It is a great pleasure to welcome you to Government House. 

And I am delighted to be able to congratulate you in person, John, on your appointment as Convenor for the University Chancellors Council. 

As Convenor, you bring with you the decades of insights accumulated in your distinguished career as chief executive and director of major companies and as chairman of significant industry and government bodies, and of course your five years of experience as Chancellor of Swinburne University of Technology. 

I hope you approve, John, but I would like to quote from the wonderful speech you gave during the ceremony to install you as Chancellor of Swinburne. 

Describing the social, economic and geo-political unrest of recent years, you asked, 

‘In the midst of all this uncertainty, where do you turn for reliability? Where do you turn for truth, authenticity and substance? Where do you turn for hope and a way forward?’ 

The answer you gave encapsulates the particular strength of the institutions represented by you all: 

‘I strongly believe this is where we, as a university, can step into the light and be a place that our communities can turn to and can trust.’

Measures like the Edelman Trust Barometer reveal the erosion of trust in institutions of every kind – government, business and universities among them – as an objective fact. 

And our personal and various interactions – with our families, friends and communities, in the places where we work or study – often align with those findings. 

Within that paradigm, universities are uniquely placed to restore the trust that our society so critically needs. 

Almost a year ago I committed to put care, kindness and respect at the centre of my work. 

One of my strong focus areas has been care for institutions and civics. And universities play a vital role here. 

As Governor-General I have had the privilege of visiting universities across the country, speaking with lecturers and researchers on campus and in the field, and engaging with academics on a wide range of issues. 

And I regularly hear directly from your students, and young people who articulate clearly their expectations. 

Last week, in Tasmania, I attended the first of two public seminars in Burnie that were hosted by the MS Research Flagship in the Menzies Institute for Medical Research at the Cradle Coast campus of the University of Tasmania, where people living with MS and researchers explored the connections between lived experience, breakthroughs in advocacy and framing of research goals. 

In May, I joined researchers and leaders at UNSW for the launch of the Ainsworth Endometriosis Research Institute, funded by a landmark $50 million philanthropic donation from the Ainsworth family, and which is destined to become a global leader in women’s health research. 

In March, I was humbled to honour and celebrate Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue at the renaming of the Australian National University’s Cultural Centre as the Lowitja O’Donoghue Cultural Centre. 

In January, students and mentors from the Indigenous Australia Engineering School visited Admiralty House with staff from their academic partner, University of New South Wales, to celebrate the young scholars and encourage them to pursue their goals. 

During a visit to Melbourne in January, RMIT Chancellor Peggy O’Neal AO invited me to learn about the strategically important work they are doing with DFAT, and in innovative improvements to Australia’s justice system.  

In November last year, I spoke to the brilliant researchers and innovators attending the Brain and Mind Symposium at the University of Sydney. 

And, in the same month, I participated in a Multicultural Youth Summit at the University of Canberra, which was hosted by Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services, of which I am Patron. 

These are only some of the myriad opportunities I have had to engage with and understand universities, and their communities.  

Each one has led me to amplify their stories of success and achievement to all Australians. 

It has been a vital part of my program over the last year. 

And in turn, I have observed and celebrated the way in which universities are woven into the fabric of our society as places where … learning and discovery are prioritised to foster innovation … 

... the principles of inclusion are embedded to centre accessible education for all students ... 

… social progress and the national interest inform future directions within the sector … 

… our stories are told, preserved and recorded, and our dynamic, diverse and important cultural industries are created and celebrated …  

… and the worldclass research produced here in Australia is matched and accelerated through relationships with world-leading researchers, universities and institutes around the world …  

What I have seen tells me that Australians have every reason to trust, and cherish, their universities. 

And I know that the University Chancellors Council’s ambition to achieve excellence in governance within the sector is a critical pathway to assure integrity and public accountability, and preserve that trust for tomorrow. 

To return to your installation speech, John, you framed the contemporary imperative as being for universities to be unwavering beacons of ‘trust, dependability and inquiry’. 

I am so pleased that, as the new Convenor for the UCC, your term will shaped by an ethos so absolutely modern and vital. 

Congratulations to you, and to the UCC. 

I look forward to continuing this afternoon’s discussion many times over the course of my term as Governor-General.