- Jul 2, 2018
- 3,015
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PRIME MINISTER AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL |
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: OFFICIAL |
2 November 2004 |
Dear President-elect Sinclair, On behalf of myself and Her Excellency the Governor-General, it is our absolute honour and privilege to congratulate you on your election as President of the United States. The office of President of the United States holds with it an enormous weight, not just in the United States of America but all around the world. You are now the leader of the free world, the defender and champion of liberty and democracy everywhere. Australia has always been a champion of liberty and democracy and we have and will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States in that noble cause. Whether that's in the Battle of Hamel during the First World War, the entire Pacific campaign during the Second World War, countless battles during the Korean and Vietnam Wars or recently in the Middle East, we have been the only nation that has stood with the United States in every major conflict she has been in since the First World War. The U.S. Embassy in Canberra occupies the most space of any embassy in Canberra and rightfully so. Our Parliament is a combination of the United States and United Kingdom systems of government. A Westminster-style parliament with Congressional-style houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Our federation was inspired by the federation of the United States. The federal government works in collaboration as partners with the states here and not as overlords. We have defined responsibilities and they have defined responsibilities. The similarities between the United States and Australia are striking. As we move forward with our relationship under my Prime Ministership and your Presidency, let us strengthen the ties between us, formalise agreements and enhance cooperation. President Gore championed the relationship every correspondence that I or my predecessors had with him. I'm sure that a President Sinclair can take that baton and run with it further than any of his predecessors have. We owe it to the free world to cooperate. Forces of evil are moving around us, in time and space and throughout time and space, they are cooperating at unprecedented levels to undermine us and the free world, the champions of liberty and democracy, are not cooperating as much as we would like. American leadership needs to prevail and needs to guide us in the right direction. I hope you will join me on this noble quest. Please enjoy this postcard I have attached from when the Great White Fleet docked in Sydney in 1908. Yours sincerely, Julia Gillard and Her Excellency The Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce. |
Parliament House, CANBERRA, ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6277 7700 Government House, CANBERRA, ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6283 3533 |
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Postcard-Australians_welcome_Americans.jpg)
Odinson