E&OE................................................................................................
To Mr Bill Skate, the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, distinguished
guests ladies and gentlemen. There are a number of reasons why today
luncheon is a very special occasion. It brings together two nations
that have deep ties of history and people-to-people links. It is also
the first occasion on which Bill Skate as Prime Minister has visited
Canberra and we very very warmly welcome you Sir, not only in your
own right but also as the Prime Minister of a Nation for whom Australia
and Australians has a very deep affection. It is impossible to adequately
catalogue the links that do exist between our two nations and chatting
over the dinner table we reminded ourselves of just how intricate
are those links. I discovered, for example, the Minister for Resources
in the Government, Senator Warwick Parer, spent the first six years
of his life in Rabaul. I was reminded by a former Prime Minister,
Bob Hawke, that he spent some time of his life as a trade union official
giving advice on wages and industrial relations policy in Papua New
Guinea. And I recall the contribution to the building of that nation
by many of my former colleagues in the Coalition.
Of course the ties that bind us together are nowhere more powerful
than in an area of common love between Australians and the people
of Papua New Guinea and that is in the area of sport. And of all the
sporting links between the two nations, none is more powerful than
in the game of rugby league. And I'm delighted to acknowledge
the presence here today of a number of people who symbolise that link.
I'm delighted to acknowledge, of course, the presence of an Australian
who's probably better known in Papua New Guinea than any other
Australian and that is Mal Meninga, one of Australia's greatest
rugby league players and a great Kangaroo captain and now the coach
of the Canberra Raiders.
I'm also delighted to welcome John Ribot, the Executive Director
of the Melbourne Storm Rugby League Club. And as you will know, Mr
Skate, John captained the Australian President's XIII to Papua
New Guinea in 1985 and has maintained his links ever since. And, of
course, your own Marcus Bai, who's been such an outstanding success
as a player with Melbourne Storm, is also here and he, himself, is
building his own hero status amongst rugby league followers. And you'll
forgive me, ladies and gentlemen, whilst I'm on the subject of
football, of the rugby variety, but I take the opportunity, sparing
Graham Fortune's blushes, of acknowledging the tremendous achievement
of the Australian Wallabies at Lancaster Park last Saturday in winning
the Bledisloe Cup.
Of course, ladies and gentlemen, we gather here today in the shadow
of that enormous tragedy that overtook the villages around the Sissano
Lagoon. We record and reflect with immense sadness on the horrific
loss of life. And can I say to you, Prime Minister, that all Australians
felt for the families affected by that tragedy; the wives made widows,
the children made orphans and those left disabled. And we all felt
a special pang of sympathy and affection for you and for your country
as you coped valiantly with such a terrible disaster. And our desire
to reach out to you was a reflex action, an instinctive response to
family friends.
About 140 Australian Defence Force personnel were on the ground for
two weeks. There were medical staff and they helped deal with horrible
cases of gangrene coupled with scores of broken limbs and the prospect
of terrible disease. There were also communication specialists, logistics
staff, engineers and RAAF air crews whose support was essential. And
quite a number of them are here today as very welcome and honoured
guests of the Australian Government and I know, in a general sense,
of also the Government of Papua New Guinea.
Can I say, as Prime Minister, how immensely proud I was and I know
that all Australians were for what those men and women did in those
days immediately following that disaster. We can only begin to try
and understand the mental strain and trauma and the painful and distressing
circumstances under which they worked. But to see amidst that devastation
and death and sorrow and sadness, to see those wonderful images of
Australian defence personnel working in the name of humanity and decency
to relieve suffering touched me and touched all Australians in a way
that I hope those of you who are here and your colleagues who shared
that experience will understand and accept as a very, very sincere
and grateful expression of how we felt.
There is something particularly touching about the image of a person
wearing that wonderful slouch hat, ministering to people who are sick
and disabled and in a situation of distress. And all Australians are
immensely proud of you and we are immensely grateful to you for the
way in which you demonstrated that Australia is a true friend of those
in need and how deeply compassionate and how willing is the Australian
spirit when it is called upon in those circumstances.
