We now have the strongest economy in the Asian-Pacific region in terms of all the overall economic measurements. If I had stood before you a year ago I would not have been able to say with total conviction that we were going to stare down the worst economic downturn the Asian-Pacific region has seen. I would not have been able to say that. And I want to acknowledge the contribution that many have made to that. But the story of Australia at the moment is a story of immense achievement of great strength and enormous pride.
Economic strength produces political and diplomatic strength.
This year has been an incredibly intensive year. Taxation reform, industrial relations reform and above all the achievement of bringing to the people of East Timor the freedom that they had the opportunity of voting for and they voted for so overwhelmingly. We were able to achieve in that diplomatic effort the assembly of a United Nations peace enforcement operation with a speed and a decisiveness that had not previously been matched in any other peace enforcement operation carried out under the aegis of the United Nations. And that is a source of enormous strength to this country and a source of very great pride and it reflects enormous credit on the Coalition Government. We were told that the leaders of that region wouldn t listen to us.