E&OE...........
Well thank you very much Lieutenant Colonel Gilmore, to Admiral Chris Barrie the Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant General Peter Cosgrove Chief of the Army, Simon Crean the Leader of the Opposition, Tom Schieffer the Ambassador of the United States, to Brigadier Lewis and ladies and gentleman. And very importantly and most importantly, to the men of the SAS who are returning on the first rotation and I say to you, not only welcome home but can I say to all of you on behalf of a very proud and grateful Australian nation, what a magnificent job you have done in our name, on our behalf and in our joint interest in Afghanistan.
Can I say that what you have done over the last four months has been immensely to the credit of the great reputation of the members of the Australian Defence Force. You have demonstrated again to the world the quality of the fighting men of Australia. You have joined your American and other allies in a fight that is important to the future of this country. It';s a fight that may seem distant to some, but to those who ponder but for a moment they will understand that the fight against terrorism is something in which Australia has as much an interest as the other nations that we are fighting alongside. And when the World Trade Centre was hit on the 11th of September, that was as much an attack on the values that the Australian people stand for as it was upon the people and the values of the United States.
We are saddened of course that Sergeant Andrew Russell is not with us and I know that our thoughts particularly will be with Kylie, their young child and Andrew';s parents. And I know that the support that has been given to her by the Army and the great extended Army family, which is represented here today, has been of enormous value and enormous support to her.
We say how delighted we are to see Christian Salvatore on the mend and back amongst us and I know that we all wish him a very positive and thorough rehabilitation and we';re delighted to have you amongst us today.
The other person, if I may be forgiven for particularly mentioning, is Sergeant Matt Bouillaut, who has been awarded the Distinguished Service decoration for the remarkable work that he did and the remarkable acts of leadership and heroism that he displayed in Afghanistan. I know that in the nature of the tradition of the Australian Army, nobody tends to be particularly singled out for special praise because an individual';s effort is only as good as the team work that makes that possible. And I want to say that what you have done over the last four months, has made all Australians very proud. You';ve fought well, you';ve remained disciplined, you';ve remained loyal to each other, you';ve made Australians feel very proud of what you';ve done. And very importantly can I say to the mothers and the fathers, the wives, the children, the sweethearts of the men of the SAS how pleased we are that you';ve been able to join us in this gathering. I hope that you can have some well earned time together. We treasure the contribution that your loved ones have made to our country. All that a nation can do for people who put their lives on the line to defend the values of that country, is to honour that commitment, to care for them if they are hurt, to generously support them and to make certain that their loved ones are cared for and looked after. I hope that we have done that over the last four months and I hope that in the months and the years ahead, that we will continue to do that.
From all Australians, again may I say thankyou, you have done us proud, you mean a lot to us, you are a wonderful emblem of what this country stands for and we';ll always be very proud of your contribution to the fight against terrorism. Thank you.
[ends]