Australia Day 2025 National Address
This address was broadcast on the ABC.
Hello everyone.
On Australia Day, I am joining you from Admiralty House in Sydney, on the lands of the Cammeraygal people.
I pay my respects to elders past and present.
Today, I am thinking about Australia’s people and places.
From the beauty of our landscapes to the vital hum of caring, connected and generous communities spread out across our big country.
Only a few weeks ago, early on Christmas morning, I was in Darwin commemorating the 50th anniversary of the devastation of Cyclone Tracy.
One of our nation’s worst natural disasters, our greatest peacetime evacuation, and extraordinary years of reconstruction that followed.
As the dawn rain fell, over a thousand people came together to find consolation in community, and to celebrate the acts of care from across the country that uplifted and supported them in 1974, and then in the years that followed, to recover and rebuild.
The very next day, on the 20th anniversary of the Boxing Day Tsunami, I laid some flowers at the memorial in Canberra to honour the many people who died or who were forever affected in that tragedy, and remember the many Australians involved in the dramatic response and recovery that followed.
Just as Australia cared deeply about the people of Darwin in 1974 …
… and reached out across the Indian Ocean and the region in 2004…
… we are at our best when we bring an unstinting, selfless focus on others with care, kindness and respect.
Australia has always faced testing times.
And we will continue to meet them.
Personal challenges and national tragedies.
A pandemic and natural disasters, social upheaval, economic challenges and rapid change.
But wherever I have visited, I have seen communities respond in ways that embody who we are as we shape and build the nation’s thriving future together.
Australia Day is a time to celebrate and reflect on our stories.
Stories of deep history and vibrant modernity, including,
… 65,000 years of continuous Indigenous culture
… our stable democracy underpinned by our enduring institutions …
… and our recent history of success, optimism, belonging and progress, made possible by over half a century of remarkable multiculturalism.
During their visit to Australia in October, King Charles and Queen Camilla encountered the layers of our history embodied in the modern, optimistic and multicultural nation we are today.
Witnessing the diversity of our communities, they celebrated our success and the care, kindness and compassion that is our strength and is epitomised in our national character.
In the six months since I was given the extraordinary privilege of serving as your Governor-General, I have visited each of Australia’s states and territories.
In our cities and towns, the bush and our regions ...
From witnessing our success in Paris, and welcoming home our Olympians and Paralympians, who showed us that all bodies, and all abilities, belong everywhere ...
... and meeting some of the 25,000 school children who bring their enthusiasm to Government House each year and show us the promise of the future ...
... Australians have shown me how they live out care and respect for each other, our continent and our institutions every day.
Led by the example of the Governors-General before me, I will always reflect back to Australians the light and shade of our national life.
As Australians, we are at our best when we are together – as we are today …
… respectful in the way we listen to one another and strive to resolve our differences peacefully …
… and united by the enduring bonds of care and love for each other and for our country which assures our progress.
On my first Australia Day as your Governor-General, I am proud to celebrate Australia and the people and communities at our heart.