Thank you, Your Excellencies, particularly Aunty Violet, thank you so much for that wonderful Welcome to Country, and yes that was great health advice as well. Thank you very, very much.
Can I acknowledge my Ministerial and Parliamentary colleagues.
Can I acknowledge the Leader of the Opposition Anthony Albanese.
But in particular today, can I acknowledge all Australians, Australians all, one and free. Yuma. G’day. Happy Australia Day.
On this, our national day, we begin by honouring the traditional custodians on the land on which we are gathered here today - the Ngunnawal People - and those who have travelled here, met here, and felt at home and been welcomed on this country for thousands of years.
We recognise Indigenous peoples right across our land - from the Torres Strait Islander people in the north, to the Palawa in Tasmania, to the Whadjuk Noongar people across the Nullarbor in Perth, and the Larrakia people in the Top End.
Like the country itself, Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are diverse, they’re unique, and they connect us through time.
And here our, in our Capital, the home of the Ngunnawal People, the home of a free democratic people, the most successful multicultural and multi-faith nation on Earth.
We also honour the men and women past and present who secured and now protect our freedoms by serving in the Australian Defence Forces. And we acknowledge them, those who have pledged themselves to duty, service and sacrifice. And we say to them, thank you for your service.
And there are many others who are wearing uniforms, serving on the front lines of the pandemic - our health workers, those who are working in emergency services and manning COVID clinics, those indeed from the St John’s Ambulance and many other places - doing what they do every day. We celebrate them today and their great service, and we say to them, thank you for your service and your sacrifice.
And we are reminded that we could not be free and we could not be a democratic people without all of those who serve.
So I pay tribute to all those, also, who make this Australia Day event such a wonderful one for Australians:
Danielle Roach, the Chair of the National Australia Day Council, and all of your Board members. Thank you.
And especially our Australians of the Year, who are joined here.
Of course Dylan can’t be with us, but we congratulate him and we wish him all the best at the Australian Open as he competes in that final. And another message, go Ash!
To Aunty Val Dempsey, you’re an inspiration and it’s wonderful to see you here resplendent in your St John’s uniform here today, as you wear so proudly here in the ACT for 40 years.
To Daniel Nour, Dr Daniel Nour, great friend of our family, the Young Australian of the Year. Australia’s proud of you, and the Shire’s proud of you too, mate.
To Shanna Whan, the Local Hero of the Year. You are just a beautiful woman. You are just full of radiance and beauty, and you’re sharing that love with your people and you’re turning their lives around. Thank you for making such a huge difference to people’s lives.
Today there are thousands of gatherings across our country, each reflecting in a different way and celebrating our love of Australia.
And one of the great expressions of love for our country is to become a citizen.
Here and in over 400 places across Australia today, more than 16,000 people from over 150 nations will become an Australian, including right here, as women, men and children from nine nations come together today to become Australians.
Today, each of you will be endowed with the same rights, opportunities, privileges and responsibilities as every other Australian. No longer, no matter how long they’ve been here.
You will be given the inheritance of our history and the promise of our shared future.
But you don’t come to our national story empty handed, either.
As like so many before you, you add your threads to Australia’s rich tapestry. You now write your own chapters in Australia’s story.
In recent times, our national story has once again been one of terrible and great hardship. Times of loss, drought, floods, cyclones, plagues, fires, the global pandemic and the recession and hardship it has caused.
These have been some of the toughest years, if not the toughest we have known since the times of war and the Great Depression.
And at such times, such times we are sustained by many things - our family, our friends, our community, our faith. And we are thankful.
But today, I am just filled with thanks and gratitude for the nation we are blessed to live in as a people.
Despite all we have endured and the challenges that are still ahead, I am just thankful to be an Australian and to live in Australia with my family - this land we call home.
During the pandemic last year, a year 6 class in the Sutherland Shire was asked to read ‘A Sunburnt Country’ by Dorothea MacKellar and they were asked to pen their own poem to Australia.
I could not express my love for this country better than the young girl who wrote this piece, and I’d like to conclude by sharing her thoughts with you.
It’s called ‘My land Australia’.
Land of everything
Sapphire sea and
Dark sparkling nights
Everything in one
Everyone is sung
Can feel a million rejoices
Can hear a million voices
My land called Australia
My heart soiled in loving grace
My cherished home
Filled with love and ancient dreaming
The high mountain ranges
In between my gazes
With the outback on the horizon
We can see new beginnings
Flowers breezing on the lie in song
Whooshing with daintiness on
Waratahs and wattle
Try to escape the scary bluebottles
Waves can be crashing
With terror and throttles
Lightning is cracking
And as we watch cattle and rams go rotten
With drought and flood, we can always come
Together we have a bronzing bond
Through fire, famine, flood and pandemics
Its us going, going, going
We will never tire out
We will keep our flags up
And let it fly, fly, fly
Australia my land
My country of Hardship
My country of Grace
My country of Stars
Don’t care how much you try to persuade me
Give me books, money and lovely birch trees
Nothing can take my love from this land
Nothing can take the smile off my face
When we get a sunburn and lie for a bit
My friends my family can ride together
Down to the river, beach or bay
We can sit and reminisce about the time
When the sun spray ears
Yes of course you can do this anywhere
But can you see the drop bears there?
That daughter was written by my poem, that poem was written by my daughter, Lily Morrison.
It’s the same for all of us Lil, including those of us who have joined us here this day to become new Australians. Nothing can take away our love of Australia.
So with gratitude for what has come before, and optimism for what is ahead, Happy Australia Day.