I PRIME MINISTER
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNTIL DELER
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
PARLIAMENTARY LUNCHEON FOR THE
PRIME MINISTER OF MALTA
THE HON EDWARD FENECH-ADAMI
CANBERRA 15 AUGUST 1990
Prime Minister and Mrs Fenech-Adami,
Dr Galea and Mrs Galea,
Distinguished guests,
Parliamentary colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen
Earlier this year I travelled to Turkey with sixty
World War I veterans to commemorate the 75th anniversary of
the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli.
For Australians, the heroic achievements and the selfless
sacrifice of the ANZACs in the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign
are immortal. For a young nation full of reckless valour
and comradeship Gallipoli was a bloody initiation into the
world arena.
It is a little known fact that serving beside Australian
troops at Gallipoli, and sharing their sacrifices, were
volunteers from Malta. The barges which brought the diggers
to Anzac Cove were Maltese built. Once on shore, our
soldiers were sustained by supplies provided, in part, from
Malta. And not least in importance for twenty thousand
Australian troops wounded at Gallipoli and elsewhere during
World War I, Malta, ' the Nurse of the Mediterranean', was a
safe haven of rest and healing.
The bravery of the Maltese people during the privations and
terror of World War Two is also renowned not least by the
Australian troops who served there or who visited there in
transit to the Aegean and North Africa.
All these efforts mean the Maltese people deserve, and hold,
a special place in the hearts of Australians. Such bonds,
forged in wartime, have been strengthened in peace. And you
will excuse me, I am sure, if I give one uplifting
demonstration of that statement.
993(;
In 1946, a young Maltese girl began tending the graves in
Malta of Australian airmen killed in the Second World War.
moved by the sacrifice of the Australians, she also began
organising wreath-laying ceremonies, single-handedly
honouring the ANZAC spirit. For forty four years,
Margot Bonello has continued in these quiet endeavours, not
for profit or gain, but in simple recognition of the dignity
of life. Earlier this year, Margot Bonello's work was
recognised formally by the Australian people when she was
made an honorary Member of the Order of Australia. Her
story symbolises, poignantly and eloquently, the links of
history and of friendship which bind Australia and Malta so
closely together.
Physically, of course, Australia and Malta are distant and
dissimilar countries.
Malta, in the heart of the Mediterranean, would fit some 200
times into our state of Tasmania. The size of your island
nation has inhibited your growth, while the vastness of our
island continent has created different problems and
opportunities. Natural resources have been our way of life
for decades, while your people are remarkable for their
achievements in a land without rivers, lakes or forests.
What ties Australia and Malta together is not proximity or
similarity, but the links of kinship and history that Margot
Bonello symbolises links which your visit, Mr Prime
Minister, will broaden and strengthen further.
Your visit, of course, is only the most recent episode in a
long tradition of movement of people between Malta and
Australia. It is a tradition that dates back to the earliest days of
European settlement of Australia. Our common heritage as
British colonial outposts has studded our history with many
bright figures -such as Count Bologna Strickland later
Lord Strickland -born in Valletta in 1861, appointed Chief
Secretary of Malta and then, in the first two decades of
this century, Governor of Tasmania, Governor of Western
Australia, and Governor of New South Wales, before returning
to Malta where he became Prime Minister.
Not the least of his achievements while he was in Australia
was as a vocal and effective advocate of Maltese emigration
to Australia. The steady growth of the Maltese community in
Australia was such that in 1931 my predecessor as Prime
Minister, Jim Scullin, attended Maltese National Day
celebrations in Melbourne.
Melbourne today has more Maltese residents than can be found
in any city in Malta. Indeed, from the Mt Lyell copper
mines on Tasmania's west coast, to the sugarcane fields of
Northern Queensland, Maltese people have settled every
corner of this country and they have done so, in
particular, since World War Two. They have accepted the
challenge that a new life brings and, through vigour and
persistence, carved out new and productive lives as proud
and committed Australians.
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You begin to realise just how substantial that contribution
has been when everyday Australian names reveal their Maltese
ancestry. Darren Gauci the " Golden Hands" of horseracing one of
Australia's premier jockeys.
Jeff Fenech the triple world champion boxer a working
class kid from Marrickville who has become one of our best
known sporting heroes by taking on the best fighters the
world could offer and beating them all.
Joe Camilleri -a well known singer-songwriter.
Mario Fenech -the captain of the South Sydney Rugby League
Club and a fierce competitor on the field.
Through the Catholic Church many Maltese Australians have
made valuable contributions to the social advancement of the
Maltese community here and to the broader Australian
society. And I am particularly pleased to record that the trade union
movement and the Australian Labor Party have repeatedly
benefited from the dedication and commitment of many members
of the Maltese Australian community.
So I pay unstinting tribute on this occasion to the
commitment and the great contribution made to Australia by
its Maltese community. We are proud of them and you too, Mr
Prime Minister, have reason to be proud of them.
Of course, such achievements come as no surprise. The
courage and determination which has characterised Malta in
war and in peace are evident still in her Australian
children. It is evident too in the way the modern Malta is taking a
role in international issues which concern us all. The
active and constructive role you are playing in
international environmental issues attracts our
congratulations and admiration.
The discussion that you initiated at the United Nations on
global climate change has led to close attention being given
to the issue through forums such as the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change.
Your foresight will, I am sure, lead to increased
collaboration between us as we meet the environmental
challenges that the coming years will bring.
At the same time the Commonwealth will remain important for
us both as a major forum for us to exchange views.
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Malta has also played a memorable supporting role in the
dramatic evolution of closer relations between the two
superpowers that we have witnessed in recent years. The
first talks between Presidents Bush and Gorbachev took place
at sea off Malta though I recall that your weather almost
succeeded in consigning the two leaders to the same fate as
that other, earlier, distinguished visitor to Malta St
Paul, shipwrecked in
Mr Prime Minister,
At this time we are seeing many momentous events: tyranny
replaced by popular rule, suspicion replaced by trust, the
accumulation of weapons replaced by disarmament, and
international discord replaced by dialogue. Notwithstanding
our concern at current developments in the Gulf, these
developments give us great hope for the future.
Malta and Australia have not stood idly by during these
dramatic transformations, but have played our parts, and
continue to do so, in the interests of creating a more
peaceful and prosperous world. In applauding that, and in
celebrating the enduring people-to-people links between our
two countries, let me say that you are a very welcome
visitor among us. On behalf of all Australians I wish you a
productive visit and a safe journey home. 999;
L