    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
    [November 20, 1996]
    [Pages 2133-2134]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Luncheon at Parliament House in Canberra
    November 20, 1996

        Thank you very much. Prime Minister and Mrs. Howard, Mr. Speaker and
    Mrs. Halverson, Madam President, Mr. Reid, Mr. Beazley, Ms. Annus,
    Ambassador McCarthy: Let me say that Hillary and I and all of us in our
    delegation have very much looked forward to coming here. So far, our
    experiences have even exceeded our hopes. We have loved every minute of
    it. I loved the crowds welcoming us in last night. I think I like Mr.
    Beazley reminding me that I'm the first Southern Democrat since
    Appomattox to be elected twice. But I'll have to wait until I get home
    to see how that plays at home. [Laughter]
        We're grateful to be here in Canberra, where there is clearly a
    touch of America in the planning of Walter Burley Griffin, who came from
    Hillary's home State of Illinois. We feel very much that we are at home
    and among friends.
        This morning I had a good meeting with the Prime Minister. I was
    honored to meet your Cabinet. I was honored to reaffirm our remarkable
    security relationship, to review our common efforts to reduce the danger
    of weapons of mass destruction, an effort in which Australian leadership
    has been so vital.
        We're working to provide peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific
    region together. And together we're going to make a big difference in
    building the prosperity of tomorrow, increasing the ties of trade and
    investment not only between our two nations but throughout the area.
        The scope and depth of our cooperation for a long time now is truly
    extraordinary but not surprising. It is the hallmark of a relationship
    between two democracies that has grown through struggles of five wars
    and a whole century's hard labors of peace. Half a world of oceans
    separates us, but the currents of friendship and commerce and culture
    flow constantly between our shores, and they are more binding than the
    land bridges that connected the continents eons ago.
        We have always looked to Australia with great hope, with great
    trust, with great admiration. We see those expectations from what may be
    the very first official United States act dealing with Australia. In
    1779, Benjamin Franklin issued an unusual passport for Captain Cook who
    was then returning from one of his explorations here in the South
    Pacific. That was, of course, during our War of Independence. And
    Franklin sent special orders to the commanders of all American ships not
    to attack the ships of the British captain but to treat him and his crew
    with all civility and kindness. He wrote that Cook's explorations would
    facilitate communication between distant nations to the benefit of
    mankind in general.
        Franklin was a prophet. From our common struggle in five wars to the
    trade we have created, to our shared efforts to reduce the nuclear
    threat, the bonds between our distant nations have indeed been an
    immense benefit not only to ourselves but to mankind in general. The
    United States is profoundly grateful for this relationship, for the
    affection and the warmth that has grown between our citizens.
        For many reasons our ties have grown. One of the most important is
    that we see in each other qualities that we prize and hope for in
    ourselves. We admire in each other the pioneering spirit that our
    forebears brought to the tasks of pushing back the frontiers and
    building nations.
        As we move into a new century, we face new and very different
    frontiers. We are called upon not to homestead in the wilderness but to
    build for the security and the prosperity of a new era, to deal with the
    challenges of this

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    new explosion in the global economy and information technology and the
    diversity within all of our own societies. But we still need that
    frontier spirit. We still need to believe that with courage and vision
    and daring and a firm adherence to our shared and unshakable values, we
    can make the future better than the present and leave a world worthy of
    our children and our heritage.
        I want all of you to know how very much we Americans like and admire
    and value Australia and her people. We want the 21st century to be a
    large partnership between ourselves for the betterment of all of
    humankind. I believe that we are entering the era of greatest
    possibility in human history. I believe there will be more people able
    to live out their dreams than any time in all of human existence if the
    values, the record, the partnership we have established can chart the
    way to the future we long to build. And I promise you that we in the
    United States will do our best to be worthy of our friendship and that
    kind of future.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:25 p.m. in the Great Hall. In his
    remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Howard's wife, Janette; Speaker
    of the House Bob Halverson and his wife, Maggie; President of the Senate
    Margaret Reid and her husband, Thomas; Opposition Leader Kim Beazley and
    his wife, Suzie Annus; and Australian Ambassador to the United States
    John McCarthy.