PRIME MINISTER
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE BICENTENARY
ADELAIDE 31 DECEMBER 1988
John Bannon
John Howard
Jim Kirk
Ladies and Gentlemen
Young Australians
I am delighted to be here in the Adelaide foothills at the
National Australian Scout Jamboree to share with so
many young Australians the closing ceremony of our
Bicentenary. Speaking today to you I speak through you to
young people throughout the nation.
This year we have celebrated our achievements as a nation
with some tremendous events the Tall Ships on Sydney
Harbour on Australia Day, Expo in Brisbane, and hundreds of
community events in cities and towns around the nation.
Indeed the Bicentenary has provided some magnificent
memories the cattle treks, the camel races, the bonfires,
the historic climb to the peak of Mount Everest,
re-enactments of historical events. It has given us world
class sporting events and a brilliant program of art and
entertainment. But the Bicentenary has not been only, or even mainly, about
celebrations such as these. Just as importantly, it gave us
an opportunity to think about our past and our future. it
helped us to understand our origins, to think honestly about
our strengths and our weaknesses as a nation, to plan for
the challenges ahead and to build a Bicentennial legacy for
the future.
This is a legacy of a lasting nature a legacy which you
and the Australians of the future will use, enjoy and
benefit from.
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Together we have built new parks and cycling paths, heritage
trails and walking tracks along the routes of the early
explorers. There are new sporting facilities and galleries
and museums such as the Stockman's Hall of Fame in
Queensland and the Adelaide Railway museum and the Science
and Technology Centre in Canberra with its hands-on
scientific displays which will be enjoyed by children and
adults for years to come.
And of course there is our new Parliament House a place
which is not just a building but a clear sign of Australia's
commitment to our future as a democratic nation.
I think as a result of the Bicentenary we have come to a
better understanding of who we are as Australians and what
our place in the world is we have a clearer appreciation
of the achievements of our forebears in creating a nation
that is free, democratic, independent and prosperous and
we have a sharper determination to take that legacy of
freedom, democracy, independence and prosperity and to
ensure it is passed on, in total, to future generations of
Australians. That's why we have this year gained a clearer recognition of
the achievements of Aboriginal Australians the original
inhabitants of this continent whose culture reaches back
40,000 years and more into the Dreamtime. More than ever
before I believe Australians stand ready to put right the
wrongs done to Aboriginal people and to work for a fairer
society for all Australians.
We are more aware too of the part migrants have played in
the development of our nation, and we have worked for
greater understanding among the peoples from many lands who
together make up the free and tolerant Australia in which we
can all take pride.
And when we think of the thousands of people from overseas
who visited Australia this year for the Bicentenary Prime
Ministers and Presidents, scientists and scholars, students
on exchange programs, tourists who visited Expo or who just
came to see what a great country we've got when we think
of all these people we realise that the Bicentenary has been
a very important year in terms of building friendships
abroad and showing the world how proud we are to be
Australians. Because we do have much to be proud of, and we have among us
and especially among our young people people of courage,
resourcefulness, good humour and tolerance. We can go
forward with confidence, knowing we have much to offer the
world. It's to help those young Australians that I'm pleased to
announce at this the last event of the Bicentenary year
that the Government will be establishing a special legacy to
be called the Bicentennial Youth Foundation. ,1179
A lot of planning has still to be done, but I can tell you
that the Foundation will be provided with an endowment of
million from the Australian Bicentennial Authority.
It will help young Australians aged 16 to 25, who might not
otherwise have the opportunity to develop their capabilities
to contribute to Australia's future in fields such as the
arts, commerce, industry, science, sport and community work.
The Bicentennial Authority will select a group of qualified
Australians to serve as a Board of Directors whose job will
be to see that grants are made in areas which will truly
benefit the community.
The Foundation's ideals accord with my Government's
determination to make Australia a fairer place, and to help
families give their children the best possible start in
life, the best possible education, and the best chance for
useful employment.
I congratulate Jim Kirk and the Australian Bicentennial
Authority for this initiative. And I take this opportunity
to thank Jim and his Authority for their hard work and
diligence in creating a truly memorable Bicentennial year.
What will Australia be like in one hundred years, when your
children and grand children are celebrating the tercentenary
the three hundredth anniversary of European settlement of
this continent?
It's impossible to make anything but the most general of
educated guesses because we can be sure only that the next
ten decades will be decades of massive change in the world
economy, in technological developments, in our society.
But we, today, have a special responsibility to those
Australians of the future. It's up to us and especially
it will be up to you as the future leaders of Australia to
ensure that those third century celebrations take place in a
world that is at peace and in an Australia in which all
Australians have an equal opportunity to enjoy the benefits
of living in this great country.
So as our Bicentenary now comes to a close, I give you, our
young people, this challenge look into our past and see
what we have done well and what we have done less well; look
at our present and see what is good and what needs to be
changed; then look to the future and ask yourself what
contribution you can make to building an even better
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