    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [September 15, 1999]
    [Page 1545]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1545]]

    Remarks at a State Dinner Hosted by Prime Minister Jennifer Shipley of New Zealand in Christchurch
    September 15, 1999

        Thank you very much. Forgive my hoarseness.
        First, Prime Minister, to you, your family, your government, and the
    people of New Zealand, I cannot thank you enough for the wonderful
    welcome that our party and my family members have received here. I
    apologize for having to rush home, but all of you know of the great
    storm that is now hitting the American coast. We had to move over 2\1/2\
    million people today in an attempt to minimize the loss of life. So I
    hope you'll forgive me, but let me say I have had a wonderful time here.
        I'm glad that the fashion people approved of the way I wore the
    beautiful outfit you gave me. [Laughter] You know, I've been President 7
    years now. I've been all over the world. I've received any number of
    items of clothing. And when you go to these meetings, very often the
    people who are there get the native dress, and we wear them. And
    usually, when I go home, there is someone making fun of how I looked in
    the dress of whatever country I was. This is the smartest outfit I've
    ever been given.
        In the calendar cycle, we in the Northern Hemisphere are moving in
    the opposite direction, so we're coming into fall and winter. And if you
    watch the television, I'll probably be in your outfit several times more
    before the end of the year.
        Let me say from the bottom of my heart, this has been a magical
    trip. I think every person, when he or she is young, dreams of finding
    some enchanted place, of beautiful mountains and breathtaking coastline
    and clear lakes and amazing wildlife, and most people give up on it
    because they never get to New Zealand. This has been an amazing thing
    for me and for all of us.
        You might be interested to know that on the front page of the
    Washington Post today, there is a picture of my National Economic
    Adviser bungee jumping. [Laughter] We all had
    to remind him that he wasn't supposed to be Houdini and slip the cords,
    you know. [Laughter] And so the whole story was about how much fun we
    were all having.
        I hope that it will also be reported that at this meeting we took a
    strong stand for freedom and human rights in East Timor, and we are
    going in there, together with our friends from Australia and others in
    this region, to try to protect the integrity of the referendum for
    democracy and independence, and save lives. And I thank New Zealand for
    its leadership in this cause. We also stood for the proposition that we
    can best lift the world's fortune by having more free and fair trade.
    And that, too, was profoundly important.
        We celebrated today our partnership in Antarctica and talked about
    the importance of Antarctica to our whole future. I have mentioned often
    that, as all of you know proudly, when the new millennium dawns, it will
    dawn first on New Zealand. I will be proud to cross that bridge into the
    21st century with you, knowing that we will be partners for peace and
    prosperity and a more decent and humane future for all our children. And
    I thank you for that partnership.
        I'd like to ask all of you to join me in a toast to the Prime
    Minister, to her wonderful husband, to her
    government, and to the people of New Zealand.

    [At this point, the participants drank a toast.]

        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 6:56 p.m. in a hangar at the Wigram Air
    Museum. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Shipley's husband,
    Burton. The transcript released by the Office of the Press Secretary
    also included the remarks of Prime Minister Shipley.