Selected Speeches and Messages
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United Nations Day 75th Anniversary Commemorative Wreath Laying Ceremony
Friday, 23 October 2020
I also pay my respects to our traditional owners, Gadigal Elders, past, present and emerging. It is a great honour to join you, as Patron of the United Nations Association of Australia in NSW, as we celebrate the work of the...
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Official opening of The University of Wollongong’s Social Sciences and the Arts Building and Dedication to Chancellor Jillian Broadbent AC
Wednesday, 23 September 2020
Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Distinguished Guests, I pay my respects to the traditional owners of the lands on which we meet, and acknowledge their spiritual, social, cultural and economic connection to their lands and waters and the unique and lasting contribution they...
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Message to NSW Year 12 Students
Thursday, 3 September 2020
The Governor has sent the following letters to NSW Year 12 students through their school Principals. There are three formats of the letter: one for HSC students, one for RoSA students and a third for IB students. There is a...
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Battle for Australia Commemorative Address
Wednesday, 2 September 2020
I pay my respects to the traditional owners of the land on which we gather, the Gadigal people, and to all men and women who have served our nation. Today’s commemoration of the Battle for Australia is recent in our...
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The Queen’s Club Annual Country Week Welcome Dinner
Monday, 31 August 2020
I am delighted to join you here this evening, on Gadigal land, celebrating the commencement of The Queen’s Club’s annual ‘Country Week’. I pay respect to the Gadigal of the Eora Nation and their Elders past, present and emerging. Walter Bagehot’s...
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Polish State Awards Ceremony
Thursday, 27 August 2020
Dobry wieczor Good evening, Thank you, Your Excellency, and Consul General for this unique invitation where four Australians are to be honoured by the Government of Poland. I seek your indulgence for just a couple of minutes to talk about the long...
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Vietnam Veterans' Day Commemorative Address
Tuesday, 18 August 2020
I, too, pay my respects to the Gadigal of the Eora Nation and Elders and servicemen and women, past and present. The day chosen to commemorate Vietnam Veterans’ Day is the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, fought 54 years...
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75th Anniversary Victory in the Pacific Commemoration Service
Saturday, 15 August 2020
I, too, pay my respects to the Gadigal of the Eora Nation and Elders and servicemen and women, past and present. Two radio announcements made to the entire nation by the respective Prime Minister of the day could not have been...
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Commemoration Service for the 104th Anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles
Monday, 20 July 2020
When John Donne wrote ‘for whom this bell tolls’ in his Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII[1][#_ftn1]he did not have in contemplation the rawness of the first global conflict in history, World War One. Nor, I suspect, could Andrew Fisher –...
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NSW Humanitarian Awards
Saturday, 20 June 2020
A humane society not only looks after others, it acknowledges those who strive to make lives better. I welcome you to the 12th annual NSW Humanitarian Awards Ceremony. In Refugee Week, with this year’s theme ‘Year of Welcome’, it is poignant...