AUSTRALIA: Amid protests over his war on terror, US President George W. Bush yesterday praised Australia's war effort, referring to the Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, as "a man of steel".
"That's Texan for fair dinkum," added Mr Bush during an address to a joint sitting of Australia's federal parliament in Canberra.
As he entered the chamber to address MPs, Mr Howard greeted Mr Bush warmly.
"Today we welcome a man, we honour an office, we recommit to an alliance," Mr Howard said.
In turn, Mr Bush said that Mr Howard was "a leader of exceptional courage, who exemplifies the finest qualities of one of the world's greatest democracies".
Outside Parliament House, the estimated 5,000 protesters, many of whom had travelled overnight to be there, were kept far away from proceedings. There were five arrests and some minor injuries as 450 police kept guard on the ground and Australian military jets patrolled the air.
The protesters were addressed by opposition Labour party MPs, Canberra's Catholic Bishop, Dr Pat Power, and Green's senator, Mr Bob Brown.
Mr Brown, who was wearing images of Australian Guantanamo Bay detainees Mr David Hicks and Mr Mamdouh Habib, told the crowd it was appalling that the Australian people were locked out of the parliament building. "This is a parliament disconnected from the people in service to a visiting head of state who does not respect people of this country," he said.
Mr Brown and colleague Ms Kerry Nettle were later ordered out of parliament for heckling Mr Bush.
However, despite attempts by some government MPs to push them out of the chamber, the two senators remained, with Mr Brown saying he shook Mr Bush's hand on the way out.
Forty-one Labour MPs signed a protest letter to present to Mr Bush, criticising the Iraq war. The letter said the war was conducted on the basis of a "clear and present danger" that did not exist.
Mr Bush paid tribute to Australians for their contribution to the Iraq war and to previous wars. "Australians are fair-minded and tolerant and easy-going. Yet in times of trouble and danger, Australians are the first to step forward, to accept hard duties and to fight bravely until the fighting is done," he said.
Referring to the September 11th attacks on the US and the Bali bombing in October last year, Mr Bush said terrorists would not respond to negotiations. "The nature of the terrorist threat defines the strategy we are using to fight it," he said. "They will not respond to reason. The terrorists cannot be appeased - they must be found, they must be fought and they must be defeated."
In addition to speaking about the war on terror, Mr Bush said he was committed to completing a free-trade agreement with Australia by the end of the year.
"Obviously agriculture is an important issue, intellectual property is an important issue, there are a lot of important issues that have got to be thought through," he said.