PRIME MINISTER:
I’m here in South Africa for the Nelson Mandela memorial service. This is going to be a sad day for South Africa and the world. We mourn the passing of a great leader but we celebrate a great life. This is the paradox of a day like today - we're sad because he's gone but we're thrilled because he's lived.
QUESTION:
As Australia’s representative, what’s your thought process going into this public memorial?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'm pleased that I'm here with the Leader of the Opposition because both sides of Australian politics campaigned strongly against the apartheid regime; both sides of Australian politics were thrilled when Nelson Mandela was released from jail. We were all struck by the extraordinary magnanimity of the man. How could he have been incarcerated for almost three decades and yet emerged so full of forgiveness and reconciliation? And I guess the thing about Nelson Mandela is that he turned out not just to be an extraordinary political leader, but a great moral leader too.
QUESTION:
Mandela touched all corners of the globe and he made visits to Australia. What can Australians learn from him?
PRIME MINISTER:
That it is possible to be a national leader and to reach out and unite a community; that it is possible to suffer and to rise above suffering, and for Africa at least it is possible to ascend to the pinnacle of power and leave office peacefully and that's a lesson that many other parts of this continent have yet to learn.
QUESTION:
How important is it for Australia to have our Prime Minister here today?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think on occasions such as this, important international occasions where we mark something which is inevitably a milestone for the world, I think it's important that our country be represented and that’s why I'm pleased to have the Leader of the Opposition here too because all of Australia mourns the passing of Nelson Mandela but all of Australia celebrates the life of Nelson Mandela.
[ends]