RPRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P. J. KEATING, MP
SPEECH TO THE LUNCHEON FOR HIS EXCELLENCY DR CENSU
TABONE, PRESIDENT OF MALTA, PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA, 16
JUNE 1993
E& OE PROOF COPY
President Tabone, Mrs Tabone, the Deputy Prime Minister and roreign
Minister, Your Excellencies, distinguished guests and ladies and gentlemen.
Mr President It Is my very great pleasure to welcome you to Australia. As
countries of long standing friendships which we have had and with a very large
Maltese born component of our population we have been very much two
countries who have had friendship with one another for a very long period of
time. I am told that almost every family In Malta has some relative in Australia
and so when you come here you came to a place where Malta Is more than
well represented.
The Maltese have made a very significant contribution to this country. It is a
strange but true fact that notwithstanding the fact that Malta is a small country it
has a disproportionate influence on Australia. This has been the case of other
smaller countries too and in the migration program after the war we have seen
Maltese born Australians take their places in Australian society and make their
way and have their families and then watch them grow up and prosper, to take
a mnore complete place In our society as the children of Maltese people born
here.
They have been great contributors and I am sure the Leader of the Opposition
won't mind me saying one of the other great virtues we find In them Is that they
mostly support the Labor party. This Is not an exclusive, we don't have
exclusivity but we have got more than our fair share. I do not know why that Is,
but It seems to be a phenomenon which is true. The fact is though many
people of Maltese decent have been coming here since about 1810 and down
through the years they can be found not just In the capital cities and they seem
to congregate In places like Sydney and Melbourne, but also across the
hinterland of Australia In the townships and the provincial cities. So they wre
very much the pioneers of Australia amongst the pioneers-of. Australia's
economic development: in rural and provincial communities which were small
places where they have played a prominent role and of course since the
Second World War pioneers In our social development.
We were speaking earlier about the multicultural character of the Australian
community and the Maltese community have played no small part In this great
social development in Australia and part of the tolerance of the country and part
of its sense of commitment to Australia on the part of many immigrants there
would be none that have shown a lead more than the Maltese who have come
here and called this place their own. their home and built a life for themselves
here. It has been a very substantial and creative role In our society and in the post-
War development of our cities and we think that this multicultural development
Is a unique thing In the world. This Is not the only multicultural country In the
world but I think we are doing something which Is Important here, we think we
are doing It as well as anyone else and maybe a little better. That we have
managed to produce a society which is diverse but in many respects, well
entirely cohesive as a community and this Is not an easy thing to do, but of
course the Maltese have been part of that.
I suppose if anything probably freshened up our relationship it was the
strengthening that occurred during the Second World War when Australians
helped defend Malta during three continuous years of bombing by the Axis
powers and it is point not well known In Australian that the Deputy Prime
Minister was just saying to me that Malta took greater bombings than the city of
London and took a tremendous pounding from the Axis powers during the war
and of course Australian forces were there to help In the defence of Malta and
this again just added another layer onto this history we have together and the
fact that we have so many things In common.
Last year your Government announced the issue of a medal to mark the
anniversary of the awarj of the George Cross of Malta to some 2000
Australians who I think, are eligible and as far as I know about 14,000 have
taken it up. This was a very nice commemoration and the acknowledgment of
the role played by Australians in the defence of Malta In the Second World War
and we appreciate that gesture very much Indeed.
We were discussing earlier the fact that we are pursuing different paths. In
terms of our geography Malta Is located in that part of the world where you are
an associate member now of the European community and have appied for full
membership. In the same way Australia Is part of the economic order and*
linkages of the Asia-Pacific and we are trying to grow Asia-Pacific institutions
here and be part of that as you are keen to Improve your own Institutional links
with the European community. This offers a challenge to both of us and we
have to think of novel ways In which we may participate more fully in these very
large communities and you were telling me Mr President, that you are
becoming now a much more service orientated socletykand, bjlI ing new
3
industries on the service base which Malta can offer and that led us to talk
about air links between Australia and Malta and the fact that we would like to
see that succeed and In its succeeding just again with the transmission If you
like, the transport system being more convenient than it has been will lead to
not Just the natural flow of Australians of Maltese origin returning to Malta, but
may open up business opportunities for Australian firms participating In the
European area using the service facilities of Malta. This Is a good and sensible
development. You were talking also about the vagaries of the common market, the
development of Maastricht and how the European community might develop
with European integration and the Integration of the Commonwealth of
Independent States more fully In the European family and the challenges which
the Integration of those states into Europe, the strength of that challenge for
European nations to overcome and we see the problems In the post cold-War
era with Iraq and with Bosnia-Herzegovlna and the problems of the old
Yugoslavia already reminding us of the Intractability of European problems and
European unity. We would think as a full partner of the European community or
Indeed even as associate members there Is again that great common sense of
Malta playing a role, having a voice in these very Important world affairs as we
In Australia are having a role In the development of the Asia-Pacific area and
always standing up for sense of democracy and our sense of freedom and
human rights which Is an Important signature which Australia has and which we
think we can bring to this part of the world as well.
Beyond those economic, our economic allegiances In terms of the regions we
beong, nothing has stood In the way of our friendship other than those
thousands of kilometres of sea and of distance and we hope that we can shrink
those again. So with Malta as with all those countries from whence the
Australian people have come, there is a thred of kinship which Is bound to
survive our pursuit of our different destinies in different parts of the world.
Mr President, could I say we welcome you most heartedly to Australia. It Is
great to see you here with your wife and Foreign Minister and we do hope that
you enjoy our hospitality, not just the hospitality of the Australian community in
the broad, but particularly those of Maltese origin who I know are thrilled to see
you visit this country and I am sure as you travel around the country you will
find that the bonds between us are very warm and very strong Indeed.
Thank you.