Speech Notes for the opening of the Samoa Police Headquarters and Armoury
Your Highness, the Head of State,
The Honourable Prime Minister of Samoa,
Cabinet Ministers,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Commissioner Neru and Members of the Samoan Police Service,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen
As Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, it is my great pleasure to be here in Samoa with my colleague, Bob McMullan, Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, on this historic day.
We were both honoured this morning to have met with the His Highness the Head of State, Prime Minister Tuilaepa and other Cabinet Ministers to allow us to learn first hand of Samoa’s many successes. And to gain an appreciation of the practical challenges ahead.
Australia’s interests in the Pacific are in a stable, secure and prosperous region. These are interests shared by Australia and Samoa, and will only be achieved through a unity of purpose.
Australia’s partnership with Samoa is as strong as it is enduring. We have a proud history of mutual cooperation and shared interest based on a broad and ever-expanding range of government, business and people-to-people contacts.
Our bilateral relationship was strengthened recently by the Australian Government’s decision to allow Yazaki to continue to import its wire harnesses into Australia free of duty for the next three years. This is yet another practical expression of our interest in building up and diversifying Samoa’s economy.
And while this is a welcome outcome, it is important that Samoa continue to look for new areas of investment to build prosperity for its people.
We look forward to working with Samoa in the PACER Plus context to negotiate revised rules of origin to allow Pacific Island Countries to expand their market opportunities.
To assist with this endeavour, the Australian Government has established a position for a Pacific Investment Commissioner, with the responsibility to travel throughout the region to facilitate Australian joint ventures and other collaborative investment opportunities in Pacific island economies. He will be back in Samoa in May this year, and I encourage the Samoan business community to take advantage of his networks and knowledge of Australian trade and investment opportunities.
Ours is a partnership, too, of international and regional dimensions.
The impressive example set by Samoa as the regional leader in sensible economic reform; Samoa’s willingness to contribute tangibly to the security of the wider region through your highly regarded participation in RAMSI and in East Timor; and your determination to work to strengthen the Pacific Islands Forum’s capacity to respond quickly and constructively to regional crises are all much admired both in Australia, and the region.
Australia and Samoa have achieved much together. And together, we have much more to do.
Our presence here today, in the shade of this magnificent building, is a practical expression of Australia’s interest in Samoa and the region.
I am told the carved pillars behind me, designed by the Commissioner of Police, represent The Church, The Law, The Community and the Samoan Police Service.
If there could be a fifth pillar to this building’s entrance, I imagine it would symbolise the bilateral relationship Australia and Samoa have enjoyed for over 30 years.
It would symbolise a relationship that remains as collaborative as it is enduring.
Thank You
Media inquiries: Mr Kerr's office - 02 6277 4991