SPEECH BY THE AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER, HON R, J. HAWKE AC, MP
AT THE AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE CENTRE
JAKARTA
4 JUNE 1983
YOUR EXCELLENCIES, DISTINGUISHED GUESTS,
IT IS A GREAT PLEASURE FOR ME TO BE HERE TODAY,
THIS OFFICIAL VISIT TO INDONESIA, ON THE FIRST
LEG OF MY OVERSEAS MISSION AS AUSTRALIA'S NEW PRIME MINISTER,
IS INTENDED, OF ITSELF, TO DEMONSTRATE THE HIGH PRIORITY
THE NEW AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT ATTACHES TO RELATIONS
BETWEEN INDONESIA AND AUSTRALIA,
BUT THIS OCCASION AT THE AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE
CENTRE RECOGNISES ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THAT
MANY-SIDED RELATIONSHIP THE HUMAN SIDE,
GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS, TRADE,
AID, INVESTMENT ALL THESE ARE IMPORTANT. BUT NONE IS
MORE IMPORTANT THAN COMMUNICATION BETWEEN OUR PEOPLE
AND THE KEY TO COMMUNICATION REMAINS LANGUAGE.
So I AM ESPECIALLY PLEASED THAT I HAVE THIS
EARLY OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE PEOPLEOF INDONESIA
AT THE AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE CENTRE,
FIRST, LET ME REAFFIRM THAT THE NEW GOVERNMENT
OF AUSTRALIA ATTACHES GREAT IMPORTANCE TO THE
MAINTENANCE AND GROWTH OF SOUND AND CONSTRUCTIVE RELATIONS
BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND INDONESIA,
IT IS WORTH RECALLING THAT IT WAS ANl AUSTRALIAN
LABOR GOVERNMENT THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST ' INTERNATIONAL
CHAMPIONS OF INDONESIAN INDEPENDENCE. THIS IS AN
ASSOCIATION THAT THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR MOVEMENT RECALLS
WITH PRIDE, OUR AIM IS TO ENHANCE THE GENERALLY GOOD
RELATIONSHIP THAT HAS BEEN BUILT UP BETWEEN OUR COUNTRIES
OVER SEVERAL DECADES. WE WANT A PRODUCTIVE RELATIONSHIP
BASED ON MUTUAL RESPECT AND ON A RECOGNITION OF THE
MAJOR COMMUNITY OF INTEREST WHICH WE SHARE*. AS CLOSE NEIGHBOURSi
MY DISCUSSIONS THIS MORN ING W ITH THE PRESIDENT,
VICE PRESIDENT AND FOREIGN MINISTER HAVE HELPED TO
RE-EMPHASISE THIS COMMON INTEREST, AND BROAD AGREEMENT
ON THE FUTURE COURSE WE SHOULD TAKE IN PURSUIT OF THE
COMMON INTEREST, IN RECENT YEARS THE RELATIONSHIP HAS ALSO DEVELOPED
SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGH FREQUENT EXCI-iANGES OF HIGH LEVEL VISITS,;
THE GROWTH OF TOURISM AND CULTURAL CONTACT THE TEACHING
OF INDONESIAN IN AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS THE EXPANSION OF
CIVIL AVIATION LINKS AND OF COURSE TRADE AND INVESTMENT.
-3-
IN FACT, TRADE AND INVESTMENT HAVE BEEN
NOTABLE SUCCESSES. IN THE LAST TEN YEARS TWO-WAY TRADE
HAS INCREASED OVER TEN TIMES TO $ 932 MILLION IN 1981/ 82,
WITH A SURPLUS IN INDONESIA'S FAVOUR IN THAT YEAR OF
ALMOST $ 100. MILLION.
AUSTRALIAN INVESTMENT IN INDONESIA HAS ALSO
RISEN SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE LAST DECADE, IT NOW STANDS
AROUND $ 200 MILLION, AND MORE THAN FIFTY AUSTRALIAN
COMPANIES HAVE ESTABLISHED SUCCESSFUL JOINT VENTURES
IN INDONESIA. BOTH INDONESIA AND AUSTRALIA ARE SIGNIFICANT
NATIONS IN THIS GREAT SOUTH EAST ASIAN REGION NOW THE
MOST RAPIDLY GROWING ECON OMIC REGION IN THE WORLD.
INDONESIA WITH A HUGE POTENTIAL MARKET, ABUNDANT NATURAL
RESOURCES AND A RECENT HISTORY OF SUSTAINED ECONOMIC. GROWTH
IS ONE OF THE KEY ECONOMIES IN THE REGION. THE
OPPORTUNITIES FOR MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL CO-OPERATION ARE
CLEARLY CONSIDERABLE. WE SHOULD DEVELOP THEM FURTHER.
BUT WITH THE BEST WILL IN THE WORLD, GOVERNMENTS
CAN ONLY ACHIEVE SO MUCH IN STRENGTHENING BILATERAL RELATIONS.
IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTION MUST COME
FROM THE PEOPLE. A/ 1
A CRUCIAL ELEMENT IN THE ACHIEVEMENT OF CLOSER
BILATERAL RELATIONS IS BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF EACH
OTHER'S CULTURAL VALUES AND* TRADITIONS.
AND AS I SAID EARLIER, LANGUAGE LIES AT THE
VERY HEART OF THAT BETTER UNDERSTANDING.
SO THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THIS AUSTRALIAN
LANGUAGE CENTRE REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT STEP TOWARDS
THE GOAL OF BETTER UNDERSTANDING AND CLOSER RELATIONS
BETWEEN O. UR TWO COUNTRIES.
ITRUST, OF COURSE, THAT THE DESIGNATION OF
THIS CENTRE AS THE " AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE CENTRE",
WILL NOT BE A SOURCE OF CONFUSION.
