Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tomorrow in this House we will welcome Indonesia’s President, Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who will become the first Indonesian head of state to address a joint sitting of the Australian parliament. Dr Yudhoyono arrived in Australia this morning and was greeted by me, the Leader of the Opposition and Her Excellency the Governor-General. Tomorrow’s address will be an important milestone in the relationship between Australia and Indonesia, a relationship that goes back to 1947 when we supported the fledgling nation as it strove for independence. Tomorrow will symbolise how far we have come and how we are both committed to taking this relationship even further.

Our relationship today is between two democracies partnering together to tackle the common challenges that we face. We are working bilaterally to help Indonesia build a strong future for herself, including through a major contribution to education in Indonesia which I publicly acknowledge began in large part under my predecessor, John Howard, when he was Prime Minister. We are working together to promote shared values and ideals, be it in our commitment to tolerance and religious pluralism through our regional interfaith dialogue, or in working together to tackle challenges like people smuggling, transnational crime and people trafficking.

We are also close partners in the fight against terrorism. In that connection, Dr Yudhoyono today was awarded an honorary Order of Australia in recognition of the work that he performed on behalf of Indonesia in the response to the Bali bombings of 2002 and the extraordinary role which he then performed in the response to what occurred on the ground and subsequently in the tracking down of those who were responsible. I believe that event is still deeply seared into the memories of all Australians.

Dr Yudhoyono is a welcome guest to our country. I look forward to all members and senators being able to be present tomorrow to witness this historic address from a friend and partner of Australia both now and into the future.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Again I join with the Prime Minister in acknowledging the presence in our country of the Indonesian President and in wishing the President an extremely successful visit—very productive for Indonesia and very productive for Australia. As the Prime Minister has noted, there are few countries which are as important to Australia as Indonesia. As he has also noted, we have very good relations and a very strong friendship. I think that the opportunity for the President to address this House tomorrow is one that is eagerly anticipated by members on both sides, and all we can do is be extremely grateful for the visit and confident that relations will be on an even better footing as a result.