"Julia and Arnie." It could have been the perfect title for a film but this time it was the occassion attended by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as they push for climate change.

Ms Gillard and the Hollywood actor turned California politician, Mr. Schwarzenegger, wrote a joint opinion article pushing worldwide effort to combat climate change.

Mr. Schwarzenegger tried to inspire people as he spoke in front of 1000 aficionados at the Perth Convention and exhibition Centre last night. The event was invitational only and those men who want to have photo taken beside him paid $995 each.

In his motivational speech, Mr. Schwarzenegger jokingly said that the Australian men were "massive". "They wanted to stand next to me to make sure they were bigger. They were widening their shoulders and inhaling. They almost exploded."

He also joked that "the short cut to success includes 22-inch biceps, killing predators with bare hands and having an Austrian accent" alluding to his characters that gave him his Hollywood stature.

On a more serious mode, he said that the key in success is to overcome all nay-says and negative feedback along the course of anyone's career.

"If I had listened to the nay-sayers my career would have ended when I was 15 and I would still be yodeling in the Austrian Alps. The day is 24 hours. You sleep six hours. You need eight hours? Just sleep faster. I feel like I only have one life and I might as well use that life as much as I can. Make it as spicy as I can and also risky as I can with great rewards and also the risk of failure. And I have had my failures but I have a great time doing it this way."

The two climate change advocates met today in Perth as part of Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger's motivational tour in Perth.

Ms. Gillard and Mr. Schwarzenegger's written joint statement had the following key points:

  • Australia and California is aiming to work with other countries to act on climate change.
  • By the end of the year more than 1 billion people will be living in a state or country where a price on carbon is in place.
  • California and Australia have a lot in common - climate change threatens fragile environments and aggravates serious bushfires, droughts and floods, which put our important agricultural industries at risk.
  • Because of these similar challenges, even though they are leaders from different sides of the political spectrum, they strongly agree on two fundamental ideas - that taking action on climate change can no longer be delayed and that such actions can succeed beyond partisan politics.
  • By the end of 2013, more than a billion people will be living in a state or country where a price on carbon pollutions is in place, demonstrating that we are not alone.
  • What the Industrial Revolution and the Information Technology Revolution have shown is that the people in regions which lead these transformations prosper the most and the soonest. It is the same with the Clean Energy Revolution."

The joint statement written by Ms. Gillard and Mr. Schwarzenegger was published in the opinion page of News Limited newspapers.