PRIME MINISTER
CHECK AGAiNsT nREJ. TIggy EMBARGOED UNTIL-DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
ROYiAL MILITARY COLLEGE GRADUATION PARADE
DUNTROON 11 DECEMBER 1990
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
For those who are being commissioned today as officers of
the Australian Army, this ceremony represents the successful
conclusion of a tough, demanding course that has prepared
them for the responsibility of military leadership.
Let me say directly to those officers: as you embark on the
challenges ahe~ ad, you can rely with confidence on the
physical and Intellectual skills you have acquired here.
They will stand you in good stead and you will always have
cause for gratitude to the instructors of this College, and
to your fellow cadets with whom you have shared so many
experiences here.
Today marks a great personal achievement by each of you, and
your friends and family who are here to support you today
are right in feeling very proud of you.
So this is an important ceremony for you personally.
It is also a % very important ceremony for Australia. As
Australia's Prime Minister, let me explain to you why I
believe that all1 Australians are entitled to share your
pride in your achievement.
This College at Duntroon was established only ten years
-afte-r-Eederat. on, . and.. one-year -after this-district was
selected as the site for the national capital.
That the CollEtge was established so early in the life of our
nation was sigrnificant. With Federation came the
responsibility for Australia to provide for its own defence,
not with a group of colonial forces, but with a national
defence force. An essential part of that national defence
force was this: College, providing our Army with quality
leadership from its earliest days.
Just three years after the College was established, Duntroon
graduates were departing for Gallipoli.
At the flagpole in the parade ground where your march past
took place earlier this morning are recorded the names of
those Duntroon officer graduates who gave their lives at
Anzac Cove and in France and in all the subsequent conflicts
in which your predecessors have fought.
So it is that for nearly eight decades, including through
two World Wars, the skills, the sense of duty and where
necessary the capacity for sacrifice, instilled here at
Duntroon have enabled the Australian people to fulfill the
most fundamental requirement of nationhood national
security.
But of course the role of the defence forces has extended
well beyond their valourous service to the nation during
those times of grave threat. Our Armed Forces have served
not only in times of war but in times of peace they have
served the national interest not only directly, but also by
helping maintain a peaceful and secure international order.
With professionalism and honour, the Australian Army has
supported United Nations peacekeeping initiatives throughout
the world since 1947.
Today, our commitment to the principles of the United
Nations is exemplified by our contribution to the
multinational force in the Persian Gulf: three vessels of
the Australian Navy are currently on duty in the area, with
an Army Air Defence detachment on board HMAS Success.
Australia has many interests at stake in the Gulf, as I said
in my Statement to Parliament last week. Uppermost of these
is the establishment of an international order based on the
principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations:
that international disputes must not be settled by force;
that national borders must be respected; that aggressors
must not be permitted to prevail.
In the fluid international scene that has emerged in the
wake of the Cold War, such principles must become the
firmest of guidelines for international behaviour.
Yet these principles are flouted with every day that Iraq
remains in occupation of Kuwait.
Let there be no illusion about the hazardous nature of the
task which our forces may be called upon to perform. But
let there be no doubt either, about the fundamentally
important nature of their task.
3.
Because, whether it is in a peacekeeping role or in
conflict, it is on the individual men and women of the
Defence Force on their dedication, professionalism and
courage that Australia depends for its security and for
its national contribution to global security. Our
technology and equipment cannot operate without well-trained
and committed personnel. It all comes down to people like
you, and to your peers, and to the people you will lead.
That is why I say this ceremony is of importance not just to
those of you receiving their commissions today but to
Australia as a whole.
Since the first officer cadets departed from this College
bound for Gallipoli, Australia has changed and the world has
changed, in ways which our forefathers could not have
foreseen.
But the underlying principles still hold firm. We are still
a free nation, still a proudly democratic nation. We still
need to be able to look after ourselves to be self reliant
in defending our vast continent in a challenging world.
We still have an important contribution to make to
protecting global peace and stability. So we still rely on
our defence forces to meet the fundamental need of national
security and to help attain the fundamental goal of world
peace. All of us here today salute your achievement in reaching
graduation. This is a day for you to be proud proud of
your personal achievements as you enter the next phase of
your careers proud to add to the traditions of the forces
which have served this nation well in the past and will do
so into the future and proud, I am sure, to be Australians
and to know that you will serve your nation at all times
with dedication and resourcefulness. As your motto so aptly
puts it " Learning Promotes Strength".
To those receiving their commissions today, I extend my
heartiest congratulations. On behalf of the Australian
people I wish you every success in your careers careers
which are concerned with the possibility of war, but which
we trust, by our preparedness to be strong in defence of
peace, will be served in peace.