Your Royal Highnesses, Mr President, Mrs Calvert, Mr Speaker and Mrs Hawker, Mr Kim Beazley, the Leader of the Opposition, and Ms Susie Annus, Your Excellencies, my Parliamentary colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
This is a special occasion. It welcomes to the Great Hall of our Parliament of the nation two people who have become very much in the affections of the Australian people over the past two weeks. They met of course in the special sparkle and romance of the Sydney Olympic Games. That period of time that so many of us remember with great affection that brought hundreds of thousands of people to our shores, saw Australia on display as only Australia can be on display - open, friendly, informal, yet sophisticated, competing but always welcoming.
And you, Sir, came to our country to enjoy that and of course you found something else as well. And can we say overwhelmingly, Sir, we greatly approve of your choice.
Ladies and gentlemen, the marriage of Frederick and Mary has of course brought our two nations together in a way that they haven't been before. And in coming to the Great Hall of the national Parliament we are reminded of our shared commitment to a democratic way of life. We are reminded of our shared commitment to values not only of democracy but of justice and of civil liberties. Both of you, your Royal Highnesses, in your time with us have reminded our two nations of the common bond they have with the sea and the history of this country and the history of Denmark in different ways over the years have come together.
Many thousands of young Australians in successive generations on their travels throughout Europe as part of almost their right of passage to adulthood have travelled to Denmark and received a very warm and generous welcome. And I hope in a small way your journey with us over these past weeks and particularly in the case of your Royal Highness your return home to Hobart will be some repayment by Australians of that great generosity and welcome that has been extended to so many Australians over the years by the people of Denmark.
So we come here in this national Parliament to welcome you, to express the hope that you find great joy with the time amongst us, to reaffirm the friendship between our two countries, because in the end the shared values of nations and the links between the people of nations are more important than any other links. Yours has been a very popular visit. Both of you have been received very warmly and that is because of your spontaneous warmth and generosity of spirit. Your coming together is a reminder not only of the great sparkle of a great city, but also it is a reminder of the global nature of the world in which we live. And the way in which circumstances can bring young people together and as a result through their shared lives through the future bring nations ever closer together. And all of that is a very positive and a very wonderful thing.
So we're very happy to have both of you amongst us. We welcome you warmly to the national Parliament. We hope you enjoy the rest of your time in Australia and I invite the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Kim Beazley, to support my remarks.
Thank you.
[ends]