Thank you so much for making me so welcome.
This is my first ever visit to a submarine. These are an extremely potent unit of the Royal Australian Navy and I appreciate that I am with elite members of our Navy in being here with you.
Obviously it’s a different world down here to the world on a surface ship. It would require extraordinary levels of discipline and mental toughness and I am full of admiration for the professionalism of all our military personnel, but I am particularly full of admiration for the professionalism and mental toughness of our submariners.
So, it’s great to be here. I very much appreciate the work you do. I understand just what a sophisticated piece of equipment this is. I appreciate the extraordinary levels of interoperability that we have with our principal ally because of the equipment on this boat and as I said, I realise just what an amazing capability this gives us thanks to your work and your professionalism.
So thank you so much. I’m looking forward to spending a bit of time talking to you. I’m also looking forward to spending a bit of time talking to Admiral Griggs and the team about various submarine related issues. But I’ve got to say, just looking around now; it sure is a different world.
[ends]