Speech

29 May 2007, Waitangi New Zealand

The Third Asia-Pacific Regional Interfaith Dialogue

Building Bridges for an Open Society

Introduction

Thank you very much Prime Minister Helen Clark
President Gloria Arroyo,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters
Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo
Excellencies; Distinguished Faith Leaders and distinguished guests gathered here today.

I'm very pleased to be here in Waitangi for the third Regional Interfaith Dialogue, a process which I'm very proud to say has gone from strength to strength since it was co-founded by the Australian and Indonesian Governments back in 2004. On behalf of the Australian Government and the Australian delegation, I'd like to thank Prime Minister Helen Clark and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for hosting this Dialogue.

The programme underlines the value of bringing together leaders of the many faiths in our region to share experiences and identify ways to promote peace and development in the Asia-Pacific region. The Regional Interfaith process is all about embracing the religious diversity in our region and as the Dialogue has not yet been held in a country whose majority faith is Buddhism, I'm very pleased to announce that Cambodia has offered to host the next regional interfaith dialogue.

This Dialogue is about 'Building Bridges'. The discussions over the next few days will focus on ways to promote greater harmony in our respective societies. It's a process that will benefit from the diverse perspectives of the many faiths that have gathered here.

In government, we can't pretend to have all the answers. Frankly, our primary role in this process is to help bring people together. We look to you as religious and community leaders to use this opportunity to share knowledge and to promote peace, security and understanding in our region: you are the experts; you have the respect of your people and you are best placed to lead them and to work among them to build bridges between communities back home. As leaders this is your responsibility.

Shared values

I appreciate that this is not easy. Every generation thinks they are being swept along by the forces of history. Many of the challenges we face today appear complex because they are global. Today, globalisation means we can drive Malaysian-made cars, wear shoes made in Vietnam, or speak to someone from the Philippines about our mobile phone account. These are positive trends that underpin our economic development.

But the benefits of globalisation, such as freedom of movement, the internet and mobile phones can also be exploited by some to pit intolerance, violence and extremism against tolerance, pluralism and openness. This creates serious challenges. But they make us more determined to pursue those values and policies that we believe should govern the conduct of relations between and among people.

W e can choose what sort of society we want for ourselves and our children. Society reflects our values; and as leaders of various faiths you have committed to exploring our shared values.

There are many things that religious faiths hold dear: the right to life; to respect and equity; to justice; to freedom of worship. These basic rights are essential to living in a decent and harmonious society.

If I was to sum up these rights to describe a shared value I would call it a respect for human dignity.

Speaking up for an open society

I hope this Dialogue encourages representatives of all faiths to spread the message that we all must respect each other and each other's beliefs. To me, this process starts with a very practical step: speaking up for shared values.

Let me tell you briefly about Australia: nearly seven out of ten people call themselves Christian but we are a society where communities reflecting Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and many other faiths practice freely. Indeed Buddhism is Australia's fastest growing religion. Australia's diverse Muslim community is strong and thriving and within Australia's Christian community, Pentecostal churches are growing rapidly.

In my home state of South Australia, the great faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism are promoting an interfaith programme called "Project Abraham". The three faiths aim to promote their common humanity and common goals to build a more peaceful and tolerant world. The project visits schools and reaches out to the public to foster mutual respect and understanding-an enormously practical step. The Australian Government supports Project Abraham because it's about people of faith participating in the Australian way of life and forging a sense of belonging.

The South East Asian region also has a special role to show the world the value of co-operation. The great mix of religions and cultures means the region's leaders are uniquely placed to build trust and understanding between various religious and ethnic groups.

For example, the Philippines and Australia are working to build peace, harmony and security in Mindanao, including many grass-roots interfaith activities between Christian, Muslim and Moro groups. With Indonesia, we have arranged exchange visits between leaders from our Muslim communities allowing each group to share views and experiences including on how Islam is practiced and taught in schools.

I think this shows the great practical benefits from having an open society that supports people speaking up for their values.

Standing up for an open society

But living in an open society will take more than just talking about values. Very often during troubled times, we reach points when we must stand up for our values and I believe future generations will thank us for our determination.

Today I look out and see Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Jews working together for harmony. Each faith may walk alternative paths to explore the human and the divine, but this is a shared journey that demonstrates the diversity and openness of our societies.

But we all face some basic questions:

• whether our society is open or closed;
• whether our society takes advantage of opportunities shaping the world or shuts itself away from them;
• or whether our society accepts difference or imposes conformity.
  

Building bridges

A key task for us here is to apply the principles of various faiths to the very human issue of how we, as individuals, communities and societies, should treat one another. I note that you will be talking about the Alliance of Civilisations initiative during this Dialogue. I look forward to hearing the outcomes of these discussions, including the implications of that initiative for the Asia-Pacific region.

As leaders who deal with spiritual issues it is very important that Dialogues find practical ways to address those challenges that seek to divide us on earth. I urge you all to learn from your fellow delegates and find as many ways as you can to apply these lessons, over and over, in your communities.

One of the most important practical things you can do back home is to build those bridges that link communities. It might involve bringing together various religious associations to meet each other; getting individual families from different faiths together; or providing training and development opportunities to youths of different faiths.

As delegates to this meeting, each of you has a vital role as an Ambassador for building harmony, tolerance and cooperation in your home communities.Where extremism seeks to divide individuals and communities against one another, our goal is to bring people closer together. Where extremism shows intolerance, we can promote respect and where extremism foments misunderstanding, we can promote curiosity about each other's cultures and religion.

Conclusion

In the Asia-Pacific region, our very identity - the image we portray to the rest of the world - relies in part on you individually, and on how your communities build bridges. You can make the difference because you have the networks and know the people to embrace in this Dialogue.

Building bridges through this Dialogue and spreading its positive message is the key to sustaining human dignity in the face of the challenge posed by extremism.

I am confident that with your leadership we will succeed.

Thank you.