We welcome you here as a good friend - somebody who's always displayed a great sense of regional neighbourliness towards Australia, as the leader of a very strong economy, as a person who shares the commitment of all of us to advance the living standards of the countries of the region, who shares the goal of Australia that there should be a greater understanding between people of different religious faiths in the region. And it's a very important goal of this government (and I know all of the people of Australia) that one of the ways of fighting the scourge of terrorism, not only in our part of the world but around the world, is to develop a greater understanding between the great religions and to understand the rich history and contribution of Islam to the nations that adhere to it, and how much our faiths have in common - something that we were powerfully reminded of at the time of the tsunami and of all the things that shone through at that time - was the common humanity of the worldwide response. We were reminded of how, in a sense, trivial the differences are in a time of tragedy and a time of adversity.
So in those words, and in that spirit your Majesty, I welcome you to Australia. I'm glad that you've been able to undertake the journey. I wish your countrymen and women great good fortune in the years to come. And in accordance with the time honoured tradition of our parliamentary democracy in Australia, I would like to invite the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Kim Beazley to support my remarks. Thank you.
[ends]