Subjects:
E&OE..................
Thank you very much Professor Snyder, to the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of the Sydney University, Mr Nelson Mandela, our honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen.
I didn';t know Allan Snyder until I awarded him the Australia Prize in 1997. And I realised having spent a bit of time with him that that had been one of those gaps in my human experience that with foresight I might have attended to earlier.
He raised with me very early in our acquaintance this proposal of his to have this very special gathering. And on the eve of the Olympics how appropriately to ask and inquire on the subject of what made a champion.
There are many things that make up a champion and tonight and tomorrow this special, unique gathering of Australians and visitors, welcome visitors to our country from overseas, will examine the ingredients of championship.
And having dealt with Allan I think one of the ingredients of a champion is the capacity to ask somebody to do something and for that person to really feel that they had no alternative but to do it. And that is certainly a quality the Professor Synder has in abundance. I really felt when he said I want you to be the sponsor and I';d like you to invite and make sure Nelson Mandela comes, I really felt I had no alternative such is his infectious personality and his absolutely unbounded enthusiasm.
To have gathered together such a cross section of the inquiring minds of thrusting, pugnacious intellects from academia, the world of the arts, the world of business, the world of politics and the world of the media and there';s always an interplay between the media and politics. As I look around this room I can see many a person with whom I';ve had the odd parry and thrust in a political and media environment over the years, and will no doubt do so in the years ahead.
But the idea, the concept of conducting an inquiry into what makes a champion on the eve of the Olympics, I think is so beautifully Australian because we are so often accused of elevating sporting excellence beyond excellence in any other field. I think it is appropriate and so very Australian that we should choose on the eve of the greatest sporting event the world celebrates and only the second time that it';s been in Australia and here in the City of Sydney where the Olympic Games are to be celebrated to establish an inquiry into what makes a champion in other fields, on the eve of those Olympics both celebrates the importance of sport in the lives of Australians, but also celebrates the importance of excellence of achievement in all other areas of human endeavor.
And I do want to say to you Allan and to those who';ve organised this marvellous project that you do the intellectual life of Australia a great service. And I know that out of tonight and tomorrow';s gatherings will come a great deal of reflection and a great deal of helpful analysis, as to what does mark people out in their chosen fields- the balance of environment, the relative importance of determination, the answering of the age old question as to whether a man or a woman make his or her times or the extent to which the times make the man or the woman.
They';ve been part of the restless inquiry of mankind for centuries and I dare say they won';t be resolved tonight or tomorrow. But there will be out of this conference, by the calibre of the people present and those contributing they will make a very special contribution.
It is appropriate that the keynote speaker, and our very honoured guest should be Nelson Mandela. It would be fair to say that no person has quite touched his times in the way that he has. He has made an impact of a scale that is unmatched in his generation, and in the eyes of many, in any generation. He';s displayed many qualities and they are well known through the world and they have been rightly honoured and they will go on being honoured. The contribution that he has made to his own country, the example of commitment to an open, tolerant multi-racial world as well as an open, tolerant, multi-racial South Africa. Those deeds are so well known and so properly honoured not only in his own country but internationally.
I think of his so many qualities the one that stamps itself above all is his intense generosity of spirit. For a person to have endured what he endured and to find it within himself to extend the gift of forgiveness and understanding to those who forced him to endure what he had to go through is I think amongst his finest if not his finest quality. But perhaps one of the examinations, which is one of the issues that might be examined tonight or tomorrow is the contribution that the generosity of spirit makes to the building of a champion.
We are very honoured indeed to have Nelson Mandela with us. He is one of the honoured and revered citizens of the world. He has made an immense contribution to mankind, he';s set a wonderful example. And he';s done both this conference and he';s done Australia a very great honour in coming to participate, to deliver the keynote address.
We are very happy indeed Mr Mandela to have you amongst us, we honour you, we respect you. And I think not only Australia but the world is in awe of the moral contribution that you have made to the human condition and we very, very much welcome you amongst us.
Thank you.
[ends]