Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the biennial Shipbuilding Research Convention. I’m very pleased and proud, as the convener of this convention, to introduce to you one of the world’s leading research scientists in the field of shipbuilding, Professor Nathan Davidson. Professor Davidson’s speech, entitled “Shipbuilding: the next twenty years”, will form the basis of a book to be published later this year. I’m sure that you’re all aware that whatever Professor Davidson has to say is not only fascinating and original, but also extremely pertinent. So, please welcome Professor Davidson.

Good evening. This is the news. First to environmental matters, a special news conference was held today to announce the conclusions of an official inquiry into industrial pollution in local waterways. The inquiry was set up by the government following a toxic spill in January, which caused the death of thousands of fish in rivers and lakes throughout the state. An official spokesperson announced new initiatives designed to clean up our waterways. It is believed that the massive losses of fish were due to the leakage of industrial waste from the state’s industrial zone. The government also announced that they are seriously considering increasing fines for anyone caught dumping toxic wastes into our waterways

Attention everyone. The library will be closing in 15 minutes and we ask everyone to get ready to leave the building. For those who want to check out books, please make your way to the check-out counter at this time. Also, we ask that you return all newspapers and magazines to the reference department. Please do not leave them on the tables. And lastly, a reminder that tomorrow is a national holiday and we will be closed. However, we will reopen Wednesday at 9 o’clock.