E&OE...........
Well thank you very much Colonel. General Cosgrove, ladies and gentlemen of the Australian Defence Force. Janette and I are very pleased to have the opportunity of meeting you and for me to say a few words very directly to you on behalf of the Australian nation a few hours away from independence for East Timor, made possible by what I regard as one of the most noble things that Australia has done in the area of foreign affairs and defence over the past few years.
As I go around the world I hear various comments about Australia and one of the consistent patterns in those comments is the great respect and admiration that people around the world have for the role that Australia played in bringing independence to East Timor and most particularly the role played by the Australian Defence Force. The Australian people are very proud of what you have done over the last two-and-a-half years. Not only from the military point of view but also the civilian work you have done, the way in which you have reached out to the local population, the way in which you have shown to the people of this soon to be very small new independent country that the military forces of Australia are not only a great fighting force, but they';re also a great human force for doing good things, and winning the confidence and support of the local people.
When we made the decision back in 1999 to commit a very large contingent of Australians to Interfet we didn';t know quite what was going to happen. I have never forgotten and Janette has never forgotten the visit we paid to Townsville on the eve of the first deployment and as we moved around and spoke to many of the personnel there, we were very conscious that their emotions were a mixture of anticipation, with understandably a degree of nervousness and trepidation. But it was a wonderfully executed operation, and it reflects great credit on your commander at the time and on all of you. And the way it went from being an Interfet operation to being a United Nations operation has reflected enormous credit on you and on the entire Australian Defence Force.
As the Colonel said it was one of the most successful United Nations operations in recent memory. The mandate was very robust. The assembling of the international force occurred in a very short period of time, and the execution was as close to being flawless as anything can be in those circumstances.
It is likely that we will continue to have a presence as part of the United Nations force for some time yet. Australia has invested a great deal in many ways in the future of East Timor and we want the country';s new experience to be successful and very positive. The relationship naturally changes after midnight tonight. It will become a relationship between a large, sophisticated democracy such as Australia and a new, small country of fewer than a million people and grappling with all of the problems of independence. The things that East Timor has going for it include the immense good will of the Australian people. There is a strong bond between Australian soldiers and the people of East Timor going back to World War II days, when often at very great risk to their own lives, the people of this country extended the hand of assistance and friendship to Australian servicemen. And that has never been forgotten by older generations of Australians, and some have seen what we have done in recent times as, in part, a repayment of debt that we owe for the help and assistance that was given.
To all of you who have made Australians feel very proud of you, you have done a wonderful job and you have fulfilled the best traditions of Australia';s military forces. You have been good citizens, good ambassadors, good friends and very importantly you have been good soldiers and sailors and airmen. And to all of the men and women of the Australian defence forces can I say on behalf of myself and on behalf of the entire nation, thank you for the job you have done, the credit you have brought to your country and to your services. It is widely respected in the Australian community. Thank you very much.
[ends]