I want to thank the President, now that you’ve been re-elected, for welcoming me today, and to congratulate you on this wonderful reappointment as President of the Senate.

I’m honoured to be presiding over today’s important Opening of the Parliament for the first time as your Governor-General. I was here of course, just over a year ago, to be sworn in as your Governor-General in the Senate Chamber.

I want to thank Cheyne Halloran for providing the Welcome to Country, and also Aunty Violet Sheridan for her Welcome to Country earlier today in the Great Hall. I also want to thank the Hon Stephen Gageler, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, for acting as my deputy this morning to declare open the 48th Parliament and to administer the oath or affirmation of allegiance to senators.

Just a few weeks ago, I was delighted to welcome the newest senators among you to Government House as part of your induction program, and I welcomed many of you back on Sunday for a ‘democracy sausage,’ which I’m so glad so many of you were able to do, but particularly with your families. It was a preview to the formality of today, and an opportunity to acknowledge and thank your families, your partners, everyone in your world who takes care of you and supports you.

You’ve heard me speak often of care, kindness and respect, as holding a central place in Australian life, as I see whenever I travel to all the places that you represent; I see it in the people you represent. And just over a year ago, when I took office, I suggested that care could take many forms.

Care for each other, care for those that do the caring for others, care for our continent and our extraordinary environment, care for civics and institutions, and care for the way we speak to each other and debate the tough issues of our time without anger or judgment or hate, but always with respect. In short, being able to argue well.

I’ve been receiving messages from people all over the country who want to reflect back to me how they feel about the notion of care. I was recently made the Patron of Carers Australia and I received this note just a few days ago:

Carers know in our bones that care is not a private burden but a public good. It is part of our national story.

I know that you’ll be working with integrity and optimism in your roles as senators. I know you’ll bring care, kindness and respect to the work that you do, as representatives of your states and the important work of your vital committees. As stewards of our democracy, you will contribute so profoundly to Australia’s progress as a modern, welcoming and successful nation, where I think people know they truly do belong.

Your election by the people of Australia, and your welcome into this place, reminds us of the remarkable strength of our democracy, and the important institutions of government, where you all play such vital roles.

I want to offer my congratulations to all of you on returning to the senate, and I want to add one more element of care: please take good care of yourselves, and of each other.

I take care of myself by travelling with things that give me great hope. Today I brought with me my small copy of the Constitution. I always have one with me – and I have one signed by Sir William Deane. He signed that for me just before I was sworn in as your 28th Governor-General. He told me to take good care of myself and show compassion in everything I do. And he presided over this very event in 1996 when that parliament opened.

So, as you begin your work in this 48th Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, I want to wish you personally all the very best for the years ahead, and I look forward to seeing you on many, many more occasions. 

Congratulations to you all.