E&OE..................
Thank you very much Admiral Barrie. Lieutenant General Cosgrove and Mrs Cosgrove. Mr Kim Beazley the Leader of the Opposition and his wife Susie. Brigadier Lewis, Colonel Gilmore, the men of the SAS regiment their wives children and all others here.
For Janette and myself this is an important moment for us together to you as families Mr Beazley having separately spoken to those who are about to be involved overseas as part of the coalition operation against terrorism it is important that Janette and I say as people who treasure our own families - our own family more than anything else in the world -how much we feel for and understand and want to help the members of the families of the men who will be going overseas very shortly.
There is no point in pretending that it won';t be other than somewhat challenging and difficult and stressful period of time.
I want to say from the outset that the government through the defence forces and through the Veterans';Affairs Department and all the other agencies and I know that I will speak on Mr Beazley';s behalf in saying this as well, that we will do everything we humanly can to make it easier for you and to help you to try and understand some of the challenges particularly in relation to the anxiety of your children while your men are away.
We don';t disguise the fact that this is a difficult and potentially dangerous operation. It';s different from some operations we';ve been involved in the past. Everyone is different. It is an essential operation for Australia. We';re not embarked on some kind of frolic just for the sake of being there alongside the Americans. That';s not the point of it. Because what happened on the 11 September was as much a strike at us indeed more than twenty Australians died in the World Trade Centre and it was also a strike at the type of life we take for granted. And the world is now very different. It';s a more anxious, apprehensive world. The sort of behaviour we are opposing now is not the sort of behaviour that will stop if we do nothing. There are some people out there who say well if you just curl yourself up and make yourself disappear or make yourself inconspicuous it will go away. It';s not like that. People who are prepared to behave with such ruthless indifference to human life including their own are people who would hold that kind of behaviour in contempt and it would in fact encourage them even more so to embark upon what they have done in the past. So we do need as a nation, as a group of nations, to respond to this threat in a variety of ways. Part of that response is a military response. Part of that response is a specialised military response and that of course brings us to this particular regiment which is held in such high esteem not only within Australia but around the world. And yesterday when I was in Shanghai and spoke to President Bush about the progress of the operation he spoke with great affection of the special forces of the United States and he turned to me and he said I hear that your special forces are pretty good and I said you bet they are. And that of course is not only the truth but it';s evidence that the reputation of this regiment and what it has done, what it stands for and it';s great skills resonate around the world.
So Janette and I are very conscious of the important of the next few days and the weeks ahead for all of you. We both wanted to be here to express our feeling for you. Not only to wish your men folk well and a very safe return home but also so express a very strong sense of gratitude to you all for undertaking the often difficult life of being in the services. It has its rewards but it';s not an easy life. There are a lot of challenges there are a lot of strains put on the emotions of the character of your relationships and I do understand that. And it presents challenges so far as the always difficult task of raising children. And we';ve all in different ways gone through that and service life puts a particular challenge, a particular edge on that because of the absence often for very long periods and I do know that and I do acknowledge that to the wives and mothers here today just how long your men folk are away from you. Even apart from them being involved in the sort of operation they face in the future.
So they go overseas with our great gratitude, our sense of immense respect and affection we hold for the tradition they represent, our prayers for their safe return and very importantly to all of you who will be here we will do everything we can to make it easier for you. We can';t take away the sense of absence but what we can do is try and make it more bearable, make it easier and I promise the men that is what we will do. And I promise you all again we certainly will try and make it as easy as we possibly can. But we are very proud of what these men are doing. They are doing a wonderful thing for our country and for what this country stands for. And I couldn';t be more proud of them and I know you feel exactly the same way.
Thank you.
[ends]