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Thank you, Your Excellency. It is my pleasure to introduce Senator Aidan Ridgway, who, to most of us in this room, probably needs little introduction. As you know, Senator Ridgway joined the Australian Democrats in 1990 and was elected in October 1998 as Senator for New South Wales. He was Australia's first Indigenous federal politician, and during his time as Deputy Leader of the Democrats, he was the first Indigenous politician to hold a federal political leadership position. Please welcome Senator Ridgway. I begin by paying my respects to the traditional owners of the lands on which we meet, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. I want to acknowledge Madam Chairperson, His Holiness Swāmījī, my distinguished colleagues, and all distinguished guests. I am greatly privileged to address you on this occasion, particularly against the backdrop of the problems that beset the world. To put this in context, relating to some of my own experiences, I want to share a particular story I tell often. Many years ago, on an Aboriginal reserve, my grandmother was the person who had the most profound impact on my life. She taught me the understanding of the need for a sense of identity, a sense of place, and a need for belonging. When I came to Sydney and began working, I was sent to Western New South Wales to talk to people there about this whole understanding of story and narrative. I walked into a little community hall thinking I had arrived on the wrong day. All I found was a lonely old Aboriginal man sitting there. I said I would go away and come back tomorrow. He said no. He said he had come a long way from the bush and wanted to hear what I had to say. So I got up and delivered what I thought was a brilliant speech to an audience of one. No one else was there to dispute it. Again, I said I would go and come back tomorrow, hoping more people would turn up. He said, "No, no, no. Listen, young fella, I've come a long way from the bush. I've enjoyed all the things you've said. You've answered all my questions. And I forgot to tell you that I'm the second speaker. I've become the audience of one." He then told me his story. I think in many respects, when we talk about peace and the achievement of spirituality and unity, it is very much about turning the room around so that people have an opportunity to be on the stage themselves, because peace ultimately is a people's movement. I do have an extreme sense of anxiety that the events that beset the world at the moment may harden the hearts and minds of many to the cause of peace in our time. But this is a very special occasion to affirm our belief in peace and to advance the prospects so that all of us may achieve a dignified human life. Peace is sometimes regarded as merely an absence of conflict, but I believe it is much more. For me, it is a feeling of complete emancipation that goes to the heart and soul—the feeling of not feeling present or being constrained in expressing one's individual existence. In the world, it is for me about building a new order, one that shouldn't mean having to pursue destruction as the way to achieve peace. That is the way to bring about what society needs: promoting the common good and ensuring it is advanced. But most of all, I echo the words of Mahatma Gandhi when he said that what is needed most of all is principled leadership. We would hope that the living standards of every man, woman, and child are brought about by benefiting equity for all. If so, it should establish the premise upon which all human planning must proceed if it is our wish to install justice, unity, and spirituality for the entire family of humankind. Since the end of World War II, it is said that another 86 million people have died through conflict and the ravages of disease left in the aftermath of annihilation and the rule of war—mostly the innocent, mostly women and children. If we think about these numbers, that is four times and more the entire population of Australia. Indeed, we have been told on many occasions that these incursions have been necessary to advance the common good. Yet one must develop a healthy sense of suspicion that most conflicts have been sought to advance the interests of one against another, and to implement a tyrannical vision of domination and rule over the lives of others. Reflection itself is often a bitter pill to swallow because we may see our mistakes. It has always been hoped that we would have learned the lessons of history and brought to a close aggression against our neighbours, and the whole understanding of unity, diversity, and difference. The fact that we are still at war tells me that our common pursuit has still not been achieved: to end aggression and oppression, to remove suffering, and to provide life opportunities for all. Advancing the prospects of peace in our world should never be mistaken for oppression, nor can it be a militant state where fundamental freedoms do not exist or be viewed as a balance of power. Indeed, I heed the words of the President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, when reflecting upon the efforts to reconstruct the former apartheid South Africa. In reality, it is impossible to successfully reconstruct a society afflicted with so many ills. In a sense, and without underestimating the genius of the people, we can say that necessity does become the mother of invention. To reflect on this matter properly, we might say that genius consisted in the practical application of the philosophical principle that freedom itself is the recognition of necessity. I believe the message is one of peace. The message is that unless peace is constructed properly, the movements against peace will wait to rise again another day. It therefore creates the necessity that to properly exercise freedom and peace and spirituality, and most importantly, the whole understanding of reconciliation is only achieved when all sides negotiate the nature of their transition and agree to a common outcome. Even with the current conflict in Iraq, reconstruction must occur, and it is better done by the collective rather than by the one. Since it is in our global interest to establish freedom, even though invariably through talks for peace, cooperation and competition will always characterize the relations established between the various players. I think by now you would have gathered that while invariably we may talk of an abstract concept of peace, practical desire must also mean addressing what we would want and how we would want that delivered—in this case, reconciliation and renewal for an entire global society. Underpinning all of this must also be a realization that a common effort is required because the danger for one is also the danger for all, and a hope for one can become hope for us all. Indeed, while there hasn't been sufficient time to talk more, it restates the old adage that it is difficult to organize peace, but if peace is not well organized, then peace will be lost. Finally, our current impasse creates what continues to fail: that peace is established as a relation between nations rather than an understanding of the fundamental goal on the condition of the sun and the condition of spirituality. Thank you. Recording location: Australia, Sydney, World Peace Forum 2003