Thank you very much Mr O'Mahony, Mr and Mrs Endo, Momoka, Professor Kawano, ladies and gentlemen. This is a really special moment. It's a moment to express our awe and respect for the wonders of medical science, to imagine that a little girl born potentially into a world of silence can be given the gift of hearing and to be able to lead a near as possible normal life as a result is something that always makes you stop and wonder about the great potential of what mankind can do.
It's also a wonderful occasion for Australian medical science. Professor Clark deserves all of the accolades that have been heaped upon him, the most recent by the Royal Society in London. It's also an occasion to congratulate the company Cochlear, a great Australian company. I'll be forgiven for saying for 19 years it operated in my electorate in Lane Cove in Sydney until the wicked redistribution commissioners took it away from us. But most importantly of all, we are here today to salute the skill of Professor Kawano, the surgeon, but very importantly to share the joy of Momoko's parents and Momoko at this wonderful gift that she has been given. It's something that touches all of us in a very special way. Making life happier for little children is about the most rewarding thing any of us can do. And we've seen the joy of these children today and what this implant means for Momoko is an even happier life.
So can I say to Mrs and Mrs Endo how very pleased I am. Can I congratulate the company and in doing so take this opportunity on behalf of the Australian Government and I know the Australian people, of expressing my admiration for all the wonderful medical science of Australia. We punch above our weight with medical science. We always have and we always will. And it's people like Professor Clark backed at an entrepreneurial level by people like Mr O'Mahony and his company to have made it possible, and has allowed us to share for a moment the special occasion and the joy. To imagine that 50,000 lives have been changed forever for the better as a result of this marvellous device and the skill that is involved in it, is something that we should be very proud of.
I would like to invite Momoko and her mother and father to come on the stage because as well as remarking upon the occasion and presenting a plaque to Professor Kawano, which I'll do in a moment, the company has very kindly and very graciously donated some air tickets for the Endo family to come to Australia. And it will mean that Momoko will not only enjoy the sights, but also the sounds, of our wonderful country and sample the sun and the surf and all of the other native birdsongs that are peculiar to our country and will be a lasting memory of the link between her country and our country, which will mean so much to her as she grows to womanhood and plays her part in Japanese society in the years ahead.
[ends]