Speech to the United Services Institute by Charlie Lynn on 27 February 2007

The threatened collapse of nation states in our Pacific neighbourhood and the scourge of terrorism have awakened Australia to the need for a more proactive leadership role in the South Pacific region.

Since World War 11 Australia has punched well above its weight on the international stage. European Union and ASEAN trading blocks and powerful domestic lobby groups in the United States have not precluded us from successfully penetrating overseas markets. We took on the world to win the 2000 Olympic Games for Sydney and we have been America’s most loyal ally in the international struggle against communism, socialism and the more recent war against terrorism. Our early and generous response to the Asian tsunami gained (more…)