PRIME MINISTER: Your Majesties, we are very pleased, very honoured to welcome you to Australia on your first official visit.
This visit of course marks the 400th anniversary of the landing of Dirk Hartog in Western Australia - a reminder of the relationship between Australia and the Netherlands is of very very long standing.
Our two countries have such a lot in common. Both countries have a strong maritime tradition, both countries dedicated to democracy and the rule of law in the maintenance of the international order upon which all of our prosperity and security depends.
Of course in recent times our servicemen and women have fought side by side in the Uruzgan province in Afghanistan and we are partners in a global coalition against Daesh.
The tragedy of MH17 has brought us closer together than ever.
We want to reiterate our firm commitment with you, to ensuring that justice is done and those responsible for that act of terrorism, that act of murder are brought to account and will see the punishment they deserve.
HIS MAJESTY KING WILLEM-ALEXANDER OF THE NETHERLANDS:
Prime Minister, thank you very much for receiving my wife and the whole delegation here this morning – very grateful to be here on this state visit. Non-standard starting in Perth because of Dirk Hartog arriving on that side of the country. He stayed for two days but a couple of hundred thousand of the Dutch since then have stayed for much longer, making Australia their home, finding their new life in this country.
I think, as a historian I attach great value to commemorate the historical moments but they are only worthwhile if we also have a common future otherwise it is not worth it celebrating the past. Therefore I am very glad that we are here because have a very strong common future – I don’t want to repeat everything you said because we share the same values very much so.
Also in the multilateral fields, Australia and the Netherlands really are playing an important role together. We fight side by side in bad times; we stand side by side in good times.
I think that we also can play economical a very important role. We are the fourth largest investor in Australia, second largest from Europe. I think the Netherlands can be your – for us Australia, is an access point to the Pacific region, to the Eastern Asian market and I think that Australia can really look at the Netherlands as part of an access route to Europe.
We can talk about these topics here today and we can have a good discussion and work on our future, the next 400 years of Australia and the Netherlands.
We have to start somewhere.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes!
[Laughter]