OPENING REMARKS
BY AMBASSADOR BILL TWEDDELL
AT A JOURNALISTS’ RECEPTION
TUESDAY 22 JANUARY 2013
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WELCOME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
CHRIS, PAUL AND I ARE VERY PLEASED THAT YOU HAVE JOINED US THIS EVENING.
UNFORTUNATELY OUR DEPUTY HEAD OF MISSION ANDREW BYRNE IS STILL HARD AT WORK IN THE EMBASSY, BUT TONIGHT I’M ALSO JOINED BY THE HEADS OF THE VARIOUS SECTIONS AT THE EMBASSY.
- NICK MCCAFFREY, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
- GRAEME TINNEY, CONSULAR AND ADMINISTRATION
- ANTHONY WEYMOUTH, SENIOR TRADE & INVESTMENT COMMISSIONER, AUSTRADE
- OCTAVIA BORTHWICK, MINISTER-COUNSELLOR, DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION, AUSAID
- COL BRUCE MURRAY, DEFENCE ATTACHÉ
- FEDERAL AGENT JANE DICKINSON, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE
- KEN MCCARTHUR, IMMIGRATION
- STEVE BURNETT, INFRASTRUCTURE & TRANSPORT
THIS EVENING, I’D LIKE TO MAKE A COUPLE OF POINTS ABOUT AUSTRALIA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PHILIPPINES.
BUT FIRST THE EMBASSY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU, THE MEDIA.
IT IS OBVIOUSLY A KEY RELATIONSHIP FOR US AND WE TRY TO WORK CLOSELY WITH YOU, CHIEFLY THROUGH MARIEL EDUARTE AND HER PUBLIC AFFAIRS TEAM, INCLUDING JP, WILLA, JING AND MERLIE.
WE ARE, OF COURSE, RELIANT ON YOU TO DISSEMINATE OUR KEY MESSAGES.
BUT, TO COMPLEMENT THAT EFFORT, I WILL LAUNCH AN EMBASSY FACEBOOK PAGE AT OUR NATIONAL DAY RECEPTION LATER THIS WEEK.
BY DOING SO, WE AIM TO COMMUNICATE MORE, DIRECTLY WITH FILIPINOS – WE ALL KNOW HOW VORACIOUSLY YOU USE SOCIAL MEDIA, PARTICULARLY FACEBOOK.
AND I AM HAPPY TO SAY THAT WHEN I LAUNCH OUR FACEBOOK PAGE, ANNE CURTIS – WHO WE ARE PROUD TO CALL AUSTRALIAN – HAS KINDLY AGREED TO ASSIST ME!
ANNE IS ALWAYS VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THE EMBASSY’S EFFORTS AND WE ARE MOST GRATEFUL TO HER.
NOW, END OF DIGRESSION – BACK TO MY SCRIPT!
OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PHILIPPINES IS LONGSTANDING, WARM AND CLOSE.
THIS WAS REINFORCED BY LAST YEAR’S STATE VISITS BY GOVERNOR-GENERAL BRYCE TO THE PHILIPPINES, AND BY PRESIDENT AQUINO TO AUSTRALIA.
THE VISITS HIGHLIGHTED THE BREADTH OF OUR TIES, WHICH INCLUDE EXTENSIVE COOPERATION IN DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE; DEFENCE, SECURITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT; TRADE AND INVESTMENT; EDUCATION; TRANSPORT; AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS, WHERE OUR TWO COUNTRIES’ INTERESTS ARE OFTEN CLOSELY ALIGNED.
THERE ARE ENCOURAGING SIGNS, FOR EXAMPLE, IN OUR COMMERCIAL TIES:
TWO-WAY TRADE IS NOW VALUED AT APPROXIMATELY A$3 BILLION PER ANNUM WITH POTENTIAL TO GO HIGHER.
THERE ARE NOW MORE THAN 200 AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES IN THE PHILIPPINES.
TO TAKE A SAMPLE, THE MAJOR SPONSORS OF CELEBRATE AUSTRALIA 2013 DEMONSTRATE THIS BREADTH:
- ANZ PROVIDES FINANCE OPTIONS FOR CONSUMERS AND BUSINESS;
- SINCLAIR KNIGHT MERZ (SKM) ARE EXPERTS IN ENGINEERING SERVICES AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT;
- MEAT AND LIVESTOCK AUSTRALIA BRING IN THE BEST AUSTRALIAN BEEF AND LAMB;
- ASPEN PHILIPPINES PROVIDES ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY MEDICINES ACROSS THE PHILIPPINES;
- WINE DEPOT HAS THE LARGEST RANGE OF AUSTRALIAN WINE IN THE PHILIPPINES;
- SILVERWAVE IMPORTS SOME OF AUSTRALIA’S BEST CHEESE;
- M-SQUARE DELIVERS THE BEST OF AUSTRALIAN FRESH PRODUCE TO THE PHILIPPINES;
- JETSTAR CONNECTS YOU TO AUSTRALIA, JAPAN AND SINGAPORE;
- AND FINALLY, OUR TWO WORLD CLASS MINING OPERATIONS IN OCEANA GOLD AND SAGITTARIUS MINES (SMI). MINING HAS MADE A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY, AN ECONOMY WHIICH HAS ENJOYED 21 YEARS OF UNINTERRUPTED ECONOMIC GROWTH.
