SPEECH
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It is a privilege for me to be here in Solomon Islands as the new Minister for International Development. You all have first-hand knowledge of the challenges faced here in Solomon Islands and I look forward to hearing some of your stories.
It is very appropriate that my first overseas visit is here in Solomon Islands, one of Australia's closest neighbours and our third largest aid partnership. Of Australia's 24 closest neighbours, 22 are developing countries. It is in Australia's national interest to support the stability and economic growth of our region, and development assistance is an important instrument for the Government in achieving this outcome.
But it is first and foremost in our national interest because it is absolutely in keeping with our national ethos to support our friends and neighbours in the region we share; to support the wellbeing and opportunity of our fellow men and women, especially where they face profound disadvantage.
It is also an opportune time to be here for RAMSI's 10th anniversary, with the transition of the development components from the RAMSI intervention to the new, expanded Partnership for Development.
I particularly want to thank AusAID's Honiara staff, both our Solomon Islander and Australian officers, for their efforts in managing our Partnership for Development. You are the embodiment of the Australian ethos I mentioned; you are the embodiment of the best instinct and the best spirit of which we are capable; the instinct and spirit to work together against disadvantage; the instinct and the spirit to work together towards a life of greater safety, wellbeing, opportunity, and community.
I also want to thank the Australian whole-of-government deployees from Treasury and Finance for their work within the Solomon Islands Government.
I would like to welcome some of our friends here today from the Australian Scholarships Alumni. They represent the almost 1,000 Solomon Islanders who, over the last 30 years, have received
long-term Australian Scholarships, including our new Australia Awards. Our Alumni contribute in significant ways to Solomon Islands development in their chosen fields. I note the Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Pro-vice Chancellor of the new Solomon Islands National University are all Australian Alumni.
I would also like to acknowledge the Australian volunteers who have chosen to take time out of their careers in Australia to contribute to making a real difference to the lives of Solomon Islanders. You bring with you a range of skills – for example, we have a doctor working in the National Referral Hospital, a technician improving water quality testing, and an Aussie Rules Football volunteer working in the settlements of Honiara with unemployed youth. Each of you is helping to create a peaceful and stable environment so that Solomon Islanders can prosper, and are building the close personal relationships between our two countries.
Solomon Islands' first Prime Minister Sir Peter Kenilorea said in his independence speech to the nation in 1978:
'Independence means having our own political freedom, our own status, our national identity, dignity and self-respect as a nation. It also means looking after ourselves and running our own government and, therefore, receiving more responsibilities….We are a rich country in many ways. We have a varied and enduring culture with its roots in the past. We have resources, many of which have not been tapped but which, when the time comes, must use for the benefit of our people.'
The Partnership between Australia and Solomon Islands is a long and enduring one, as was Sir Peter's vision for Solomon Islands.
The Partnership is many things. It is about saving the lives of women and their children, as we have done by supporting skilled birth attendants at 85 per cent of all births in Solomon Islands. We will work in partnership with Solomon Islands Government to increase this to 90 per cent by 2015 and we will keep working together to make every birth as well supported as it can be.
The Partnership is also about saving the lives of people at risk from preventable disease, as we have done by helping to reduce the rate of malaria infection in Solomon Islands by 75 per cent since 2003. That is a critical and significant achievement. We will continue to work in partnership to further reduce malaria infection.
It's about creating the opportunity for nearly 150,000 Solomon Islands' children to learn how to read and write, as we have done by providing free education. We will continue this partnership.
It's about creating the governance environment so that essential services and the private sector can grow.
The partnership will continue the work previously undertaken by RAMSI to improve the rigorous and effective function of courts and correctional services, to promote fiscal discipline, and to support the Solomon Islands' public service to deliver basic services and economic growth.
I would like to thank all of you that are here for being part of this partnership and I want to acknowledge the contribution you are making to the better lives of our fellow men and women. You are helping the Australian aid program create important opportunities for Solomon Islanders.
You are making a difference. It doesn't get more personally and professionally important than that.
I am pleased to declare the new AusAID office open.