Felix the Cat
03-27-2006, 03:05 PM
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18617219-2,00.html
BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair has urged Australia to remain committed to the fight against terrorism and called for a freeing up of world trade in a wide-ranging speech to the Australian Parliament today.
Mr Blair called for action on climate change and drew on the shared history of Australia and Britain as he outlined his plan for combating terrorism.
And he made a joke about his jetlag, paraphrasing the controversial Tourism Australia advertisement that was briefly banned in Britain.
"I'm thinking, so where the bloody hell am I?" Mr Blair told a lunch in his honour.
Mr Blair and his wife Cherie arrived at Parliament House this morning to a 19-gun salute and the strains of God Save The Queen.
He is only the fifth world leader to address Federal Parliament and the first since US President George W Bush and Chinese president Hu Jintao made speeches on consecutive days in October 2003.
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Mr Blair, who moved to Adelaide as a toddler and lived there until he was five years old, was warmly welcomed by Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kim Beazley.
And Mr Blair said it was "good to see my old friend Kim, at whose feet I used to sit, back leading the Labor party".
But he was less complimentary about Mr Beazley's policy to bring Australian troops home from Iraq, saying now was not the time to pull out.
"Every reactionary element is lined up to fight us. They know if they lose, a message is sent out across the Muslim world, that strikes at the heart of their ideology. So they are fighting hard," Mr Blair told Parliament.
"If the going is tough – we tough it out. This is not a time to walk away. This is a time for the courage to see it through."
Mr Blair also warned against anti-American sentiment, saying that the world needed the United States involved in international affairs.
A strong alliance was necessary to promote democracy, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, and the US was vital to that, he said.
"I do not always agree with the US. Sometimes they can be difficult friends to have," he said.
"The danger with America today is not that they are too much involved. The danger is they decide to pull up the drawbridge and disengage. We need them involved."
Mr Beazley said Labor still believed that Australian troops should not have gone to Iraq.
But he said the historic friendship between Australia and the United Kingdom was such that they could agree on values while disagreeing on policy.
"We stand shoulder to shoulder with you and with Britain in the war against fundamentalist terror," Mr Beazley told Parliament.
"It's a long and complex war, disagreements will arise on where priorities lie and as you would know my party and I take a different position from your government.
"But that does not diminish our regard for your leadership or our commitment to this long struggle against terror."
Mr Howard described Mr Blair as "a man of courage, of moral purpose, of high intelligence, of a capacity to articulate with great clarity the challenges of the contemporary world".
"I have found him on a personal basis, likeable, great company and a person who shares an avid interest in this country and the future of this country," Mr Howard said to Parliament.
Mr Blair visited the War Memorial this afternoon and will have private talks with Mr Beazley, and Mr Howard and his cabinet, tomorrow.
BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair has urged Australia to remain committed to the fight against terrorism and called for a freeing up of world trade in a wide-ranging speech to the Australian Parliament today.
Mr Blair called for action on climate change and drew on the shared history of Australia and Britain as he outlined his plan for combating terrorism.
And he made a joke about his jetlag, paraphrasing the controversial Tourism Australia advertisement that was briefly banned in Britain.
"I'm thinking, so where the bloody hell am I?" Mr Blair told a lunch in his honour.
Mr Blair and his wife Cherie arrived at Parliament House this morning to a 19-gun salute and the strains of God Save The Queen.
He is only the fifth world leader to address Federal Parliament and the first since US President George W Bush and Chinese president Hu Jintao made speeches on consecutive days in October 2003.
Advertisement:
Mr Blair, who moved to Adelaide as a toddler and lived there until he was five years old, was warmly welcomed by Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kim Beazley.
And Mr Blair said it was "good to see my old friend Kim, at whose feet I used to sit, back leading the Labor party".
But he was less complimentary about Mr Beazley's policy to bring Australian troops home from Iraq, saying now was not the time to pull out.
"Every reactionary element is lined up to fight us. They know if they lose, a message is sent out across the Muslim world, that strikes at the heart of their ideology. So they are fighting hard," Mr Blair told Parliament.
"If the going is tough – we tough it out. This is not a time to walk away. This is a time for the courage to see it through."
Mr Blair also warned against anti-American sentiment, saying that the world needed the United States involved in international affairs.
A strong alliance was necessary to promote democracy, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, and the US was vital to that, he said.
"I do not always agree with the US. Sometimes they can be difficult friends to have," he said.
"The danger with America today is not that they are too much involved. The danger is they decide to pull up the drawbridge and disengage. We need them involved."
Mr Beazley said Labor still believed that Australian troops should not have gone to Iraq.
But he said the historic friendship between Australia and the United Kingdom was such that they could agree on values while disagreeing on policy.
"We stand shoulder to shoulder with you and with Britain in the war against fundamentalist terror," Mr Beazley told Parliament.
"It's a long and complex war, disagreements will arise on where priorities lie and as you would know my party and I take a different position from your government.
"But that does not diminish our regard for your leadership or our commitment to this long struggle against terror."
Mr Howard described Mr Blair as "a man of courage, of moral purpose, of high intelligence, of a capacity to articulate with great clarity the challenges of the contemporary world".
"I have found him on a personal basis, likeable, great company and a person who shares an avid interest in this country and the future of this country," Mr Howard said to Parliament.
Mr Blair visited the War Memorial this afternoon and will have private talks with Mr Beazley, and Mr Howard and his cabinet, tomorrow.