19 September 1999
E&OE……………………………………………………………………………………….
I simply wanted to say to all of you how immensely grateful the Australian people are for the task that you are about to undertake. You have been very well trained. The Government has every confidence in the importance of the mission that you are about to undertake and we have every confidence in the capacity of the men and women of the Australian Defence Force to carry out that mission.
It is an important mission. It, as you know, from your training and from the advice of your commanding officers it is a mission not without danger and not without challenge. But it does involve a very significant commitment to something that is important for Australia and important to the things to which the Australian nation and the Australian people have always stood.
I know that many of you have suddenly found yourselves on the way to East Timor without warning and who did not have an opportunity of saying goodbye to your families and those others who are close to you. That is unfortunate, we are very sorry for that. I think I can say on behalf of everybody that we’ll look after your families while you are away. We wish you all Godspeed and a very safe return home.
And again, on behalf of all of the people of Australia, we admire very much what you are doing, we wish you well and we know that you will do it in the best traditions of the Australian Defence Force. Thank you very much.