Subjects: defence; US-Australian relations
E&OE..................
Mr President; Mr Secretary of the Navy; Admiral Vern Clark; Vice Admiral David Shackleton; Chief of the Royal Australian Navy; Rear Admiral Chris Weaver, Washington District Commander; Ambassadors; ladies and gentlemen.
Today's simple but moving ceremony in this historic Navy Yard here in Washington is a very powerful symbol of the ties that bind our two nations. On behalf of the Australian people Mr President I want to thank you and the American Navy for this very kind and symbolic gesture, a gesture that does underline what we have been through, what we have meant to each other in the past, what we mean to each other now, and I know we will mean to each other in the future.
As you have done Mr President, may I take the opportunity of saying on behalf of the Australian Government how highly my Government regards the men and women in uniform who serve in different ways to defend Australia and to work with our allies when required. Your Navy Secretary mentioned the priority that you had given to budget appropriations for defence in the United States. Can I likewise say that when my Government came to office in March of 1996 and we were faced with the requirement of reducing government expenditures, the one area around which we placed a circle and said no reductions would take place, was in the area of defence. And at the end of last year we unveiled a white paper that projects in the defence area over the next decade a very significant increase in expenditure for all areas of defence. And that is a recognition by the Australian Government and by the Australian people of the enormous importance of providing proper health and proper recognition to the men and women who look after the defence interests of our nation. It is also a recognition that although we live in a world no longer influenced by the old bipolar divisions between the Soviet Union and the west led by the power of the United States, we nonetheless live in a world which is potentially very unstable particularly in the region in which both our nations operate and where from time to time the deployment of our forces for peacekeeping operations would be necessary.
So today's gathering is not only an historic occasion, it is not only an emotional opportunity for me to say on behalf of the Australian people and particularly Australian Naval personnel, and can I also acknowledge the presence here of our wonderful survivor from the original Canberra, Mr Gregory. How wonderful it is that you've been able to make the journey from our homeland to come here for this very special ceremony. It is not only therefore an occasion to recognise the symbolism and the importance placed by that symbolism on the association between our two nations, but it is also an opportunity for me to reaffirm on behalf of the Australian Government and on behalf of the Australian people the great strength and continuity of the defence association between Australia and the United States.
It is 50 years ago this month that from that day in San Francisco in 1951 when the ANZUS Treaty was signed. And in the half century that has gone by since then both the United States and Australia have lived out the covenants of that treaty to the full. We have fought side by side with the United States in many conflicts, we have worked together in peacekeeping operations, most recently in East Timor. And both of us have been forces for the expansion and not the contraction of democracy. And one of the great dividends of the ANZUS alliance and indeed one of the great dividends of the alliances around the world between free peoples such as the people of Australia and the United States has been the way in which we have seen democracy expand rather than contract. And by living out the covenants of the ANZUS Treaty our two nations and our two societies have demonstrated to the world that values based on freedom and individual liberty in the end win acceptance. But they only win acceptance if behind the commitment is a determination on the part of nations who believe in those values to defend them, if necessary fight for them, and always be ready to repel those who would seek to take those freedoms away.
Mr President, your gesture today and the gesture on behalf of your nation is one that touches the hearts of all Australians here today. We value our alliance. More importantly we value the common things that we believe in. The greatest strengths of the American-Australian alliance is that we believe in the same things - we believe in freedom, we believe in democracy, we believe that open societies are better societies than closed societies. Through the years we have fought to defend those values and this token of yours is a warm gesture marking the close World War II relationship between our two countries and I know it will be very warmly received in Australia and seen for what it is - a potent symbol of the great affection that exists between our two great societies. Thank you.
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