Speech delivered on 11 November 2025 at the Museum of Australian Democracy in Canberra.

Good morning, everyone.

Thank you, Paul [Girrawah House] for the beautiful Welcome to Country, which you always give so generously and graciously. We have known each other for a very long time, since school days.

I acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people as traditional owners of the land we meet on, and recognise any other people or families with connection to the lands of Canberra and the region.

I pay my respects to elders, past and present. 

Acknowledgements 

• Thank you, Barrie [Cassidy], for welcoming me here this morning, and for your lifetime contribution to Australia’s political and civic life, including as Chair of the Board of Old Parliament House.
• Ms Stephanie Bull, Director, MOAD at Old Parliament House – I am delighted that we could arrange to loan the desk that Sir John sat at to formalise the document of dismissal for your wonderfully informative exhibition in the King’s Hall about the events leading up to and after 11 November 1975.  
• Mr Kim Williams AM, Chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation – of course, you have a unique connection to the events of this anniversary.
• Former members of parliament – looking at the list of names I’m struck not only by the insights you bring to this anniversary but the mighty contributions you have made to public policy and the life of our nation
  • Professor the Honourable Gareth Evans AC KC
  • Former speaker Harry Jenkins AO  
  • The Hon Margaret Reid AO
  • The Hon Philip Ruddock AO
• Distinguished guests - There are so many people worthy of acknowledgement today. I often look for a collective noun for groups of important people. Perhaps, today, I might describe you all as a ‘Parliament of wise elders’, representing the first to the fourth estate.

It is a special pleasure to be here this morning – not least because, as many of you know, it is a long-standing convention that the Governor-General does not enter the House of Representatives.

At Australia’s new Parliament House in July, I was bound by that convention, so I delivered the Opening of the 48th Parliament speech from the Senate Chamber. The same chamber where the Chief Justice of the High Court swore me into office on 1 July 2024. 

Here, at Old Parliament House, those rules do not apply.

So, I am delighted to stand with you in this chamber, where the echoes of the fierce debates of November 1975 continue to reverberate. 

I am very conscious that today, 11 November, is also profoundly important for Australians as a day of sombre commemoration.

Today is Remembrance Day.

As your Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief; as Patron of many organisations doing exceptional work across the country to support and celebrate Australia’s service women and men, veterans and their families; and as the daughter of an army veteran, it will be my privilege and honour this morning to attend and lay a wreat at the Australian War Memorial’s Remembrance Day ceremony.

I acknowledge all those who have served our nation, honour those no longer with us and give thanks for the service of generations of Australian Defence Force personnel, and their families, in preserving the rule of law, peace and our way of life.

And I know that you also will pause for a moment of silence at the 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th month. 

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The anniversary of the political events of this day has long been a landmark in Australia’s constitutional history, and in my memory.

I am the first Governor-General to be born in Canberra, and we were living not far from here in Curtin in 1975.

As a 10-year-old, having broken my ankle playing elastics in the backyard the day before, I watched the events of the Dismissal unfold on TV screens on screen at Woden Valley Hospital, now Canberra Hospital, while waiting for my ankle to be plastered.

Of course, it was the behaviour and reaction of the adults around me – pausing in stunned silence to watch the events unfold – that had a significant impact on me.

And it piqued my curiosity early.

At 10, I could not properly comprehend the events being broadcast, but it was clear that it was a dramatic moment in the life of our nation. It certainly occupied my parents that evening.

And it may be the case that those events ultimately led me to study Law at the Australian National University in the 1980’s.

Now, as we mark 50 years since that day, I hope that young Australians across the country feel that same sense of curiosity about our system, the functions of responsible and representative government, and about who we are as a country.

I hold that hope though against a tide of mounting evidence that tells us that 50 years on from those events, Australians’ general interest in, and understanding of our democratic institutions is much weaker than we need it to be. That we need to pay attention to the potential fragility of our system.

The findings this week of the inaugural McKinnon Index must give us pause for thought, revealing that Australia’s trust in democracy is waning, with people in regional and remote areas and young people having the lowest confidence in democratic institutions.

The Scanlon Foundation’s 2024 Mapping Social Cohesion Report found that 53 per cent of Australians trust the Federal Government only some of the time.  

These findings need to be read alongside the recent Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority’s report. It confirms that only 28 per cent of Australian Year 10 students are proficient in civics, a substantial decrease on their proficiency as Year 6 students, at 43 per cent.

This is the phenomenon I have often seen up close since taking office, and it will need an energetic, collaborative effort – with insight, imagination and innovation to reverse.

When I was sworn in as your Governor-General, I promised to put care, kindness and respect at the core of everything I do.    

Care for each other, care for those who care for others, care for our continent and its environmental riches, care for civics and institutions, and care for the way we discuss the issues of our time, without rancour, anger or judgement.      

And it is care for our civics and the institutions of our great democracy that shapes so much of my work as Governor-General, and is why I was happy to join you this morning.

My decision to elevate education and transparency of all that I do is, in part, a response to the contemporary poor understanding of our civics and constitutional arrangements.

In speeches, videos, and on social media, I am working hard to tell that story in a modern and accurate way and sharing the aspects of my role that have not traditionally been seen by the public. Some might say, activities that seem mired in secrecy.

I hope you have seen my most recent social media post of last night, which I recorded with Constitutional scholar and celebrated Australian, Professor Emerita Anne Twomey AO. We held our conversation in the room where it happened – the Official Study at Government House in Yarralumla.

