UN General Assembly
1955

1. May I start by saying how warmly the Australian delegation welcomes the election of Mr. Maza to the high office of President of the General Assembly. We congratulate him and assure him of our full co-operation in his task of steering the affairs of this great meeting through what I hope will be calm waters. In addition, I should also like to express our gratitude to his distinguished predecessor, Mr. van Kleffens of the Netherlands, who last year here, and more recently in San Francisco, presided with such patience and skill over our deliberations. 2. When I spoke last year in the General Assembly [479th meeting], I pointed to a number of events in various parts of the world which seemed to give grounds for optimism. No one of these events was outstanding in itself but, taken together, they seemed at the time to promise a process of gradual change for the better.