    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 37 (Monday, September 20, 1999)]
    [Pages 1751-1752]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks at a State Dinner Hosted by Prime Minister Shipley 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 2.5
    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.

    [[Page 1752]]

    [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 Antarctic and talked about
    the importance of Antarctica to our whole future. I have mentioned often
    that, as all of you know probably, 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 President offered 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, the President referred to Prime Minister
    Shipley's husband, Burton. The transcript made available by the Office
    of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of the Prime Minister.
    A tape was not available for verification of the content of these
    remarks.