Australian High Commission
Papua New Guinea

Speech AustDayHOM

 

Speech - Australia Day Consular Registration Function

 

26 January 2007; Australian High Commission, Port Moresby

Australian High Commissioner to PNG, Mr Chris Moraitis

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Fellow Australians.

Welcome to the Australian High Commission – happy Australia Day.

On Australia Day, Australians come together to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. As Australians living overseas we can still take some time to reflect on what we can be proud of in our great nation.

One of the things that I am particularly proud of is the way that Australia works in the region. We are a close partner and friend of Papua New Guinea and we are committed to helping address the challenges that this country is facing.

I’d like to briefly mention perhaps the biggest challenge – HIV/AIDS. Unless interventions to address the spread and impact of HIV and AIDS are scaled up, over half a million Papua New Guineans could be living with the virus by 2025.

Whether you are here for a few weeks, or a few years, we all have a role to play – individuals, companies, civil society groups. We all have a responsibility to tackle the spread of HIV. Australia is committed to working with Papua New Guineans to help address the epidemic.

I know you are all here to listen to the legendary Australian band Mental As Anything. They are almost ready and I know it is going to be a great concert. I want to particularly thank those within our Australian community in PNG who have worked so hard to bring the band to Port Moresby – as well as those who have financially supported and underwritten this venture. Your enthusiasm for the project has been infectious and your efforts to pull it off have been fantastic – thank you and well done.

Before we get started I would also like to urge all Australians who are not registered with the Australian High Commission to register with us today. Ask any of the High Commission officers to help you – being Australians you can find them at the bar! But, to be serious, people are circulating with forms and you can ask any High Commission officer who is here today.

Registering with the High Commission is easy and is for your own benefit. Your registration information will help us to find you in an emergency. It may also be used to pass other useful information such as Travel Advisories and notice of elections.

I want to stress that any information we hold in the register is strictly protected under the Privacy Act 1988 – it’s not passed on to the taxman, your lawyer or your ex-spouse. And you should know that there is no automatic registration when you get a passport, a visa or a job in PNG – you need to go through the process actively yourself.

I would also like to encourage all long term residents to check to see if their registration is current because it can become out of date.

The easiest thing to do is just fill in the form again and we can double check on the data base.

I hope you all have a great time here this evening. We are very fortunate to have Mental As Anything with us today so please enjoy yourself, enjoy the music and enjoy Australia Day.

END