In our discussion, Anne explained the role of the Governor-General in relation to the Constitution, and unpacked both the context and constitutional conventions at play in the Dismissal.

And today and over the past week or we have had a significant backdrop of media commentary on those events.

I was particularly interested in Paul Kelly’s firsthand account in the Weekend Australian. He described Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and Opposition Leader Malcolm Fraser as ‘political giants from another age, ready to smash conventions in their quest for power and principle’.

As a close witness to those events, he certainly brought the drama of the time to life.

In my conversation with Professor Twomey, I was keen to bring the same sense of history to our reflections on the extraordinary events that unfolded at Government House – of course history was all around us – including the chair Sir John Kerr sat in as he dismissed Prime Minister Whitlam, and a room nearby where Malcolm Fraser was sitting.

For that reason in recent weeks, I was also pleased to invite to Government House and the Study a number of journalists who have written and recorded accounts in anticipation of this anniversary, including Troy Bramston, Greg Jennett and Chris Uhlmann.

There has been some recent commentary on remarks I made in some of those interviews. While I very much welcome the discussion and careful consideration many have given, I fear some of the headlines draw a longbow

When asked about 1975 and Sir John Kerr, I prefaced carefully that I was not judging my predecessor, rather considering how I, or any modern Governor-General, would approach the role – particularly considering all we have learnt since.

It is true that I could not imagine a situation in modern Australia where a Prime Minister would be surprised or blindsided by the Governor-General in the same circumstances that occurred in 1975.

Importantly, nor am I taking a more expansive approach to my role or redefining the core principles of responsible and representative government.  

These are incontrovertible principles, and sit at the core of our democracy.

Former Governors-General have understood this, and I learned that from all the living former Governors-General – who I consulted in the months before taking office.  

Those principles are part of the strong mosaic of checks and balances that makes our system so respected around the world.  

The role of Governors-General has always been understood to include Bagehot’s fundamental rights – the right to be consulted, the right to encourage and the right to warn – these relate to the proper functioning of governments rather than a subjective judgement on a government’s policies or performance.  

Governors-General have used these powers as part of ongoing, respectful and appropriate communication with the government of the day. This requires a fine antenna for threats to our system of government and parliament.

What I do aim to do however, as a modern, visible and optimistic Governor-General for all Australians, is to bring transparency to what has traditionally occurred behind closed doors, and often been seen as secret.

I want to welcome respectful discussion and debate of the role of the Governor-General within the Constitution and functions of our great democracy.  

I use the tools at my disposal in this modern era to communicate with Australians and invite them into the room with me as often as possible.

As trust in institutions has declined and misinformation is ever present, and the potential to destabilise and actively undermine our democracy increases every day, our responsibility to modern Australia, and its future, is to invest in a thriving and strong democracy. To never allow a collision of apathy and disinformation to undermine our great strengths.

A week ago, on 1 November, 3,000 people came through the gates of Government House for Open Day.  

In spring sunshine, families, friends and community groups toured the house and grounds, met me and members of the Government House team, engaged with some of the organisations I work with as Patron … and hundreds of them took home a signed copy of the pocket Australian Constitution.

Their enthusiasm, and that of so many of those who visit Government House, to own a copy of our nation’s founding document tells me that most Australians who want to know the story of Australia’s constitution, our democracy, and the structures of government that underpin our modern success.

As Gough Whitlam prophesised at the time, the events of 11 November will ‘continue to be the subject of great juridical and academic argument’.

As Paul [Kelly[] finishes his article, giving a definitive ‘no’ to whether the crisis could happen again. Discussing it as a unique historical moment, he concludes: 

‘Australia recovered from the 1975 crisis and absorbed a profound message – that in a democratic polity, institutions and powers must not be pushed to breaking point’. 

And, as Professor Twomey says, the key lesson from that day is not to forget because, as we all know, and as you will discuss in today’s sessions, history is the greatest of teachers.

We live in the same strong and stable democracy that responded so efficiently – through a federal election – to a time of grave challenge in 1975.

My interest in this anniversary lies in learning from those dramatic moments, and then what came after – when the mosaic of checks and balances of responsible and representative government prevailed. As it has ever since.

Calm was restored, and a crisis in the moment became an opportunity – to understand the foundations on which our democracy is built, reflect on what has gone before, and use it to frame our vision of the future.

In the words of Professor Justin Wolfers from the 2025 Boyer Lecture ‘… we’re not just world class, we’re the world’s best’.

As he says, ‘Australia’s institutions are rare, valuable, and worth defending’.

Through today’s remembrance, reflection, discussion, and debate, you are celebrating all that is rare and valuable about our democracy – which was thrown into such stark relief by the tremors felt on 11 November 1975.

As your current serving Governor-General, I can assure all Australians that I will continue to play my part in our remarkable stable and reliable system of democracy, consistent with the conventions of this office, and in the same way as my predecessors.  

Respectful and understanding of the core principles of responsible and representative government and a reliable part of the strong mosaic of checks and balances that provide stability and underpin our success.

We all have a role to play and it is a responsibility we all share.

If there is something new in the way I perform my role, it is not in the exercise of the powers but rather in the invitation to all Australians to see those elements – so that any fragility caused by misinformation is countered by transparency, education, care, and accountability.

As I cross the lake to the Australian War Memorial to join the commemoration of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defending our democracy, I hope your continuing interest in and examination of events will make an enduring contribution to the strength, stability and security of our modern successful Australia.  

All Australians must be part of this vital project.  

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