In Australia, President Obama Feted With Parliamentary Dinner: The Menu, The Guest List...

The US-Australia relationship is "crackerjack," says President Obama, even if we "disagree" about "the merits of Vegemite"...
In Australia on Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Julia Gillard hosted a lavish banquet in honor of President Obama. The "Parliamentary Dinner," held in a vast hall at Parliament House Canberra, was a formal affair, which Australian media billed as a State Dinner. The three-course menu for a guest list of hundreds, including Cabinet Ministers and Australian luminaries, starred regional favorites: Pan-fried Jewfish, lamb, and a pavlova with wattleseed. (Above: The President and Prime minister in the center of the Head Table)

Clad in a sequined black gown, Gillard welcomed the President for a "night of friendship," and admitted that she's been “a little bit nervous” about his visit. She said her significant other, Tim Mathieson, “really got a talking to from the First Lady” while in Hawaii for the APEC summit, where he joined Mrs. Obama for lunch on Sunday.

“She said to him that you often don’t eat because you are so focused on your work that you forget to eat and she wanted to make sure that we feed you well in Australia," Gillard told President Obama.

"So the only answer to that was to make sure that you had a hearty meal and had six to seven hundred witnesses."

During his own remarks after the dinner, President Obama recalled a childhood visit to the country, and used local vernacular as he hailed the relationship between the US and Australia.

"We can say with confidence and with pride that the alliance between the United States and Australia is deeper and stronger than it has ever been. Spot on. Crackerjack. In top nick."

While Americans and Australians "may not always speak the same way or use the same words," President Obama assured the crowd that there are more similarities than differences.

"I think it’s pretty clear...that we understand and see the world in the same way, even if we disagree about the merits of Vegemite."

The President was clad in a dark suit that he'd worn during his day of meetings, and had arrived with Gillard at 7:48 PM to trumpets. They stood together on stage before the dinner began, as a military band played and a chorus sang the American and then the Australian national anthems. Read the full transcript of the President's remarks. (Above: Seated on stage)

Opposition Leader Tony Abbot also spoke, telling Mr. Obama that “as the leader of the United States, sir, you are the world’s president.”

Tablesettings featured red white and blue flora arrangements, and US and Australian flags decorated the hall. As for the "hearty" meal: Mission accomplished.

Parliamentary Dinner in Honor of
President Obama

First
Macadamia and Thyme Encrusted Lamb Canon
with Avocado Cream Quenelle
Blood Orange Segments and Herb Salad

Wine: Voyager Estate Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2011 Margaret River (WA)

Main
Pan-fried Jewfish
with Seared Prawn Mousse
Crushed Kipfler Potato and Saffron Cream Reduction

Wine: Hollick Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 Coonawarra (SA)

Dessert
Wattleseed and Passionfruit Pavlova Roulade
with Fresh Raspberries

Guest list as provided by Prime Minister Gillard's office:

President Barack Obama

Prime Minister Julia Gillard

Mr. Tim Mathieson

Tony Abbott, Opposition Leader

Speaker of the House of Representatives Harry Jenkins

President of the Senate John Hogg

The Honourable Robert French AC, Chief Justice of Australia

Former Prime Minister Howard

General David Hurley

Australian Ambassador to America Kim Beazley

Premier of QLD Anna Bligh

Premier of SA Jay Weatherill

Chief Minister of the ACT Katy Gallagher

Pool also reported as guests: "Ministers and Members of Parliament, plus their partners; a number of Ambassadors and High Commissioners; a number of Department Secretaries; a number of representatives from Australian businesses, unions, business interest groups, academics and NGOs.

*The President's address to the Australian Parliament is here. The next day he visited Darwin, in the Northern Territory.

A dinner report from ABC Australia:



*Photos by pool/AFP; toast photo by Pete Souza/White House

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Transcript: President Obama's Remarks At Parliamentary Dinner, Canberra, Australia

President Obama was feted by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard with a Parliamentary Dinner on Wednesday night at Parliament House Canberra. A full post with THE MENU is here. The President made remarks after the dinner, which came during the first part of a whirlwind 28-hour visit to the country, the President's first since taking office.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________

For Immediate Release
November 16, 2011

After Dinner Remarks by
President Obama at Parliamentry Dinner

Parliament House
Canberra, Australia

9:09 P.M. AEST

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, Prime Minister Gillard and Leader Abbot, thank you both for your wonderfully warm words. And I thank you for showing that in Canberra, as in Washington, people may not always see eye-to-eye, but on this we are all united: There are no better friends than the United States and Australia. (Applause.)

Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, and distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am going to be brief, for we have had a busy day. I am not sure what day it is. (Laughter.) Am I’m going to subject you to a very long speech tomorrow.

But I do want to express my deep appreciation for the way you’ve welcomed me here today. I know that I am not the first guy from Chicago to come to these parts. A century ago, Walter Burley Griffin came here with a vision for this city. He said, “I have planned a city that is not like any other in the world.” And tonight, I want to thank all of you -- and the people of Australia -- for the hospitality that is unlike any other in the world.

Our toasts earlier tonight reminded me of a story. It’s from our troops -- this is true story -- our troops serving together in Afghanistan. Our guys, the Americans, couldn’t figure out why your guys were always talking about cheese. All day long. Morning, noon and night. Why are the Aussies always talking about cheese? And then, finally, they realized -- it was their Australian friends just saying hello, just saying “cheers.” (Laughter.)

So we Americans and Australians, we may not always speak the same way, or use the same words, but I think it’s pretty clear, especially from the spirit of this visit, and our time together this evening, that we understand each other. And we see the world in the same way -- even if we do have to disagree on the merits of vegemite. (Laughter.)

As many of you know, I first came to Australia as a child. But despite my visits, I have to admit I never did learn to talk "Strine." I know there is some concern here that your Australian language is being Americanized. So perhaps it’s time for us to reverse the trend. Tonight, with your permission, I’d like to give it a burl. (Laughter and applause.)

I want to thank the Prime Minister for a very productive meeting that we had today. I think she’ll agree it was a real chinwag. (Laughter.) When Julia and I meet, we listen to each other, we learn from each other. It’s not just a lot of earbashing. (Laughter.) That's a good one -- earbashing. (Laughter.) I can use that in Washington. (Laughter.) Because there's a lot of earbashing sometimes. (Laughter.)

That’s been the story of our two nations. Through a century of progress and struggle, we have stood together, in good times and in bad. We’ve faced our share of sticky wickets. (Laughter.) In some of our darkest moments -- when our countries have been threatened, when we needed a friend to count on -- we’ve always been there for each other. At Darwin. At Midway. After 9/11 and after Bali.

It’s that moment, in the midst of battle -- when the bullets are flying and the outcome is uncertain -- when Americans and Aussies look over at each other, knowing that we’ve got each other’s backs, knowing in our hearts -- no worries, she'll be right. (Laughter and applause.)

And so tonight -- as we mark 60 years of this remarkable alliance, through war and peace, hardship and prosperity -- we gather together, among so many friends who sustain the bonds between us, and we can say with confidence and with pride: The alliance between the United States and Australia is deeper and stronger than it has ever been -- spot on -- (laughter) -- cracker-jack -- (laughter) -- in top nick. (Laughter.)

Thank you very much, everybody. (Applause.)

END
9:15 P.M. AEST
##

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