure there own particular heritage and we've done it better than any other country in the world and I think that's fantastic.
[ends]