It would be remiss of me not to pay tribute to our hosts, the Universal Peace Federation and the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who conceived the mission of UPF. It's hard to find any organization anywhere that does more to promote peace harmony in world today than UPF:
Peace between nations
Peace between races, cultures, and communities
Peace between diverse faith traditions
That’s a mighty big task. And why does it succeed? Because it works with a pure heart and without any ulterior motives. It succeeds because it knows beyond a shadow of a living doubt that the overwhelming majority of the people of this world give adoration to a living God:
- To the one God
- To an almighty, eternal, everlasting God
- To a God who always was and always will be now and forever, Amen.
They may not spend every second day in a church, or a mosque, or a synagogue, or a temple, but they have a Godly faith nonetheless.
It is not a faith that gives adoration to secular humanism, or atheism, agnosticisim, Marxism, or Communism. But God is alive and well. UPF succeeds because it knows that the foundation of civilization is the family. I mean the “traditional family” of a mother, a father, and children. In Australia, our law defines marriage as a union of a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others. The family unit is the bedrock and core of society. It always was, it is now, and forever will be.
I am member of the Liberal Party. By this I mean nineteenth-century classical liberalism, which equates to twenty-first century conservatism (which is based on eternal values). Thus, I am a conservative in a conservative party.
In talking about the Asia-Pacific, Australia is just proud of its alliance with the US, which came to our defense during World War II and gives protection to freedom in the Asia-Pacific today
A number of factors are key in the Asia-Pacific: a level of economic prosperity, social cohesion, and general well-being. The more the following factors are present, the higher the well-being of people: free enterprise, genuine democratic government, rule of law, opposition to totalitarianism, upholding the family unit, religious tolerance, and God-centered values.
As I look at the Asia-Pacific region, I see economic growth and free markets in the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Japan, and Taiwan. India is the world's largest parliamentary democracy. Burma is moving towards democracy. The age of totalitarianism is coming to an end, and the age of freedom and democracy is with us. This is a righteous cause, and righteous causes always win in the end. God willing, we can accelerate that day.
[Compiled from speaker's notes.]
For more information about World Summit 2013, click here.