Thank you very much Mr MC, Air Marshall David and Mrs Gail Evans, Mr McDowell, the Defence Minister Robert Hill, Premier of South Australia, my other federal and state parliamentary colleagues, the British High Commissioner Alastair Goodlad, ladies and gentlemen, and very importantly the employees here in South Australia and elsewhere of BAE Systems.
In the 29 years that I have been a Member of Federal Parliament, I don';t think I have passed through a period anything like the last two or three years, perhaps even five years, which has had such an enormous focus on defence – not only the defence of Australia, but also the participation of personnel from the Australian Defence Force in various military operations. As I speak, we should remind ourselves that we still have just under 800 personnel in and around Iraq. We still have significant forces in East Timor. We have something in the order of 1,800 personnel in the Solomon Islands, and we have smaller groups in other parts of the world. In some respects, it';s a wider spread and a broader commitment than we have had at any time since the Vietnam War.
So it does emphasise, as both the Premier and your Managing Director have, the high priority that this country is attaching to its defence forces and the high priority that it';s attaching to participation in the war against terrorism. Both the Premier and your Managing Director have detailed the very rich history of this company. It';s a pretty extraordinary story and it';s a reminder of the long continuity of an organisation which has been both in its earlier antecedents and now in its Australian manifestation, a great partner with the defence forces, not only of Australia but the defence forces of our allies and most particularly the defence forces of the United Kingdom.
Of course, it has a very special airforce hue about it and the (inaudible) of course remind us of the enormous contribution that the Royal Australian Airforce has made to the defence of Australia and the enormous contribution in partnership the personnel from the Royal Australian Airforce and the Royal Airforce made to the defence of liberty, particularly in World War II. And of course in the recent military operation in Iraq, the missions that the Royal Australian Airforce were involved in were the first of that kind since the Korean War and it brought to the Royal Australian Airforce a special sense of pride and involvement in an operation alongside their army and their navy colleagues.
I';m glad, might I say Mr Premier, that BAE Systems has decided to have its headquarters here in Adelaide. Now it';s pretty easy to say this in front of an audience such as this, and of course being a Prime Minister of the commonwealth of Australia, I don';t play any favourites as to where things go, and as you know as a Premier, we have these contests between different parts of Australia as to where headquarters may be located, and as far as I';m concerned, may the best offer be accepted and as far as contracts are concerned, we';ll try and award them and I know Robert Hill shares this view, on the basis of what is in the overall interests of Australia. But there has been cooperation and there has been partnership between the Commonwealth and your state, the state of South Australia, under governments of different persuasions, both federally and state. You were kind enough to mention the Mitsubishi commitment. Of course as we come up to January of next year, you and the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory and I will join in celebrating another thing that has involved a great partnership between the Commonwealth and South Australia and the Northern Territory, and that is the completion of the Darwin to Alice Springs railway. It was only first promised in 1910, but sometimes these things take a while to be completed.
But ladies and gentlemen, the other thing that I wanted to say today before officially opening this facility, this new headquarters, and paying my great respects to BAE Systems, is to say a couple of words about David Evans. David Evans has been an ornament to the Australian defence community for many, many years. A former chief of the Royal Australian Airforce, a person who in his ex-airforce days has continued to contribute massively to public debate on defence issues, he has remained a great servant of Australia. He has served of chairman of the National Capital Development Commission in the ACT. I know he has served in different capacities for BAE Systems for many years. His counsel has always been very welcome. His advice has always been sensible and balanced. His passion for sensible policy for the defence of Australia is well known and his enduring loyalty to the service traditions of the Royal Australian Airforce are well known, not only by current and serving members, but also former members of the Royal Australian Airforce. And his being here today with his wife is a reminder of the very, very strong connection with this company and all that he has done for this company and the cause of defence industries in Australia over long years.
And it';s against that background and in that context in declaring this building open, I have great pleasure in naming it ‘the David Evans building'; in recognition and in tribute to the enormous contribution that he has made and also the enormous contribution that he continues to make to matters relating to the defence of Australia.
Thank you.
[ends]