Speech delivered on 25 November 2025, at Admiralty House, Sydney

Thank you for your beautiful acknowledgement, and welcome to this place. We are on Cammeraygal land, as you acknowledged, and I pay my respects to the Elders, past and present of this place, but also to your lands where you are from, and your Elders, and all of the First Nations people in this room and where you are from, and the lands you have spent time on. Your ancestors did their work over thousands of years.

There are many important First Nations people here today, and there is something in your strategy I’ll speak about in a moment that is so important to the future of netball. I often think that here we are on Cammeraygal land, and when I heard “croquet lawn,” I thought we should call it “netball on grass.”  

Working across Gadigal land and Cammeraygal land, this is all Eora Nation, and it’s a very big footprint. We always have First Nations people here to acknowledge and welcome, and you may see some changes in the art.

You came in by a beautiful piece by a Noongar artist — a Men’s Medicine Pocket painting by Paddy Bedford from Western Australia. There are many beautiful works in the house. They are all there to tell a story and to make sure that everybody feels welcome in this place. Everyone belongs here.

When I look out there, I think about all the women who would have been in boats fishing long before this place had the impact of new arrivals — tens of thousands of years of fishing between these two pieces of land down the harbour. All the things that make this such a glorious story. So I’m glad we are all here today on Cammeraygal land, and I look forward to hearing more about the First Nations strategy that’s in your document.

Now, there are a few people I want to acknowledge, because there are superstars in this room today. I’ll start, of course, with Liz Ellis AO, Chair of Netball Australia, former Diamond, one of Australia’s most legendary players, the most capped international player for Australia, one of our most successful netballers of all time. And I say that now because I presume there are new players who will try to seek your crown.

You have recognition in the Netball Australia Hall of Fame, the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, and the New South Wales Netball Hall of Fame. Last night, you were announced as a Legend of New South Wales Sport. There’s nothing you haven’t contributed to in your sport. More generally, Liz, you’ve been a wonderful support for the Minerva Network, helping women transition in their post-playing life. You’re so welcome here always, and I’m so glad today that you brought Evelyn along — your daughter. Perhaps one day she may take your crown, should she choose netball.

Gabbi Stubbs, Deputy Chair of Netball Australia. Then the board members: Louise Eyres, Peter Legg, and the Hon. Gabrielle Upton. It’s always wonderful to have you back here, Gabrielle. You were a former Minister for Sport, and we got to know each other in your parliamentary ministerial life. It’s wonderful to see you now doing so much for netball, along with your fellow board members.

Stacey West, CEO of Netball Australia. There are many current and former Australian netballers: Paige Hadley, an original Australian Diamond; Lucy Austin; Annie Sargeant OAM; Catherine Cox AM, also an Australian Hall of Famer. It’s wonderful to have people here who have played the game, understand the game, and know what is at the heart of the strategy.

The current netballers: Teigan O’Shannassy, Sam Poolman, Amy Sligar from the Giants. It’s wonderful to have you all here today.

Kathryn Harby-Williams, CEO of the Australian Netball Players Association, former captain of the Diamonds — what an incredible background to have as head of the Players Association.

Ali Tucker-Munro, General Manager of First Nations for Netball Australia.

Beryl Friday, First Nations Engagement Lead for Netball Australia. These are titles that once wouldn’t have existed in netball, and now they are at the centre of the game.

Mark Falvo, CEO of Netball World Cup Sydney. I’ll say more about the World Cup in a moment.

Jayne Ferguson, Board Director for the Commonwealth Games. I did say to the team that I’ll be heading to the Commonwealth Games next year, so I’d be happy to join you for the netball competition.

Chris Hall, Chairperson of Sport New South Wales.  

Many of you represent the senior netball community in its entirety. And all of the members of the state and territory netball organisations — I acknowledge all of you, even if I can’t name everyone here.

Peter Tonagh, Chair of Nine and Chair of Bus Stop Films. I’m also patron of Bus Stop Films. I’m hoping maybe a collaboration!

Bain Stewart and Leah Purcell. Bain is here, Leah couldn’t make it — she’s filming at the moment, series two of High Country in Victoria. Bain and Leah have been working hard on projects associated with netball, particularly the creation of Netball: United by the Game TV series. I’ve seen a few early treatments as a friend — I can’t say anything about them — but it’ll be great to see netball as a theme and story on our television screens.

Members of the media, particularly Foxtel. And important commercial supporters of Netball Australia — the team from HCF and Woolworths, longtime sponsors who bring much-needed support to this great game.

All of you are distinguished guests here. Everyone is always welcome here, particularly for netball, because this office has had a long, close, and special connection. Quentin Bryce, the first woman Governor-General to occupy this office, treasures her role to this day. She joined her New Zealand counterpart in helping to establish the Constellation Cup in 2010.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was when Liz and the team at Netball Australia asked me to serve as Patron of this wonderful organisation and sport. That’s why I wear so proudly the colours and the uniform that sits behind glass in my office at Government House in Canberra. It welcomes everyone who visits. I can’t tell you how delighted I was when it was presented to me.

I became Patron after joining the South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas to watch the Diamonds defeat the England Roses 70–57 in Adelaide in September last year, before the Diamonds went on to win the series in front of an enthusiastic, very loud Bendigo crowd.

