Speech delivered on 6 November 2025 at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

Good evening, everybody. It's a great honor to be here as your 28th Governor-General. It's especially fitting that I’m able to present an award that speaks to one of my predecessors.

I want to start by acknowledging Mary Atkinson – thank you for your very warm welcome.  

I also acknowledge the Ngunnawal people as the traditional owners of the land we gather on tonight. I recognise those with connections to the lands of Canberra and the ACT.  

As you know, the Ngunnawal and other First Nations peoples were the first architects, engineers, designers, scientists, and creatives. We see that so splendidly across the landscape of Canberra and across the country.  

I pay my respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people joining us tonight.

At Government House, and Admiralty House in Sydney, my husband Simeon and I are using art, artifacts, and storytelling to reflect the story of modern Australia.  

It’s a braided story – three strands we should celebrate: 65,000 years of First Nations history, generously shared; the British period that brought us the institutions we still have; and the last 50–60 years of migration and refugee stories.  

In about a month, we’ll welcome the millionth refugee to settle in Australia and likely become a citizen.  

We tell this story through the arts, borrowing works from the National Gallery to display in our Official Residences.  

I hope you will visit and see how we’re elevating this story for all Australians.

Elizabeth Watson Brown MP, Federal Member for Ryan  

Adam Haddow, National President of the Australian Institute of Architects, thank you for your warm welcome

Cameron Bruhn, CEO of the Institute, thank you for being our MC tonight

And to all members of the Institute, nominees, supporters, and distinguished guests—welcome.

In addition to being your 28th Governor-General, I’m the second woman to hold this office.  

You’ll hear shortly about the connection between Quentin Bryce and Michael Bryce, a well-known architect.  

I also have the distinction of being the first Governor-General born in Canberra – at the old Royal Canberra Hospital, now the site of the National Museum.  

The architecture there is quite different from the place I was born, but it’s an honor to join you here in our magnificent National Gallery to celebrate the best of modern Australian architecture.

When the Prime Minister asked me to serve as Governor-General, he asked me to be modern, visible, and optimistic – three wonderful words.  

When I was sworn in by the Chief Justice of the High Court, I promised to put care, kindness, and respect at the centre of my work: care for each other, for carers, for our continent and its environment – care for Country. Care for our civic institutions, like yours, and for how we discuss the complex issues of our time – without rancour, anger, judgment, or violence.

I hope we can do this with ‘yindyamarra’, a Wiradjuri concept of respect and gentleness, which we can learn from your father, Mary. It’s a way to argue well—with respect.

In planning my program as Governor-General, I look for places and projects where care, kindness, and respect intersect with visibility, modernity, and optimism. I see that here tonight in abundance.

Jane Cassidy, Jury Chair, described it beautifully – place, people, and planet; stewardship over spectacle; equity and inclusion; dignity, regeneration, relationships, and our future.  

I especially loved your phrase: ‘Country as collaborator and protagonist.’  

Architects know how to bring us close to what really matters.

You care for place and people, for community, locality, amenity, and sustainability. You care for beauty and livability, for the contemporary and for future generations. You also look back. These are the elements of great architecture, and we’re here to celebrate them.

Just a few weeks ago, I saw many of tonight’s finalists also recognised at the Good Design Awards.

I’m patron of Good Design Australia, and it was wonderful to see architectural works celebrated there.  

That night, I presented an award in the name of the late Michael Bryce – one of Australia’s most prolific architects and designers, and husband of the first woman Governor-General, Dame Quentin Bryce.  

Michael gave up his practice to support Dame Quentin, but he remained deeply engaged with architecture and design. He passed away a few years ago and is still cherished by the architectural community.

That night, we reflected on empathy in design—imagining how a space will be lived in is an act of empathy and care.

So tonight, I have the great privilege of presenting the Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture. Sir Zelman was a champion of the arts and architecture and used the office of Governor-General to bring Australians together.  

He said the role of the Governor-General is ‘to interpret the nation to itself’, to reflect its light and shade back to the country.  

That’s what I strive to do – and it’s what the best architecture does: buildings, places, and spaces that reflect who we are, what we value, how we live, and where we’re going.

Thank you for the care you take with place and material, with light and shade, with life and living. Thank you for interpreting the story of modern Australia through architecture.

And now, I am delighted to announce that the 2025 Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture is awarded to Yarrila Place by BVN.