Fellow Commonwealth leaders.
Commonwealth Secretary General.
President, Vice President and Honorary Secretary of the Commonwealth Games Federation.
Distinguished guests, Aussie athletes, ladies and gentlemen.
I am delighted to join the President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Michael Fennell and all of you here present, to celebrate the unifying power of sport, evident here as I see such an amazing array of sporting talent in this room.
I hope many of you may have caught the sporting events associated with CHOGM held over the past week with thrilling netball and hockey matches showcasing the incredible talent that exists within the Commonwealth.
And our loss in the recent World Cup semi-final reaffirming that the overwhelming objective of Australia's foreign policy is to beat the All Blacks in the rugby!
But friends, for many people around the world the word ‘Commonwealth'is synonymous with the Commonwealth Games.
Little wonder, given these Games have produced some of the great moments in sporting history.
From ‘The Miracle Mile' at the 1954 Vancouver Games, where John Landy and Roger Bannister both beat the four minute mile.
To Dawn Fraser winning four gold medals right here in Perth in 1962.
Precious McKenzie - a 4 foot, 9 inch giant - winning the weightlifting gold in Christchurch in 1974.
I couldn't possibly comment on the legend that The Queen was late for an official engagement because she was so determined to watch McKenzie take the prize.
And the most recent Games in Delhi, when history was made by Botswana, the Cayman Islands and Samoa when they celebrated their first Commonwealth gold medals.
Our Games are a truly special international event.
Not because of medals won, but because of a shared history and the enduring friendships forged.
Our people and our nations love to compete.
We even take this sporting spirit to our bids to host the Games themselves.
For Australia's part, we have a proud history of hosting Olympic and Commonwealth Games to a surpassing standard of excellence in which international friendship and the good of sport come first.
We are indeed ready and willing to host an outstanding Commonwealth Games in 2018.
But friends, the 2018 Games are a little way down the track.
In the meantime, we are all looking with excitement to 2014 when athletes from throughout the Commonwealth meet on the field of competition in Glasgow.
New heroes will emerge.
Great friendships will be established.
And old rivalries will be renewed.
This morning we have the opportunity to reflect on and reaffirm the strong belief we share in the importance of not only the Commonwealth Games but more broadly the power of sport to help turn around the lives of individuals and the wellbeing of nations.
Nelson Mandela once said that: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does”.
Sport can allow nations to overcome traditional barriers through goodwill and commitment which is why Australia is committed to working with our Commonwealth partners so that they can foster and develop their sporting participation, through programs such as:
* the Australian Sports Outreach Program,
* the Pacific Sports Partnerships,
* and the Papua New Guinea-Australia Sport For Development Initiative.
I know that the sports men and women of the Commonwealth share our belief in the enduring power of sport to transform communities.
It is global language that every nation speaks and understands.
A language of effort and commitment.
A language of excellence, inner strength and endurance beyond all odds.
And for us in this unique fellowship of nations, sport is a reminder that the Commonwealth is not just something we are.
It is something we do - something we create.
Through our participation.
Through our goodwill.
Enriching each other.
And making this a ‘common wealth' in fact as well as in name.
Thank you for showing your support here today.