Well, thank you very much Kerry Stokes. To Dr and Mrs Kennedy, to Mr and Mrs Murphy, to Sir Arvi and Lady Parbo, to my ministerial colleagues, Richard Alston and Peter McGauran, Kate Carnell the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Tonight is really important for two reasons.
It's the opening of a wonderful exhibition and the huge crowd that is gathered here tonight is testament to what a remarkable exhibition it is and also for the tremendous support and affection that the National Gallery enjoys in the life of Canberra and in the cultural life of our nation. But it's also an occasion to honour a remarkable act of philanthropy because what the Sara Lee Corporation is doing to mark and honour the millennium is about as imaginative and as a self-sacrificing act of cultural philanthropy that any company could possibly undertake. In an age when there is plenty of cynicism about the behaviour of corporations, much of it unjustified, at a time when it's easy to take pot shots at manifestations of capitalism it really is very refreshing and encouraging to be able on an occasion like this to a very, in a very wholehearted and unreserved way to express our respect and our admiration for what the Sara Lee Corporation is doing. And the fact that we at the end of the process that we are going to be a very important part and the recipient of one of the items in this remarkable collection adds to our sense of connection and our sense of pleasure. I know of all the friends and supporters of the Gallery and all of the art lovers of Australia, how much we respect your company for what it has done.