Liz, in your introduction to Made in Netball — you all got a copy, and I’ve read every single word — you said something very compelling. I’ll quote: “For so many of us, we were, in fact, made in netball, and that made you the person and leader that you are today. That is the ‘why’ and the ‘what’ that drives you and the entire team at Netball Australia every day.” And I’m just like you. I’m just like the millions of Australian girls of our generation. My sisters and I were also made in netball.

I come from a big sporting family. My earliest memories as a young teenager, once we’d moved back to Canberra, were of freezing, windswept courts in Canberra, just near the meatworks. We used to play on big outdoor courts before there were proper indoor courts. I played centre for the Boney Maroneys in our aqua and maroon uniforms—terrible colours for a Canberra winter.

I’ve gone on to many things since, including sports administration. I saw how close communities felt when football and netball clubs combined at the heart of regional towns. I think we don’t do enough of that, but it’s coming back.

I remember my time at the AFL, spending time at Rumbalara Football Netball Club in Shepparton, and seeing Shepparton redefined by the club.

I watched my daughter play netball through her high school years in Sydney. I said to her this morning that she played very badly. She said, “Average.” She said, “I’ll take average.” She’s an actor, not really into sports, but netball was the one game she played.

I was a fan watching the Diamonds sweep the board in the World Cup and Commonwealth Games wherever I could. And through the Minerva Network, I benefited from the wisdom of the original Australian representative players and saw a whole new generation of players emerge.

As you say in this document, netball is more than a sport — it’s the cornerstone of Australian community life across our towns, suburbs, and cities. Netballers are not just athletes, they’re leaders, mentors, role models who shape the fabric of our country.

Women and girls develop confidence, resilience, and leadership skills that extend far beyond the court. On netball courts, you learn to win well and to lose well. You learn respect for competitors. These lessons empower women to contribute meaningfully in classrooms, workplaces, and boardrooms, creating ripple effects that strengthen communities across the country.

I want to congratulate everyone involved in this remarkable strategic plan. You’re two years out from celebrating the Centenary of Netball in Australia.  2027 is important for a number of reasons. A century of netball will be celebrated with the hosting of the World Cup here in Sydney, and this ambitious strategy, I believe, will mark one of the most consequential decades ahead for netball in this country.

Liz, you describe this moment for netball — and for yourself — as stepping into your power, the power of netball. You celebrate this as a rallying call to shape the future of the sport and ensure its place in the next century. The strategic plan is, I think, a promise to future generations. It is a commitment to every player, coach, fan, and community member.

Netball has always brought families and communities together, but it has also united diverse communities. I know you are working more closely and deeply with these communities, because netball, at its very best, creates spaces where everyone feels welcome and valued. It is true that reflection on this topic can be tough, but you have approached it with honesty in building your First Nations strategy, in partnership with your new First Nations Cultural Council.

Liz, you said that the board heard from First Nations communities that netball needed to open our hearts to listening and our minds to learning — to cocreate a culturally safe framework that welcomes and grows participation and success for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander athletes, and nurtures new diverse leaders of the future.  

That is very well said, and it is wise. There is much to learn, but hearts are now open across the entirety of this strategy, from grassroots courts to elite pathways.

Netball Australia is opening doors wider than ever before and building pathways that will welcome diverse talent, while ensuring that the Diamonds remain ranked number one in the world, and that Super Netball continues to be the strongest women’s sports league in Australia. These are bold, ambitious plans.

I say this having just attended the AFLW grand final on Saturday night — another sport for women that intends to be a very strong league, as do the Matildas, as do our cricketers. The fact that you have said it will be the Diamonds and Super Netball that hold force for women in this country shows just how ambitious you are.

We are living in a moment when women’s sport has risen, and now there will be strong competition to see whether netball can seize that moment — because you owned it originally. Inclusion will mean raising opportunities so every participant can strive for their very best. That ethos and principle is a microcosm of what I see across the country, because I believe Australia itself is stepping into its own power.

When I was sworn in as your Governor-General, I promised to put care, kindness, and respect at the centre of everything I do. Some thought that was a softer, more feminine view of the world. I disagree. Doing care well, showing up, and offering assistance is hard work. It is not easy to show up and care all the time, but we do care — for each other, for those who do the caring, for government, for our remarkable continent, for our civics and institutions, and for our democracy.

If we care for the way we discuss and debate the issues of our time — as you are doing inside netball, without anger, judgment, or violence — then we can achieve very big things. That is the story of a modern, successful, diverse Australia, one where we care about each other.

In my role, I have a frontrow seat to this. The Prime Minister asked me to embody modernity, visibility, and optimism. And I see all of these things in netball, expressed through your strong plan. This is what we will see at all levels of netball across Australia in the next decade. The ambition in this program excites me greatly.

When we say Australia is made in netball, we acknowledge the profound role this brilliant sport plays — not just in sport, but in shaping a stronger, more connected nation.

I am delighted to serve as your Patron. It is one of my favourite roles. Today is all about netball — about the next 10 years, and the next century of the sport.

I encourage everyone who looks at the document to turn to the page that tells us, in a very poetic way, what it means when we say Australia is netball. I won’t read it aloud, because I think it requires quiet contemplation, but it is a beautiful way of expressing connection through sport.

This is a very important strategy for our country, for women, for girls, their families, and their communities. I wish you all the very best. I will be alongside you the whole way. I may not play anymore, but I am a fan. Congratulations.