THERE IS, OF COURSE, No AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE
AS SUCH. WE SPEAK ENGLISH THOUGH I SUPPOSE THERE MAY BE
SOME SUPERIOR PERSONS DISPOSED TO DISPUTE THE CLAIM.
IN FACT, AS BEFITS THE LANGUAGE OF SHAKESPEAREA
LIVING,, CHANGING LANGUAGE WE CAN CLAIM TO HAVE
ENRICHED AND INVIGORATED IT. 121/ 5
IN ANY CASE, AS THE MAJOR ENGLISH-SPEAKING
COUNTRY IN THIS REGION, IT IS PROPER THAT AUSTRALIA
SHOULD ASSIST THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS
IN SOUTH EAST ASIA; AND ESPECIALLY APPROPRIATEJHAT THE
FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTRE ESTABLISHED By AUtTRALIA
SHOULD BE HERE IN OUR CLOSEST AND MOST POPULOUS NEIGHBOUR,
INDONESIA. YOU WILL KNOW THAT IN THE POST-WAR YEARS,
AUSTRALIA HAS ABSORBED LARGE NUMBERS OF NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS
FROM COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD AND IN MORE RECENT YEARS,
INCREASING NUMBERS OF NON-EUROPEAN LANGUAGE SPEAKERS
FROM ASIA. THUS, WIE HAVE DEVELOPED CONSIDERABLE EXPERIENCE
IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE.
IN AUSTRALIA, THE INDONESIAN LANGUAGE HAS BEEN
TAUGHT FOR MANY YEARS IN THE UNIVERSITIES AND IN MANY
SECONDARY SCHOOLS, THIS HAS HELPED PRODUCE A SOLID BASIS
-IN AUSTRALIA FOR INDONESIAN STUDIES. 4
THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF INDONESIAN AND
SOUTH EAST ASIAN STUDIES IN AUSTRALIA IS AN OBJECTIVE
THAT my GOVERNMENT WANTS TO ENCOURAGE.
IT IS OUR INTENTION THAT THIS LANGUAGE. CENTRE
WILL ENCOURAGE INDONESIAN INTEREST IN AUSTRALIA.
FOR THOSE WHO ARE GOING ON TO STUDY THERE IN VARIOUS FIELDS,
IT WILL BE THEIR INTRODUCTION To AUSTRALIA AND ITS PEOPLE,
AS WELL AS ITS LANGUAGE.
WE HOPE THAT . OVER TIME IT-WILL ALSO INCREASINGLY
OFFER LANGUAGE TRAINING AND RELATED FACILITIES TO A WIDER
CIRCLE OF INDONESIANS WHO WILL THEN GAIN SOME ACQUAINTANCE'
WITH AUSTRALIA. IHOPE TO SEE IT LINK IN WITH OTHER CO-OPERATIVE
ACTIVITIES HERE. FOR EXAMPLE, I HAVE HEARD WITH GREAT
INTEREST OF THE STEPS THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO ESTABLISH
AND DEVELOP A PROGRAM OF AUSTRALIAN STUDIES AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF INDONESIA. THAT SEEMS TO ME PRECISELY THE
SORT OF ENTERPRISE WHICH WE NEED IF WE ARE TO GET THE
' INCREASED MUTUAL KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING WHICH MY
GOVERNMENT CERTAINLY DOES WANT TO SEE DEVELOP BETWEEN
INDONESIA AND AUSTRALIA. I HOPE WE CAN FIND WAYS TO BUILD UP
THAT PROGRAM AND HELP IT DEVELOP INTO A SOUNDLY-BASED
, ACADEMIC CENTRE FOR AUSTRALIAN STUDIES HERE IN INDONESIA.
es. 17
AS THIS LANGUAGE TRAINING CENTRE MEETS AN
INDONESIAN DEVELOPMENT PLANNING REQUIREMENT,
IAM DELIGHTED, ON MY FIRST VISIT TO INDONESIA AS
PRIME MITNISTER OF AUSTRALIA, TO BE ABLE TO DEDICATE
A DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE
AUSTRALIAN ASSISTANCE PROGRAM,
IAM PARTICULARLY PLEASED BECAUSE IT IS
A PROJECT WHICH WILL NOT ONLY GIVE INCREASING NUMBERS
OF INDONESIAN GRADUATES ACCESS TO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE,
BUT WdILL INTRODUCE MANY OF THEM To AUSTRALIA,
IBELIEVE THAT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR ALL.
OF US THAT WE DO MORE TO ENHANCE OUR MUTUAL KNOWLEDGE
AND UNDERISTANDING. MY GOVERNMENT WILL DO ALL IT CAN
TO SEE THAT THIS IS ACHIEVED.
IT FALLS TO ME TO HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF DEDICATING
THIS CENTRE TODAY AS PRIME MIINISTER OF AUSTRALIA,
BUT, OF COURSE, THIS TASK I PERFORM TODAY ONLY COMPLETES'
AN INITIATIVE UNDERTAKEN BY THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT OF
AUSTRALIA. THIS FACT IS A REMINDER OF THE BASIC CONTINUITY
OF THE RELATIONS BEIWEEN OUR TWO PEOPLES, AND THE CONTINUING
WISH OF ALL AUSTRALIANS FOR FRIENDSHIP AND UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS AND PEOPLE OF INDONESIA AND
AUSTRALIA.
IN UNVEILING THIS PLAQUE, I DEDICATE THIS
LANGUAGE TRAINING CENTRE TO INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION
AND UNDERSTANDING AND PARTICULARLY TO THE
ENHANCEMENT OF MUTUAL KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN INDONESIA AND AUSTRALIA.