It is with great sadness that I pass on my condolences to the family and friends of Sir Edmund Hillary.
The thoughts of many Australians are today with this great hero of our times.
The very name, Edmund Hillary, has become synonymous with daring and achievement. He was a man with a big dream and he made that dream come true.
He was one of New Zealand's giants and someone of whom they were so rightly proud.
He devoted much of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan trust, which he founded.
He was also a man that experienced great tragedy in his own life when his wife Louise Mary Rose and his daughter Belinda were killed in a plane crash in 1975.
Sir Edmund Hillary led an extraordinary and historic life. Today as a nation we honour the contributions that this great man made in the modern world.
January 11, 2008
Melbourne
Acting Prime Minister