Broadcast 26 January 2026, 11:18 am – 11:37 am 

Transcription  

MARK LEVY, HOST: We are celebrating today and of course with this special day comes the Australia Day Honours. They’re announced by the Governor-General with the record 949 people recognised for the work they’ve done for this nation. I spoke to one recipient Dr Michael Carr-Greg earlier on the program – a wonderful man – but Australians they can be recognised for a number of reasons, no matter how big or small. And last year was one of the biggest for the honours system, which marked its 50th year of operation. Today's also a day we bring more people into the fold with citizenship ceremonies across the country. Her Excellency, the Governor-General, Sam Mostyn, has attended the National Citizenship ceremony in Canberra. I think she's on a plane right now. She's on the line with me now. Your Excellency, good morning and happy Australia Day to you.

GOVERNOR-GENERAL: Well, happy Australia Day, Mark, and happy New Year as well. It's wonderful to be joining you on this very special day.

HOST: It's a wonderful day to catch up, as always, and I thank you again for joining us in the studio late last year. I wanted to start, Governor-General, by asking you, as our Head of State, what makes you proud to be Australian?

GOVERNOR-GENERAL: Oh, goodness. There are so many. So, many things I could talk about, about being a proud Australian today. I think it's all about our people and our values, our democracy, how we deal with the toughest of times and come through, but also in good times, how we, I think we come together. This morning's citizenship ceremony, we heard about the fact we are always helping one another, looking out for one another, and then the Australians of the year last night, our new citizens today.  

Everywhere you look, I think if you choose to find the good stories, we see stories of the most extraordinary characters and values that are embodied by the Australian people. And I get to spend a lot of time in communities seeing the very best of this country.

HOST: There's no doubt we have a complex history, but I'm really encouraged by recent polling which indicates the vast majority of Australians want to come together and to recognise Australia Day on January 26. I said earlier, Your Excellency, that we are the envy of the world and we're lucky to live in this country. Do you agree?

GOVERNOR-GENERAL: I couldn't agree more, Mark. Today I'm wearing a very beautiful brooch, which was given to me by the President of Mongolia when we visited last year. And it's of the wattle. It's in jade and pearls and gold, and I wear it as often as I can because the President of Mongolia, like every head of state around the world that I have the privilege to meet as Australia's Governor-General, the first thing they say is, your democracy, your culture, your values are what is the world standard now. And there's not a lot of that kind of democracy around the world. And they talk about us with the greatest of respect.  

And that's what the new citizens also tell us. The reason they come is to commit to unity with our Australian values. And I think they're getting stronger. 

I know our unity and our social cohesion has been tested in a number of ways lately, particularly after Bondi and at Bondi. But I think the resolution that we're seeing from so many people across the country to reinvigorate what it means to be Australian and standing together, I think we'll see - I'm hoping (and I get to see quite a lot of it) - that Australians will get prouder of our democracy, our stability, how we do help each other - that we are kind and generous and compassionate - and that we're all involved in this big national project that sometimes will have its challenges. 

And I've got to say, even though we're celebrating today, Mark, there are still communities around this country who are facing into floods, fires, heat, have lost everything. And we saw in all of those disasters, again, that spirit of just jumping and helping in a selfless way. That is a great Australian community spirit.

HOST: Well, I want to acknowledge, your excellency, your support for the Jewish community in the wake of the terror attack at Bondi. And I saw you a number of times down at Bondi laying flowers and embracing the Jewish community. And we're thinking of those innocent victims who were murdered. We've stood together in the wake of the massacre. And I'm sure you agree with the Jewish leaders who have expressed a really remarkable phrase, and that is that ‘light will win’. And I think that's something we all should remember, that in darkness there is a light, and we need to focus on that light.

GOVERNOR-GENERAL: Absolutely. In fact, one of my predecessors, a Jewish Governor-General – a Governor-General who is Jewish Australian – Sir Zelman Cowen, described the role of the Governor-General as reflecting the light and shade back to the country, and that when we're in moments of shade, part of the job of the Governor-General, I think, is to stand alongside those with humility and those in grief and provide comfort. And then the unity that this office is to provide is through the light. And the light that we have seen across this country from so many, but particularly the statements of forgiveness, the engagement of the Jewish community who lost so much in Bondi, engaging with everyone who's coming forward with the Mitzvah project, which is small acts of kindness in all of our communities. That light, I think, is getting stronger, and I hope it teaches us all around the country that we can all be part of lifting and be part of light. I do see that as a national characteristic about bringing light forth and pushing back against all forms of darkness.

HOST: I'd love to know, Your Excellency, what some of the new Australian citizens said to you this morning because I spoke earlier about my late father coming to Australia from Scotland. My mother's family emigrated here from Malta and they came to Australia for a better life. And today must be one of the proudest days of new Australians lives because they can now declare proudly that they are Australian. What did they say to you this morning?

GOVERNOR-GENERAL: There's tears of joy, there's tears of just happiness and you see it particularly in the family groupings who've got children with them. They are grateful that we have offered citizenship. They speak immediately about Australian values being the things that they believe in. I had a multi faith leaders gathering to break bread a week ago at Admiralty House to try to bring community to the post Bondi world. And so many faith leaders said that every faith and every community that comes from somewhere else in the world bringing their faith or their culture into the Australian values ascribes to Australian values. And they're all about compassion and care and the rule of law. A democracy where all are equal. I hear that over and over and I’ve done it today; the joy in the voices of those saying thank you for welcoming us, they want to contribute. 

