HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY: A DAY INDEED FOR GRATITUDE

“Australia Day - the 26th of January - is a time for all Australians to come together to reflect, respect and celebrate.

It’s a day for us to reflect on the past, respect each other's stories and celebrate our future together, because we are all part of the story of Australia. 

We are a modern, multicultural, democratic nation with an ancient and rich history. It’s important to acknowledge the layers of that history and their meaning, accumulated over thousands of years.

It is equally important that all Australians can mark the day in a way that is right for them.

For me, it’s a day indeed for gratitude.

We’re a country more blessed than most, a country that hasn’t just been lucky, but has made its own luck, through hard work and decency…the sort of decency we’ve seen in recent months, in the extraordinary commitment of our health workers, who continue to go above and beyond to keep us safe during the pandemic and our volunteers who support the needy.

As a nation, we can be immensely proud of our health workforce. On behalf of all of us I want to say a huge thanks to you for continuing to look after us.

We can also be very proud today of most of our nation’s history. Yes, there are parts that are less than perfect, and we should talk about that openly and honestly, but none of it means we should hang our heads, or try to change our history.

Australia Day should bring us all together, united not divided.

I’m extremely proud to be an Aussie – and it’s fantastic to be sharing today our love for our country.

Have a great Australia Day everyone.” Dr David Gillespie, Australia Day address 2022, Taree.