Those images will remain with Australians for a long time. And for
myself, that tragedy served to remind how history, geography and circumstance
continues to bind our two nations together. It must have brought back
to many Australians, as it did to me, images of our shared past. Not
so vivid, perhaps, none so vivid rather, perhaps, as the tales, those
affection tales, of the so-called ‘fuzzy-wuzzy angels' who
helped Australian soldiers more than 50 years ago. The feats of tens
of thousands of those intrepid carriers are immortalised by the stories
of the help they gave to wounded Australian diggers, mainly on stretchers,
over the tortuous Kokoda track. Some of you may have read or heard
the original 1942 poem by Bert Beros, and I quote just a small part
of it:
"Many a mother in Australia when the busy day is done sends
a prayer to the Almighty for the keeping of her son, asking that
an angel guide him and bring him safely back.
Now we see those prayers are answered on the Owen Stanley track.
May the mothers of Australia when they offer up a prayer mention
those impromptu angels with their fuzzy wuzzy hair".
And however sentimental the rhyme and however in the eyes of some
but not, I think, in the eyes of most, dated the language may seem,
the poem helped to tell then how Australians were drawn through gratitude
and admiration to your people and it remains a heartfelt appreciation
enduring even unto today. And in a small way many Australians will
see the demonstration of compassion and help given so effectively
by the men and women of the Australian Defence Force as a small repayment
of the immense debt of gratitude that the wartime Australian diggers
owed to the people of your lovely country.
Mr Prime Minister, you may rest assured that the Government I lead
and the people of Australia consider Papua New Guinea a close friend
and we'll continue to support your efforts to rebuild after that
horrible disaster. And in addition to what has already been provided
we will provide whatever additional resources are needed beyond those
already available to ensure the reconstruction of the two or three
new schools needed, the upgrading of roads, the alterations to make
facilities accessible to the disabled, help with agriculture and fisheries
to rebuild the area's economy, assistance to church and non-government
organisations for rebuilding in new areas, ongoing support for those
suffering orthopedic injuries and amputations, support for geological
survey work and advance to local level administration on planning.
Mr Prime Minister, let me say how pleased the Australian Government
is with the role that you and your Government has played in relation
to the very difficult challenge of Bougainville. We have seen the
emergence of consultation, negotiation and the first possibilities
of a lasting peace and political settlement. We in Australia are not
nave about what lies ahead and ultimately, of course, success will
depend upon the attitude of the Bouganvillians themselves. But we
have made progress and you deserve a great deal of the credit for
that.
And can I also take the opportunity of recording the appreciation
that I feel and the Government feels towards the part played by the
Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, in the progress that
has been made in achieving some kind of lasting settlement in Bougainville.
And after so many years of conflict we all look forward to the prospect
of peace and I know from our discussions that you are deeply committed
to peace on Bougainville. And I also know from our discussions this
morning that Australia and Papua New Guinea and our other friends
in the Pacific region will work together very closely to achieve that
goal.
In our discussions this morning we shared our thoughts regarding the
impact of the economic downturn in the Asia-Pacific region on our
two countries. That impact is not going to pass quickly and there
is quite a deal of water to flow under that particular bridge before
we are going to see an upturn in the economies of that region. We
both agreed about the importance of continuing to pursue, notwithstanding
the difficulties, those necessary reforms that will make our two economies
more effective and more competitive, not only in the Asia-Pacific
region but also in the broader world. And we here in Australia, of
course, will be embarking upon a very major reform of our taxation
system. And I know from our discussions this morning, given your own
intentions in that particular area, that you will closely examine
the field evidence that emerges from the Australian experience.
Mr Prime Minister, it has been a personal pleasure for me to be your
host today. We met last year on several occasions. I respect and admire
the challenging way in which you are going about your task as Prime
Minister of your country. Australia and Papua New Guinea share a lot
of history, we are friends, we respect each other, we will periodically
differ. Our relationship is now the mature relationship of two sovereign
independent nations. The relationship was once otherwise but we have
grown, I think, easily and effectively and comfortably into the new
relationship.
On behalf of the people of Australia, I bid you a very warm welcome.
On behalf of the people of Australia I send to you and your fellow
country men and women, our good wishes, our determination to maintain
the close ties that have characterised our relationship and the gratitude
for the shared experiences and the mutual assistance which has gone
in earlier years. I would now like t o invite the Deputy Leader of
the Opposition, Mr Gareth Evans, to support my remarks. Thank you.
[ends]