Reception to honour Australian of the Year finalists and alumni

I acknowledge that tonight we gather on the lands of the traditional owners and custodians – the Ngunnawal people – and I recognise any other people or families with deep and lasting connections to the lands of the ACT and surrounding regions.

I pay my respects to their elders, past and present. 

And I extend that respect to all the many First Nations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are joining us from all over the country here on Ngunnawal country tonight. 

I want to let you know, in particular, that before Simeon and I moved into Government House and to Admiralty House in Sydney we worked with traditional owners to smoke and do the ceremonies to ensure that we were allowed to spend the next few years on this land. We were generously welcomed here by the Ngunnawal and Ngambri and we were welcomed by the Cammeraygal people in Sydney, It was important for us to not just assume we could move in without that respect being paid. They were very special moments for Simeon and me.

I would like to acknowledge a few people here tonight.

  • The Honourable Patrick Gorman MP who is the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister.

  • John Foreman AM Chair, National Australia Day Council and a great friend of Government House and these wonderful proceedings and celebrations

  • Mark Fraser AO CVO the Chief Executive Officer of the National Australia Day Council

  • The 2025 Australian of the Year Finalists and alumni from across the many, many decades of this wonderful celebration. You are the biggest crowd we’ve had strwtching over many decades and it is wonderful to see so many of the alumni here tonight. It is so special that you have been able to join us.

  • Members and supporters of the National Australia Day Council

  • And of course, everyone here is a distinguished guest.

It is such a great pleasure and privilege to welcome you to Government House, on this gorgeous evening.

This is a place of peace and belonging for all Australians (although I will be fighting with the cockatoos tonight who we get used to here at sunset). Everyone who comes here is welcome.

In that spirit, I want to acknowledge the unprecedented, and quite breathtaking, assembly of Australians of the Year. The alumni I’ve already mentioned, who tonight including, of course, Professor Georgina Long AO and Professor Richard Scolyer AO, our 2024 Australians of the Year; Yalmay Yunupingu, 2024 Senior Australian of the Year; and David Elliott OAM, 2024 Local Hero.

With Emma McKeon, the 2024 Young Australian of the Year, you have all made a powerful and unique contributions to the life of our nation over the past year. And I think we should acknowledge our 2024 Australians of the Year (applause).

Now before I go much further, I must acknowledge Neale Daniher – mainly because I’ve just had a lovely conversation with Neale and of course we talked all things footy. Neale asked me if I had a ripping speech – I’m not sure if it is ripping enough to meet Neale Daniher’s expectations but he’s going to give me a thumbs up or thumbs down by the end. 

So thank you Neale for making sure that I take this very seriously and I hope that the words that I’m going to share with you now do convey the extraordinary privilege that we are all experiencing being here together tonight.

The presence of all of you is a compelling gesture of support for the 2025 Australians of the Year. And in this year, the 65th anniversary of the Australian of the Year celebration s , the attendance of all of you is a tribute to the awards and celebrations themselves.

It says something quite profound and deeply moving about the importance of these awards and celebrations – what they represent about Australia and what they mean to us all.

Because, you are all so remarkable and because you’ve all contributes so much to our national story, I set myself a challenge today.

It was quite a big challenge. My colleagues here at Government House suggested that we might think about how we come up with a collective noun for Australians of the Year over the course of 65 years.

So we went to work, we thought about looking to the collective nouns for animals… Now I don’t know if you’ve heard about a murder of crows -that didn’t seem appropriate at all!

There are legions and legions of words that describe animals…

… a prickle of hedgehogs – well there is no one prickly here – you are all warm and friendly so that won’t do …

… a skulk of foxes – well there’s no skulking when it comes to the Australians of the Year …

… a crown of kingfishers – we’ll leave that to King Charles …

… a circus of puffins – I think you’re better than a circus, you’re probably just as fun but I think we can do better …

… there’s always a company of actors, but that doesn’t seem strong enough …

… a squabble of parliamentarians – Minister … and given that we’re here in the nation’s capital I know you don’t squabble much but I think Australians of the Year are above squabbling and teach us how to do things well and with respect …

… then there was a pride of lions. Now we’re all so proud of you, but I know having met most of you and having read all of your stories, and knowing about Australians of the Year over the last 65 years, that you don’t talk about pride and you don’t do this to be celebrated because you are the most humble of Australians – so a pride won’t work…

… we debated the merits of a constellation, an eminence, or a bouquet …

… and then late this afternoon in a flash of absolute clarity it came to all of us. 

The collective noun for all of you is very simple.

You are a gift.

You are a gift of Australians of the year.

Because individually and collectively Australians of the Year across time are a precious gift to our nation. Every one of you.

Finding meaning and purpose through an unstinting focus on care, kindness and respect.

You give the gift of yourselves to your communities and our country.

Our lives are better for you, and we are better for knowing you.

And we are so delighted to spend this moment celebrating all of you.

So I will put the challenge out – maybe anyone else can work out a more fitting tribute in a collective noun…

But I want to describe you all as a gift of Australians of the Year.

To the 2025 nominees, the ones who are probably most nervous tonight, I like to think that your first meeting together here in Canberra yesterday and in the couple of days ahead has been a moment of significant recognition that you’ve enjoyed.

