Fl. PRIME MINISTER]
FOR MEDIA MONDANY, OCTOBER 4 1982
COMONWLTn RECEPTION, BRTSBANg
I am very happy for all Australians to welcome all OLUr
guests to Australia. The Games have grown enormovsly since
they were first held in Australia, in Sydney, in 1938.
Then there were only 15 nations and I think 500 athletea
came across by ship. In Perth in 1962, there were 35 nations
and 1,000 athletes. Now there are 45 nations and ove-r 2,000
athletes.
The Ommnes have grow,. n a8 the Commonwealth has gr'own. The opening
-ceremony I believe says something about Aust-ralia. hope it
says eomething about Australia. to all Australians as well as to
our guests. ' The fact that so many different cultural groups,
people from countries or different countries of 6rigin took
part in that opening ceremony says something about the lnodezn
Australia which 4. s so different from the Australia of years
ago.. Pp-rhaos not all oux visitors and our guests know that mny
of those different groups, caime to JAustralia for ons very
simple reason, th-ey wanted to come to a countryr ir which .: they
could be free, and thiey cam. e to Australia.
The Cozmonwaalth stands for values that are of great importance,
t-hat help to advance those values. The Comonwealth Gaines
also advancea those values and in doing so the Cowmonwealth
is strengthened--and the Commonwealth Games are strengthened.
I think we have had -people who hav; e predicted doom and disaster
in past years about Commonwealth Heads of ozvernments fieetings
They have eaid they will not get through the agenda, they will
blow up, they will fall apart. There were even people saying
there would not be a Commonwealth Games, but mostly in the
newspapers and not anywhere else.
I would like to thank you all for coming to demonstrate if nothing
else that oiAr newspapers are not always right. But really, I
know fthere are a great many people who have warked to make
these Games a succezs. I know there are many people who have
worked to avert the dangers and difficulties and the sensitivities
that could have upset the holding of these Games.
I thin) k it may be invidious to mention any particular participating
teamo or any particular participating country, but I am going
to run the zisk of mentioning one country because I think one
country,.,'* athletio and cultuiral team that is here epitomises
so muchi of -what the Commonwealth stands for, and
I believe it stands for something of very great value. Ii
would like to welcome, and I hope you would all join me in
welcoming our visitors from Zimbabwe-. Tha preserna of our
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our guests from Zimbabwe demonstrates that the Co-ononwealth
not only can. be, but has been when put to the test, thoroughly
successful in what it sought to do, and that it can contribute
to finding peaceful solutions and that it is releveant to the
modern world and can contribute to the solutions of some of
the problerms of the modern world.
I would like to thank all of those who made the Games possible.
I am glad to see that they meet difficulties about their
constitution, which I am told are going to be solved easily
in a day or so. I know a great deal of work is going into
that. That again is a practical example of the ComTmonwealth
working to find the solutions because its members have
wanted to find the solutions ones; that would work.
I would like to wish all good fortune to competitors who
still have to run their race. I hope you won't nind if
I am mildly pro-Australian where Australians are competing,
but if there are no Australians in a particular race or
contest, I am prepared to be totally impartial as I am
in my politics, Thank you all for coming and I hope you
will join with me in giving a warm welcome to the Duke
of Edinburgh who is amongst us at the present time.