Reception for Stay Kind to launch Kind July, Admiralty House

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Cammeraygal People of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to their elders, past and present, emerging leaders and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders gathered here today.

In my swearing-in speech as Governor-General I said that Australia can be informed by many sources of the ills of our society but that it is important that we are reminded of its goodness.

Kind July is Australian society at its best.

Kind July’s tragic back story has created a resolve to keep our youth safe by making Australia kinder and has given added meaning to the lives of two young men who have left us prematurely.

You — the nation’s leaders in government, business, community, education and sport — have excelled in your chosen fields.

You also exert significant influence in how Australia develops in the short and long term.

Your attendance here tonight and your willingness to join me in Kind July will help to make Australia a kinder place.

There is no place for bullying, violence or hazing in our workplaces, schools, universities and communities.

As leaders, you have the ability to help drive important social change.

Kind July — the simple act of showing someone via whatever means you have that you care — is potentially transformative.

If every Australian did one act of kindness a day for the month of July, that would equate to 775 million acts of kindness in Kind July.

If that were to become the norm, it would add up to more than nine billion acts of kindness every year.

There is not a person among you who wouldn’t agree that — if it were to happen — Kind July would help reduce the number of societal ills I referred to earlier.

And, yet, it is such a simple thing to do.

Stay Kind is asking you to instigate a platform for kindness in your organisation.

Workplaces provide an ideal vehicle in which to affect change at a grass-roots level — through service delivery, culture, policy, internal messaging, online newsletters, social media posts, morning teas, guest speakers and so on.

Your commitment to acts of kindness will help improve the quality of life of many Australians, especially our youth.

It is well known that every time you do a simple act of kindness for someone, your own wellbeing and happiness increases.

So, I encourage you to be champions of Kind July and of kindness in your organisations.

As Patron of Kind July, I commend Stay Kind and this project to you.

[Ends]