Reception to Farewell staff of Australia's Pavilion at World Expo 2005 Aichi

Introduction

Ambassador Ueda, Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen.

One year ago almost to the day, I stood in this hall and, with my colleague Mark Vaile, officially launched Australia's participation in the World Expo to be held in Aichi Japan. At that time, we had an architect's design and a model of what the Australian pavilion would look like. A dream, if you like, of how it would all look. So much progress has been achieved since then.

Today, I am delighted to announce that the Australian pavilion - first among the record 127 international participants at the Aichi World Expo - has largely been completed and is ready for the start of Expo on 25 March. The pavilion construction team - headed by the very talented Pete Ford of Think!OTS who is just back from Japan to be with us this evening - handed the pavilion over to the Government six days ago in Nagoya.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Pete Ford and his wonderful team of Australian and Japanese designers, engineers and builders who have worked long hours to complete the project on time and on budget. I understand they worked over Christmas and New Year to get the job done - though I am pleased that they had a brief pause on Australia Day to enjoy a few liquid refreshments and sing the national anthem!

It is also my pleasure to announce today that the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, will also visit our pavilion at the World Expo on the occasion of Australia's 'National Day at Expo' in April.

Pavilion Staff

We're gathered here today to farewell some 50 Australians and 10 Japanese who have been chosen to represent Australia as attendants and other staff in the pavilion. Their recruitment and training - and they are here in Canberra for a week of training at DFAT - has been another major milestone for this project.

Let me tell you something about our staff. They were selected from more than 3000 applicants - an incredible number when you consider that some fluency in Japanese was one of the main criteria for selection. All but a few of the pavilion team - who otherwise have specialised or technical positions - can speak Japanese to some degree. Some have graduated as interpreters and translators from our top universities. Others completed Asian studies degrees where Japanese language was a major component. And many have lived in Japan, participating in exchange programs, the Japanese Government 'JET' program - or Japan Japan Exchange and Teaching Program - or studying at Japanese universities.

Among them, they also have skills in another 12 languages including Chinese - Cantonese and Mandarin, Korean, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, French and Spanish. I am sure that these fluent language skills of our pavilion attendants and support staff will be one of the lasting images of visitors to the Aichi Expo.

It is a remarkable sign of the changing nature of the relationship between our two countries that so many young Australians have a strong interest in all things Japanese - from language to culture, the arts to business.

Australian Resident Company (ARC)

There is another smaller group of pavilion staff who could not be with us this evening. They are the six members of the Australian Resident Company - or ARC - that has been formed to provide arts and entertainment support for the pavilion during the six months of Expo.

ARC is currently in Melbourne creating and rehearsing original works of adagio, street theatre and dance that will be performed on the many stages of the World Expo. But I am delighted to see Kate Denborough, the co-founder of Kage Physical Theatre and our artistic director and choreographer for ARC here tonight. Thank you Kate for all you hard work.

Bilateral Relations

These are complex and very challenging times in the international arena. At such times, the mature and diverse Australia-Japan relationship is further highlighted for what it is - one of Australia's most important partnerships. We share many common perspectives on regional and global security, and increasingly this is being translated into strategic cooperation.

These shared economic and strategic interests are underpinned by warm and extensive people-to-people links - evidenced by extensive tourism and education exchanges to name but two vibrant examples.

Sponsors

Before handing over to my colleague Mark Vaile, I would just like to say a word of thanks to the sponsors of the Australian pavilion. The Government has been delighted that some 20 sponsors have committed to supporting the Australian pavilion - contributing a record level of sponsorship of $4.5 million. They include four state governments - Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and NSW. And some of Australia's leading corporations - Toyota Australia, Qantas, Rio Tinto, Woodside, Servcorp and MLA. On behalf of the Australian Government, I thank them all for their support.

I would also like to thank Stuart and Sons, makers of this beautiful piano that Simon Tedeschi has been playing so well. Simon will represent Australia at the Opening of the Expo in just six weeks time. Simon will also play the first concert in the pavilion on a similar piano worth $250,000 that has been loaned to the pavilion by Stuart and Sons.

Conclusion

Finally, on behalf of the Australian Government, I would like to say 'Bon Voyage' to the staff of the Australian pavilion at the 2005 World Expo in Aichi. We wish you every success in your role as ambassadors for Australia to Japan!

Thank you

ENDS