Subjects: Captain Cook portrait.
E&OE ………………………………………………………………………………
[tape begins]
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I think it is a fantastic moment in the life, not only of the National Portrait Gallery, but also in the cultural history of Australia. It’s a magnificent painting, it’s a big acquisition that’s a partnership between the Government and two wonderfully generous art benefactors and that’s what the social coalition is all about, people working together in partnership to do good things for the cultural and other life of the country. I think it’s a really terrific day and I think it’s going to be an acquisition that will draw like a magnet, hundreds of thousands of Australians to the Portrait Gallery. It will certainly further boost the focus of Canberra and the place of the Gallery and the place of cultural life in our nation.
[ends]