In the press

Dear friends,

Finally, I am here.
I am very happy to be in your beautiful and magnificent country, Australia.
400 years ago, the Dutch were the first Europeans to discover Australia. They named this land after their own and called it New Holland. So, here I am today, a visitor from the Netherlands, with a message from the old Holland to the New Holland.

Click here to watch the interview

Transcript
TONY JONES, PRESENTER: Now to our guest.

Geert Wilders is the Dutch anti-immigration and anti-Islam MP. He's the founder of the right wing Party For Freedom.

Next week, Geert Wilders arrives in Australia for a visit that's been a long time in the making. He planned to come here about a year ago and drew early support from Liberal Senator Cory Bernadi who later distanced himself from the idea.

Now he's being sponsored by the anti-Islamic group The Q Society, on a road trip that's sure to fire debate over what constitutes free speech or hate speech.

Geert Wilders joins us now live from The Hague. Thanks for being there.

GEERT WILDERS, LEADER, PARTY FOR FREEDOM: Well, thanks for having me on your show tonight.

"The dogma that all lifestyles, opinions and convictions have the same value signifies the destruction of Western culture. It heralds the return to barbarism."

Below is the English version of the prepared text for speech given by Geert Wilders yesterday in Bonn. Many thanks to Rembrandt Clancy for the translation.

Liebe Freunde,

Lassen Sie mich mit ein paar Dankesworten beginnen.

Danke, Conny Meier und der Bürgerbewegung Pax Europa, um mir die Gelegenheit zu geben, zu Ihnen allen hier und heute zu sprechen.