LOOKING BACK, WE ACHIEVED A NUMBER OF MILESTONES IN 2012, INCLUDING THE RATIFICATION OF THE STATUS OF VISITING FORCES AGREEMENT AND THE SIGNING OF AN AIR SERVICES AGREEMENT.
BUT, IN 2013, THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT OUR BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP CAN DEEPEN FURTHER. THAT IS SOMETHING TO WHICH THE EMBASSY IS STRONGLY COMMITTED.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE ALREADY DONE GOOD WORK, BUT CAN DO MORE, IN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, GIVEN THAT BOTH COUNTRIES ARE AFFLICTED BY DEVASTATING NATURAL DISASTERS.
THE WORK DONE TO PRE-POSITION EMERGENCY SUPPLIES IN THE PHILIPPINES ENABLED US TO RESPOND QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY TO TYPHOON PABLO IN DECEMBER AND TO THE FLOODING THROUGHOUT METRO MANILA IN AUGUST.
AUSTRALIA IS ALSO KEEN TO CONTINUE ITS SUPPORT FOR THE PROMISING DEVELOPMENTS IN CONFLICT-AFFECTED MINDANAO. ENDING THE CONFLICT WOULD BE A MAJOR – AND VERY WELCOME – ACHIEVEMENT.
PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE LINKS BETWEEN OUR TWO COUNTRIES ARE DEEP AND GROWING. THIS INCLUDES THE 225,000 AUSTRALIANS OF FILIPINO ORIGIN WHO CONTRIBUTE SO MUCH TO AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY.
AND I’D ALSO LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THE REMARKABLY DIVERSE AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES.
THEY INCLUDE BUSINESSMEN AND WOMEN AND TEACHERS; MINERS AND HOTELIERS; DEVELOPMENT SPECIALISTS AND ENTERTAINERS.
IT IS A SOURCE OF PRIDE FOR ME, AS AUSTRALIA’S AMBASSADOR, TO SEE SO MANY AUSTRALIANS MAKING SUCH POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PHILIPPINES.
ONE SUCH GROUP ARE ARTISTS THAT HAVE MADE THE PHILIPPINES THEIR HOME AND WHO, TOGETHER WITH THEIR FILIPINO COUNTERPARTS WHO NOW ALSO CALL AUSTRALIA “HOME”, ARE FACILITATING THE FLOW OF CREATIVE IDEAS BETWEEN OUR COUNTRIES. YOU WILL SEE THEIR TAKE ON IDEAS OF HOME AND AWAY, OF BEING UNBOUND BY GEOGRAPHICAL, CULTURAL AND OTHER BOUNDARIES, IN AN EXHIBIT RUNNING FOR A WHOLE MONTH AT THE YUCHENGCO MUSEUM, ENTITLED “UNBOUND.” IT OPENS ON THURSDAY.
WE ALSO GET A TREAT THIS WEEK FROM AN EXCEPTIONAL STRING ENSEMBLE THAT IS BRINGING CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC FORWARD IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM.
ARMED WITH THE SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION, MULTI-AWARDED ZEPHYR QUARTET HAS BECOME A LEADING EXPONENT OF COLLABORATIVE ARTS PRACTICE. THEY DRAW INSPIRATION FROM WORKING WITH ARTISTS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS, INCLUDING THEATER, DANCE, LITERATURE, VISUAL ARTS, DESIGN, FILM, AND MULTIMEDIA, TO PRODUCE WORK THAT IS VITAL, CURRENT, AND COURAGEOUS.
ON FRIDAY, THIS AUSTRALIAN CLASSICAL ENSEMBLE WILL BE COLLABORATING WITH FILIPINO ROCK ICONS, RAZORBACK, TO BRING YOU A VERY DIFFERENT MUSIC EXPERIENCE. TONIGHT, WE GIVE YOU A PEEK INTO THEIR UNIQUE SOUND.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE WELCOME ZEPHYR QUARTET.