E&OE..................
Well thank you very very much. That's quite a thing to present a political leader on the eve of an election. Thank you very very much.
Secretary Norton and Secretary Veneman, ladies and gentlemen. And I'm quite touched by this little ceremony because we were rather proud to be able to send our firefighters to the United States. We think we have fantastic firefighters. We share in common with the United States the ever-present threat of bushfires - we call them. And whether it's the country areas, the outback of Australia, where a fire can devastate land and destroy stock or the threat of fire in and around the major cities of Australia. We've gone through periods when many of the suburbs of Sydney, our largest city, have been threatened only a few years ago. We had fires ringing the whole of Sydney in one very hot January. So it's part of the Australian experience to always have at the back of your mind, even if you live in the suburbs, that one day there'll be a bushfire in the suburbs or in the outback that is going to devastate it. And so we therefore appeal for other countries that have a similar experience.
From my very early days I've seen movies about the forest fires in the Untied States, and there's been some pretty effective ones made about them over the years. And I'm very conscious that you have to grapple with this problem along with us and I'm just so proud that my country was able to provide the assistance. I can empathise with those Australian firefighters going 16 days without a beer. But can I say that this is a really lovely gesture and I know that it will greatly appreciated by the agencies back in Australia and it's just another example by the way in which the most natural of friends, which Americans and Australians are, relate to each other. Natural that we should want to help you, and natural that you should respond in such a generous and heartfelt way. And I really am very touched by it and thank you very much.
[ends]