Defence Minister, Chief of the Defence Force, Chief of the Air Force, Chief Minister, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, ladies and gentlemen. Can I say on behalf of a very proud, a very grateful and a very relieved nation, we are so happy to see you back, we are so happy to see all of you again back in one piece, and we are so tremendously proud of what you have done in our name to the enormous credit of the Australian Defence Forces.
This is a great day for the Royal Australian Air Force. As the Air Marshall said, we welcome home some personnel who participated in the first fighter combat by the Royal Australian Air Force for 50 years. You did it with enormous skill, enormous pride and enormous professionalism, and it's no exaggeration to say that the fighting men and women of Australia, in this recent operation, have won not only the respect and the admiration of their fellow Australians, but also the respect and the admiration of the people and the leaders of your coalition partners.
I've just, as you know, had the opportunity of a visit to the United States and to Great Britain and on the way back I had the opportunity of meeting quite a large number of you in Doha. And can I say, without question that was the highlight of my 11 days overseas, to imbibe the sense of authentic Australian patriotism, to imbibe the sense of commitment, to imbibe the sense of satisfaction at a job well done, and also to be reminded that the great Australian sense of humour, the great Australian capacity to adapt, is alive and well amongst our fighting men and women.
Can I say to all of you who went, thank you for doing what your country asked of you. Thank you for upholding the best traditions of the Australian military forces. Thank you for not only being great war fighters, but also being great peacemakers and great conciliators, because the modern serviceman or woman must be not only a war fighter but also a conciliator and a peacemaker. And Australian servicemen and women have been able to do that. You went in our name in a just cause. You were properly sent to liberate an oppressed people, and with your coalition partners you did that job magnificently and in a way that will always be remembered by the rest of your fellow countrymen and women.
May I say to the families, many of whom I had the opportunity of meeting - the mums and dads, the husbands and wives, the sons and daughters, the sweethearts - all of them I've had the opportunity of meeting, many of them over the past few months - I have tried to understand the anxiety that you have felt, and we've tried in different ways to share that anxiety with you. Thank you for the support that you have given to your loved ones. You are part of a great Australian defence family, and the strength of that family has been of enormous importance to your loved ones while they have been overseas.
Today is one of those days where to be an Australian fills you with enormous pride. To be an Australian makes you think you are amongst the most privileged people in the world, and of course we are. It's a wonderful country because we are made up of wonderful people, and the best and the finest and the greatest of those went in our name to do good deeds, they did it well, thank God they did it safely, and we are so happy to have you all back amongst us.
Thank you.
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