Well thank you very much Chris. As I come to the end of a week which has taken me to many parts of Australia and has reminded me both in a very positive way, and also in a very sad way, of the many responsibilities that come the way of this country and of this country's Prime Minister.
I feel quite encouraged, even inspired by the realisation that I'm ending the week involved in opening something that is very much about the future of this country. This is a wonderful story; it's the story of young, capable, forward looking, highly talented Australians who have demonstrated yet again that there is no field of human endeavor where Australians can't perform at a world class level. And the fact that all of this is happening right here in the middle of my electorate of Bennelong, in what I call the 'Silicone Valley of Australia', is just the icing on the cake.
I do remember Chris's address to the Prime Minister's Science and Engineering and Innovation Council and as somebody who was educated in Law and in the Liberal Arts rather than in Science, one of the great fascinations of my time as Prime Minister has been the opportunity to chair that Council, which has brought me into contact with so many of the brightest and the best that this country has to offer. And I'd like to say again how important it is to me to hope that one day the great scientists of Australia will be as revered, not only in this country but around the world, as our great sports men and women. And I say that as a frequently described 'cricket tragic' and as somebody whose interest in various sporting activities is very well known.
This centre will bring to Australia, to Sydney, to North Ryde a nerve center that will be at the forefront of research into new generation wireless technology. It will enable these very talented young Australians and if I may say so and I hope you don't misunderstand me, but it's not only the members of the Australian Cricket Team and the New South Police that look young these days, it's also our very eminent scientists and people with great technology. But this facility will keep Australia at the forefront. It will also mean that this company, Agere Systems, can look after a clientele which is 70 percent in the Asian Pacific Region. And one of the facets of this week for me has been and for all Australia has been a reminder of the importance of our links in this part of the world. The growth of the markets in the Asian Pacific Region, the capacity of this country to open up market opportunities in so many areas into our region, the sales opportunities and the reminder of the great human resources that Australia has.
We of course now have a situation where the most widely spoken foreign language, if I can describe it perhaps a little inaccurately that way, in Australia is a combination of Mandarin and Cantonese; now more widely spoken as a foreign language than any other foreign language. It's a reminder of the great contribution that people from our region, especially but not only from China and other countries with an ethnic Chinese population is making to the growth, particularly of Sydney but also generally of Australia.
So all of those things in a way come together and it's therefore a real pleasure to be associated with this ceremony. I wish Agere Systems well, I know it will succeed because it does bring together many of the brightest and the best that Australia has to offer. They're young, they have a real commitment to the growth and development of this country as a centre of technology and excellence, and as a Government we're determined to help them.
Chris asked a rhetorical question; why did Agere Systems come to Australia? I can help you answer that by saying Chris that it came to Australia because this is a very strong and growing and well managed economy and I'm delighted to help provide that. I just filled that tiny bit in of the jigsaw puzzle, so nobody's left in any doubt as to why. And you do need a stable political and economic climate for IP. You need it for any business investment, particularly something that needs a guarantee of legal protection, a mature, stable, legal, economic and political system.
Thank you very much for asking me, I wish the company well and I know that it will be a tremendous success story in the years ahead and I have very great pleasure therefore in declaring Agere Systems, North Ryde open for business.
[ends]