Good evening, everybody, and thank you for that very warm introduction, Chief Justice.

In acknowledging the Ngunnawal people, the traditional owners of this land, I want to recognize Aunty Violet Sheridan and her family for all the work she does, and pay my respects to Elders, past and present. I also acknowledge and recognize all families with connections to the lands of Canberra and the broader region, as the Chief Justice has done in the program for the convention.

I also want to acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of lands across Australia and pay my respects to the many First Nations people joining us tonight.

Chief Justice, I think it’s very important that you’ve given particular and thoughtful focus to First Nations justice in the program. I’d also like to acknowledge the many Indigenous experts attending. There is a risk in naming people, as the Chief Justice suggested, so my apologies if I miss some. But it struck me to see Vanessa Edwidge from the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association, representatives from Aboriginal Legal Services, Tony McAvoy SC—Australia’s first Aboriginal silk—Ms. Karri Walker from the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, and a number of Indigenous judges and judicial officers.

I want to formally acknowledge Chief Justice Stephen Gageler AC, Chief Justice of the High Court, and alongside him, all members of the Council of Chief Justices of Australia and New Zealand who have brought us together for this event. I hope you’ll excuse me for not acknowledging each individually, but I do want to say that I came up with a collective noun for the Council of Chief Justices: an ambition—an ambition of judges and leaders trying to do something we desperately need across not just the legal system but society: to have conversations that bring more people in to discuss tough issues.

One exception I will make: the Right Honourable Chief Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann GNZM, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Your presence here says a lot about the importance of this convention.

Beyond the Chief Justices, this convention has brought together a remarkably diverse and modern gathering: legal aid representatives, senior academics, community legal centres, the Legal Education Teachers Association of South Australia—just to name a few. You are a more eclectic group than has historically been the case, and that’s an important mark of modernity.

I’m honoured to be here tonight as you gather ahead of tomorrow’s first session of the 2025 Australian Legal Convention, hosted by the Council. Simeon and I were delighted to join a very special and engaging dinner with the Chief Justice and other High Court justices a few weeks ago. It was an interesting evening, and I found the conversation very helpful in my role.

It’s always a pleasure to return to this significant building. The Chief Justice has described it as brutalist architecture. I find it unique among its neighbours. This is not a cultural or educational institution, but the home of the highest judicial power in the Commonwealth. Yet it sits comfortably alongside our cultural, literary, artistic, and commemorative institutions here in Canberra—a symbol of the connection between all aspects of our society.

One of this building’s architects, Feiko Bouman, described this space as “a mighty, inviting three-dimensional interior space of transparency and clarity.” I remember coming here as a young law student at ANU, struck by the scale and impact of this building—and by the consequential things that happen here and ripple across our nation.

This convention offers a similar space—not just physical, but intellectual—for judicial officers, practitioners, observers, academics, and experts to explore the challenges facing our contemporary legal system and propose potential solutions. Bringing together voices from across the justice system, academia, public service, and community groups demonstrates how complex, diverse, and important our Australian system of justice is at every level.

Collaboration and respectful engagement encourage the best understanding, particularly when all voices are included. Many legal conferences do not offer that opportunity, so you are breaking new ground—and at a timely moment, just a week after significant events on 11 November.

My most important job that day was to commemorate Remembrance Day at the War Memorial. I also spoke at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, marking the 50th anniversary of the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam—a moment involving members of this Court. Whitlam said those events would “continue to be the subject of great juridical and academic argument.” He was right. That anniversary was an opportunity to reflect on the imperative to elevate transparency in all institutions of our democracy, particularly our legal system.

There is mounting evidence that Australians’ interest in and understanding of democratic institutions is weaker than we need—and trust in institutions, including courts and lawyers, is declining. The inaugural McKinnon Index of Australia’s democratic health reveals that trust in democracy is waning, especially among people in regional and remote areas and young Australians. This fragility needs an energetic, collaborative effort with insight, imagination, and innovation to reverse.

When I was sworn in as Governor-General, I promised to put care, kindness, and respect at the centre of everything I do: care for each other, care for those who care for others, care for our continent and its beauty, care for civics and institutions, and care for how we discuss tough issues without rancour or violence. That care for civics and institutions shapes much of my work.

I’ve decided to elevate education and transparency in everything I do, responding to poor contemporary understanding of civics and constitutional arrangements. In speeches, videos, and social media, I share aspects of my role traditionally seen as secret or privileged. Recently, I produced a video for the Australian Law Reform Commission’s 50th anniversary dinner and another for the Piddington Society’s 11 November seminar. The more we talk about our institutions and unveil them, the more people are interested—and in facts, not misinformation.

On 11 November, I sat with Professor Emerita Anne Twomey AO in the official study at Government House—the room where it happened—and discussed the role of the Governor-General. She explained the dismissal, unpacked constitutional conventions, and clarified reserve powers so the public could hear the truth.

What I aim to do—and what you aim to do in this convention—is present yourselves as modern, visible, optimistic, and transparent. People debate our relevance—whether my office or the legal system—often fuelled by misinformation. I use every tool to tell these stories and invite Australians into the room. I worry that apathy and disinformation will undermine our democracy.

Chief Justice, in your 2022 paper to the Australian Judicial Officers Association colloquium, you expanded on judicial legitimacy. You said public confidence in a competent and impartial judiciary depends on understanding and respecting the distinctiveness of the judicial function. We are in the same business. This convention signals a modern form of public dialogue—a moment in Australia’s judicial system that inspires public confidence by elevating understanding.

Last night, I watched Helen Garner on the ABC’s 7.30 Report. She said she is “awestruck by the law,” describing it as “our effort to bear what we’ve been handed in life.” She sees the law smoothing “the awful jaggedness of people” and making sense of it. That’s what you do.

I congratulate you on this initiative and the complex themes you’re addressing: legitimacy, family and sexual violence, institutional well-being, First Nations justice, access to justice, legal education and training, and artificial intelligence. (AI told me your conference had already been successful—you might want to check that!)

Your themes tell a story of modernity and care for issues affecting Australians everywhere. I look forward to hearing the outcomes of your deliberations. They matter to me, to the office I serve, and to the foundations of our democracy. I believe they will be consequential for all of you and felt as you return to your vital roles.

I wish you all the very best for the convention. Enjoy your time in Canberra. It matters what you do, and I deeply admire everything that will happen over the next two days.