I hope you saw, mirrored in each other, the deep commitment that gives meaning to your lives and the contribution you make to the lives of all Australians around this big, big country. 

I know what you saw when you met each other because, in the six months since I was given the enormous and extraordinary privilege of serving as your Governor-General, I have seen it, too, in all the Australians I’ve met across the country.

Most recently, early on Christmas morning, I was in Darwin commemorating the 50th anniversary of the devastation of Cyclone Tracy. 

It was quite a moment, 1200 people, survivors of Cyclone Tracy, many who hadn’t been back to Darwin in 50 years but solid in their desire to support one another 50 years later.

Because in 1974, acts of care from Australians everywhere uplifted the people of Darwin, and supported them throughout the years of recovery to their brilliance today.

And, on Christmas Day, in the soft rain that fell as we were commemorating that moment, they found the same consolation in an outpouring of generosity and love from each other and their fellow Australians.

In Darwin, and in every state and territory, Australians have shown me how they live out care, kindness and respect for each other, and how they care about our continent and our institutions every day. 

Led by the example of the Governors-General before me, I will always have the honour of reflecting back to Australians the light and shade of our national life. It is one of the great privileges of this role.

And when I think about that, it starts with the interwoven layers of our history. Our deep history and vibrant modernity, including, 

… 65,000 years of continuous Indigenous culture always shared with the rest of us so generously and kindly

… our democracy and stable institutions of government that came after that first contact … 

… and our recent history of success, optimism, belonging and progress, made only possible by over half a century of remarkable multiculturalism. 

And, tonight, you – our latest Australians of the Year, our 2025 cohort – you have come here to add your chapter to that story. Your unique stories.

From big cities and tiny towns; from the tropics, the mountains, the beaches, the bush.

From hospitals and stadiums; farms and pharmacies; universities and remote communities. 

Some of you work in and around nature and wildlife, unlocking its secrets and restoring its balance across our land.

Some of you are social entrepreneurs, trailblazers of inclusive and expansive new ways of working and sharing ideas.

All of you are doing patient, diligent, daily work, contributing to the collective wellbeing with big breakthroughs, with lifetimes of learning or with the simple and profound gifts of food, shelter, safety, and belonging.

All of you, in different ways, are generously offering care.

And always with humility and, I know, with absolutely no expectation of public recognition.

Whatever the outcomes tomorrow, it is tonight that we recognise every one of you and celebrate your extraordinary care for our country.

Since 1960, these Awards have recorded the heart and history and soul of what it means to be Australian.

Our national and local heroes. Our ideals of achievement, invention and imagination. Of care and courage. Of selflessness and extraordinary generosity.

Where age, ability, heritage, origin, background or status is no barrier.

On your way here this afternoon, you saw your personal flags unfurled outside Old Parliament House, I hope that was quite a moment to see your beaming faces flying above the nation’s capital. 

You have become part of the capital’s vivid canvas of emblems, icons and institutions – some of which you will continue to visit this weekend.

You are now woven firmly into that gorgeous tapestry of Australian stories and life.

Of course, this visit to Canberra is also about the people who care for you: your families, friends, your supporters, those who have travelled with you, not just on this journey to Canberra, but on so many others, and over many years. 

In celebrating all of you, we also acknowledge and thank them for the roles they play and always have played in making your achievements and contributions possible.

As you all know, the beloved anthem I Am Australian was sung so often, and so beautifully, by the Seekers, who were the recipients of the 1967 Australians of the Year award. 

And I am deeply moved to welcome back to Canberra Keith Potger AO and Athol Guy AO, members of the Seekers – a group from that time to now revered for its contribution to our musical and cultural and national heritage.

Sometimes anthems and capturing a mood really matters.

This evening, I have one stanza from I Am Australian echoing in my mind. I cannot sing, so I won’t sing – I’ll say it but these words have carried on from the moment they were written and first performed by the Seekers and they have been played over and over in so many parts of our lives. 

They matter more than ever right now in the world we live in and we take advantage of the mighty nature of Australia and what makes us great. 

And the stanza is very simple:

… ‘We are one, but we are many

And from all the lands on earth we come.

We share a dream and sing with one voice.

I am, you are, we are ..

Australian.

Gathered with you here tonight, I see that dream amplified by the 2025 Australians of the year.

Supported by the generations of Australians of the Year who are gathered to support you tonight.

What a gift we were given by that song but what a gift as a nation we were given to be able to celebrate you all here and look back through the decades at how fortunate we are as a nation to have peace and care, compassion and generosity at our core.

Through words and acts of care, kindness and respect, these awards and all of you embody what lies at the very heart of our nation, the essence that does unite and define us.

As Australians, we are at our very best when we are together 

… when we are respectfully listening to one another and we strive to resolve our differences peacefully …  

… where we go back to an old day when we argued well – when we could disagree with one another but respect one another in the process …

… and united by the enduring bonds of care and love for each other and our country. 

So tonight, Simeon and I and the team here at Government House couldn’t be happier in congratulating all of our 2025 state and territory Australians of the Year.

A big round of applause for them to start …  

And to celebrate all the generous carers, creators, leaders, and entrepreneurs of our modern, multicultural nation – Australians of the Year, past and present – whose stories resonate and inspire across the country.

May it long endure. 

Thank you very much.