E&OE...........
Ladies and gentlemen, in the 29 years that I've been in public life I've noticed that some things change for a while and then go back, others disappear from the public consciousness but when you look back over that period of almost three decades there are a lot of things where there's been a huge and fundamental change in public attitudes but one of the areas where there has been is conserving the environment. It is now a mainstream political issue. It is something that everybody is concerned about. It's something that everybody believes in. We might have different ways of trying to bring about changes in behaviour and changes in public attitudes. We may think that one aspect of the environment is more important than the other but recognising that what we leave to our children in the way of a better environment is a very important part of the legacy of this and future generations. So, can I say to all of you, as far as the public interest is concerned, you are very much on the money and all of us are in being very concerned about the care and the future of our environment.
And I also say as an avid watcher of television all of my life as, I guess, is a description of all of us in this room, there are a few campaigns and a few commercials amongst the thousands that you've heard and seen that have really stuck and "Do The Right Thing" really hit the mark. It was something that stayed with me. I still have the image of that advertisement. The words have become part of the Australian vernacular and the notion of doing the right thing sort of fits the laconic, candid, blunt way in which Australians describe them. I mean, it's not convoluted, I mean, you get the message and that, of course, is why everybody remembers it.
It's, as a phrase, it's a masterpiece of direct communication to Australians and, therefore, I responded very enthusiastically to the invitation to launch this. I want to congratulate the Beverage Industry Council. I want to congratulate the public's spirited commitment of all who are here today at Channel Nine for the support, characteristic of the network, for the public interest and the support that it's putting behind this campaign.
I want to say that the presentation was absolutely fantastic. And can I say what a marvellous communicator we have here. I thought that was an absolutely fantastically enthusiastic piece of communication. And as you all know as marketers, all of us know marketers, passion and commitment to the message you are communicating is the essence of getting it across.
So I congratulate everybody who's behind this. I think the contemporary, "don't waste Australia", I can certify that that is language that a younger generation than mine understand, understand so very, very well, coupled with the slogan that older Australians or middle-aged Australians that feel very familiar with it seems to me to be the perfect marketing campaign. Importantly, it's in a very, very good national cause and that is a cleaner Australia, an Australia that in every way, physically and emotionally and culturally, of which we can be very proud. So, it's in that spirit that I'm happy to be here today and I have great pleasure in formally launching the "Do The Right Thing" campaign.
[ends]