People-to-people ties cemented by ‘common values, beliefs’

CANBERRA – Singaporeans and Australians share many common values and beliefs, and this has helped to promote people-to-people ties between the two countries, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. 

Addressing the Australian Parliament on Wednesday morning (Oct 13), during an official visit to Canberra, Mr Lee said both societies are open, inclusive and multicultural.

“Our people are open and direct. We are pragmatic and focused on solving problems. We think and talk in clear practical terms and therefore connect on the same wavelength,” he said. He added that both Singaporean and Australian societies are egalitarian, do not stand on ceremony, and frown on rigid social hierarchies — drawing laughter from the Parliamentarians.

Thus, when former Prime Minister Tony Abbott visited Singapore last year, Mr Lee said he would invite his counterpart to an Australian-style barbeque at a public park together with some Singaporeans, “only to discover that he was much better at barbequing than I was”. 

Recounting how he had personally experienced Australian warmth and hospitality, Mr Lee shared that he first visited Australia as a teenager on an exchange visit, staying with the Blanch family in Melbourne.

“Their son, Graeme, was about my age, and we quickly became friends. The Blanches took me to their holiday home at Mount Martha, on the Mornington Peninsula,” he said.

“The first night, for dinner, not knowing what to expect, I put on a tie. Graeme stared at me and said, ‘You’re crazy. Take it off!’” Mr Lee added, to much laughter from the House. 

He said the incident taught him a lesson about Australian informality that he has never forgotten, adding that he has stayed in touch with the Blanch family for nearly 50 years.

Mr Graeme Blanch, his siblings Balfour and Heather, as well as their spouses were also present in the Parliament House on Wednesday.

“I am sure many other Singaporean and Australian families enjoy similar close personal ties and lifelong friendships,” Mr Lee said, adding that this includes his counterpart Malcolm Turnbull.

“I was very glad to learn last year that the Prime Minister had a new grand-daughter, Isla, born in Singapore during our Golden Jubilee, our SG50 year,” Mr Lee added.

“In Singapore, we would call her an SG50 baby. But because it was also the 50th anniversary of Singapore-Australia diplomatic relations, she is also an SA50 baby.”

Singapore and Australia enjoy long-standing, multi-faceted ties, with cooperation that spans politics, the economy, defence, culture and the arts.

This strategic relationship has been buttressed by strong people-to-people ties over the years.

Last year, some 400,000 Singaporeans visited Australia, and 1,000,000 Australians visited Singapore.

Some 50,000 Singaporeans are living, working and studying in Australia, while some 20,000 Australians are living, working and studying in Singapore.

The estimated number of Singaporean alumni of Australian universities stands at more than 100,000.

“We feel quite at home in each other’s country. Singaporeans may not quaff as much beer as Australians, but I have it on good authority that Victoria Bitter goes well with chilli crab.”

Mr Lee noted that while close people-to-people ties do not mean that the two countries will agree on everything, “but when we have different views, we do not beat around the bush”.

“We express ourselves candidly, address our differences, and can narrow or at least define the gap because we know where each other stands.”