Thank you very much, General Cosgrove; Mr Mick Keelty, the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police; Mr Ben McDevitt, who will be the Commander of the police contingent; Mr Nick Warner, who will be the special representative; my fellow prime ministers; the Australian Defence Minister; the Australian Leader of the Opposition; men and women of the Defence Forces and the police services of the Pacific.
This is a unique gathering here of the military forces and the police of the Pacific nations in a city that has always been very much part of the history of the defence of Australia and that is the city of Townsville. It is an opportunity to say to the people of the Solomon Islands that we in the Pacific are your friends, we understand you need help, we understand that you want conditions of law and order and peace and hope for your people in the years ahead and you've reached out your hand and asked us for help and we have come together in a friendly Pacific way under the appropriate code name of 'Operation Helpem Fren' we've come together, all of us, to help you.
I want, on behalf of the Australian people, to wish all of you good luck and God speed. Our thoughts and our support and our goodwill will be with you during your mission. I know that you will do it professionally. And you go into circumstances of inevitable risk and challenge knowing two very important things, that you have been superbly trained for this mission and that you have the goodwill and the support of the peoples of your countries.
The Pacific is a special part of the world and we deal with things in a special way and it's a wonderful piece of symbolism as well as the reality of the unity of the countries of the Pacific that we are all together here and we have a contingent that is made up of elements of so many different countries and that adds to its strength and it adds to the impact that it is going to have. And I believe the mission will not only be successfull for the Solomon Islands but very importantly it will send a signal to other countries in the region that help is available if it is sought, that we do have a desire to help all of the peoples of the Pacific to have conditions of law and order and hope and peace and stability for their future generations.
To the men and women in particular, if I may say so as Prime Minister of Australia, of the Australian Defence Force and the police and the protective services, I'm very proud of all of you, you've done this country such wonderful service in other theatres of danger and other theatres of operation and once again you fill Australian hearts with pride and respect and admiration for the professional way in which you carry out your work. Good luck. I hope to see you all back safe and sound and we'll do our level best to look after your families and loved ones while you are away because we know that they carry a special burden of loneliness and separation and we'll do our level best to make it a little easier. Good luck and thank you for what you are doing for Australia.
[Ends]