All the new citizens talk about contributing to the success of our future, part of this big national project. There's no sense of it's been easy to become a citizen. They certainly know our values and our democracy and the rules of our government better than people born here who haven't done the citizenship test. 

So, on days like today I suggest that those born here try to to do the citizenship test because I'm really big on celebrating our great, the great mighty democracy we have and what makes us strong. I play a part of that stabilising role of our democracy but we are the envy of the world. 

But many citizens don't understand our democracy or how the system works and apathy and disinformation around that would be something that could take us in a direction where I think we would lose something about celebrating one of the great buttressing strengths of this nation which is our proud democracy and 125 years since federation this year.

HOST: Yeah, well you'll be pleased to know you signed a copy of the constitution for me, and it's still proudly sitting on my desk here at 2GB.

GOVERNOR-GENERAL: Oh, I’m pleased.

HOST: We talk about extraordinary Australians and we have a look at the honours list I mentioned Dr. Michael Carr-Gregg, Cathy Freeman who carried the weight of a nation at the Sydney Olympics, but also our Australians of the Year, Astronaut Katherine Benell-Pegg, Ned Brockman, Young Australian of the Year, Professor Henry Brodaty, Senior Australian of the Year. What a great group of Australians who have contributed to this wonderful country. Congratulations to them all.

GOVERNOR-GENERAL: No, well, I think I said this to the council who have to make these choices. The finalists are the product of people nominating from around their states and territories. And so, when you see the finalists, I don't know really how the council makes the final decisions, but once again we have four winners. Katherine Bennell-Peg, the only Australian to have trained under the Australian flag as an astronaut. Henry Brodaty, who has spent his lifetime working on dealing with dementia and who came to Australia as a little boy with his immigrant Jewish family - his parents - who he talked about that last night. Ned Brockman, who went all over the country raising money for homelessness, and Frank Mitchell, the local hero, helping to get more indigenous people into the construction sector.  

Look, as a group, they're extraordinary and I get to spend some time with them today. Katherine's speech last night, I hope, if people haven't heard, have a chance to hear it. Katherine just did things that were uniting us as a nation - as we look to space and as space looks back at Australia. The advantages we have and how we can be unified and grow industries and sectors and do that as one and be part of the great developments of the future. It was really very special.  

But these are great Australians, as are everyone on the Australian Honours Day list. And I look at the Companions of the Order of Australia - the big ones are wonderful - and I also go looking into the Order of Australia Medals and the AMs and where community people are nominated. And if there's one thing I can encourage all your listeners to do, Mark, is nominate people. There isn't a council sitting there determining who should be winning getting honours - they do determine who are the Australians of the Year - but the honours list is a product of all nominations from the community, and I don't see enough of that coming from lots of communities. This year's New Year's resolution for some might be nominate someone who is humble, who does amazing things, who should be wearing the pin of the Australian honours service.

HOST: Absolutely, we'll consider doing that for sure. Before you go, your Excellency, what's planned for the rest of Australia Day for you?

GOVERNOR-GENERAL: So, I'm heading back to Sydney in a moment when we finish up, and I'm travelling with the Australians of the Year and their families to make sure they get safely to Sydney where they'll start all of their commitments. And then after a quick turnaround, I'm going to Bankstown to the Bryan Brown Theatre in Bankstown to do a citizenship ceremony in Bankstown. And then I have a bit of a rest after that.  

This evening before tomorrow night, I'm going to the commemoration of the end of the Holocaust period at a beautiful ceremony to mark the 81st year since the end of the Holocaust. So, the week will then take off into many other things that I'll do. But always thinking about just how fortunate I am to be in this job and what a wonderful, incredible country we live in. How great Australians are and want to reaffirm – Mark – my promise that I would love to come on, come back to the studio, do some talk-back and hear how people are feeling generally as we come out of a very challenging start to the year, into the light. And what does that light mean for your listeners?

HOST: Yeah, I would love to have you back in the studio, Your Excellency, and I'm sure our listeners would love the opportunity to have a chat to you on the open line as well. Happy Australia Day. I know it's a busy one and I really appreciate you sparing us a couple of minutes to have a chat here on the morning show and enjoy what's left of this really special day.

GOVERNOR-GENERAL: Absolute pleasure. Happy Australia Day to you and to you and all of your listeners. I hope people are having a wonderful day, but I hope everyone's staying cool. Put a hat on, don't get burnt, be with your family and friends, have a wonderful day and just, I guess, reflect on the fact that we live in - that we are the luckiest people living in one of the mightiest of countries in the world, and we should feel really proud and feel there's a lot to celebrate about Australia.

HOST: Hear, hear. Thank you, Sam Mostyn. That's Sam Mostyn, our Governor-General. A remarkable woman and, well, you got a chance to get to know her a little better when she was here in the studio with us, Her Excellency. And I'm sure you'll love the opportunity to have a chat to her on the open line the next time we chat - potentially here in the studio as well.  

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