More than 100 invited guests attended Ambassador Mike Moore’s annual Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies ANZAC lecture at Georgetown University on Thursday, 12 April. 

Ambassador Moore’s lecture entitled, “Foreign Policy in an Interdependent World: A New Zealand Perspective,” gave an overview of the sacrifices of Australians and New Zealanders in world wars and several regional wars and conflicts around the world.  “From conflicts in Korea, Bougainville, to Vietnam, Iraq, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, Rwanda, Papua New Guinea/Bouganville, Timor Leste, the Sinai, Kashmir, Cyprus, what was Rhodesia, Haiti, Lebanon, the former Yugoslavia, you will find New Zealanders and Australians,” he said.

Ambassador Moore also spoke of the evolving US/NZ relationship. “A mature, normal relationship is where family members can disagree, where every request is not seen as a test of friendship and where either side can say yes and no, without ramifications,” he said. “The Wellington Declaration now forms the platform for our fresh strategic relationship,” he said. 

Ambassador Moore also touched on the “growing relationship” between New Zealand and China, noting that New Zealand is the first developed country to have a free trade deal with China.  

Several New Zealand, Australian and State Department officials attended the ANZAC lecture ahead of 25 April, when ANZAC Day is commemorated.  ANZAC Day is a day to commemorate the past and a day when New Zealanders and Australians reflect on the work of their Defence personnel currently serving their country at home and overseas.

The New Zealand Embassy livetweeted Ambassador Moore’s speech from his Twitter account. 

Please find the full text of Ambassador Moore’s speech below. 

Attachment
ANZAC Speech - Final - Ambassador Moore - April 2012 (2).pdf