To His Excellency Dr Edward Fenech Adami, President of Malta, and his charming wife who is with us here this evening. To other members of the Maltese delegation led by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs. To the Leader of the Opposition Mr Turnbull, friends of Malta, and in this country you are all friends of Australia.
Could I say, having spent now some time speaking with the President of Malta, how good it is to be among friends? We have reflected on the ties that bind. And the ties that bind this small country, this small island in the middle of the Mediterranean and this larger island in the middle of the Pacific is an extraordinary tale of history. It's a tale of culture, it's a tale of history, it is a tale of peoples, it is a tale of war, it is a tale of suffering, it is a tale of comfort and of course it is a tale which has its future in what we now do together.
When you reflect on this extraordinary culture and community in this island of Malta, those of us who are minded of history reflect upon the significance of this island in Mare Nostrum, the Mediterranean, and the extraordinary unfolding of the empire that was Rome.
But as his Excellency the President reminded me, the ancient cultures that have occupied that island for millennia before Rome built structures which remain today, which remain the oldest built structures anywhere in the world.
Of course in the wider spread of the history of our civilisations, the fact that St Paul was shipwrecked in Malta, the fact that he stayed in your midst for three months, the fact that Malta as a consequence has been a large part of the New Testament story is a part of Maltese history and its future contribution to Christian civilisation.
Malta itself of course has been the home and host of these ancient orders, the Orders of St John and of course those whom we describe today as the Knights of Malta. This is an ancient tale but it's still a modern tale because in that history in the Order of St John Hospitaller, you have also the beginnings of a medieval chivalric order, which centuries later then provides hospice and comfort as well as healing to Australian diggers who had just returned from the shores of Gallipoli.
There they came, together with others from across the world, in engagement on Gallipoli's shores and then for their rest, their recuperation but for many their dying and their passing and their eternal rest, Malta was the place to which they went. And still today, tended by the good people of Malta as of this day, lie on her soil sons of our soil, cared for tenderly by the people of that extraordinary island.
Last year when I was in London I spent some time with Her Majesty the Queen. Her Majesty the Queen opened by asking me about Malta. I found this a curious start to the conversation and as all conversations with Her Majesty the Queen, they should remain private. So I won't elaborate other than to say that her affection for your country, given her time there as a young woman when she was a princess and not yet queen, was told to me as a visiting and fellow member of the Commonwealth with great affection and with great warmth. And with an intensity of memory which suggested to me that she regards your island and your country as very near and dear to her heart and to her family.
Which brings us of course to the bonds which now exist between us as members of the Commonwealth. Malta, Australia, working together. This is a good thing. And there are many practical challenges for us to attend to in the councils of the Commonwealth and the councils of the world. This is important work. Some have decried the value of the Commonwealth. I do not.
My simple view of international relations is this. Whether it is the United Nations, whether it is the Security Council, the General Assembly, or the great councils of the world, or other councils including the Commonwealth, where we are working together for the common good as we are, through the councils of the Commonwealth, this in fact is a good thing.
His Excellency the President, who is a person more experienced in politics than myself, being a person who has been in Maltese politics both Prime Minister and the President over not just many years, but many decades, passed to me the observation from an earlier meeting of the Commonwealth Head of Government.
That here you have this extraordinary collection of governments from around the world, from as parts as distant as the United Kingdom itself, Malta, India, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, and the members of the Caribbean, all united of course by a common experience of England, sometimes a challenging experience, but united still by a bond of language which actually makes our common discourse more possible. But beyond that a sense of common values which cause us as a Commonwealth to be good citizens of the world.
For Australia, we have yet a further advantage when it comes to our friends in Malta. And it is this. So many of your sons and daughters have chosen to become our sons and daughters. 150,000 from this tiny island in the middle of the Mediterranean are now one of us. And they have been for some generations. In fact, as His Excellency reminded me, and the High Commissioner earlier, going back well into the 19th Century.
The Maltese people have been great contributors to our nation, our national life, our businesses, our communities, our cultural diversity. And our national family as Australia would not be as complete were it not for you being part of us. One of the great tales, Excellency, about modern Australia is this. We have about us this characteristic as Australians, which is unity through diversity. And in all of our diversities, still unity still. And this I believe is a great strength and as part of that strength we have this community from this distant island which is now part of us and part of our identity. And for that,Your Excellency, I extend through you our thanks to your community back home, that so many have chosen to be one with us.
Your Excellency, we are honoured by the fact that you have chosen to visit us. And we are honoured by the fact that you have chosen to spend time with us in Australia. We are honoured by the fact that as a key member of the European Union, you choose to be an active participant and fellow contributor with Europe and Australia in dealing with common challenges which now confront the international order. Challenges of security, challenges of how we deal with the global economic crisis, challenges of climate change, challenges as are known only too well in the Mediterranean of dealing with persons who are displaced from various countries from around the world and the challenges of asylum.
I therefore Mr President, would conclude with these remarks. Know in Australia as this, that you are among friends because your people have become our friends, and in fact have become one with us. And know also this, that in Australia there is a government which wishes to work with you and the councils of Europe and in the councils of the Commonwealth to assist to craft a world for the future in which we can all have pride.
Your Excellency, I thank you for your visit.