00:00 My fellow Australians, today as many of us are celebrating Australia Day,
00:06 our first thoughts are with those communities battling natural disasters.
00:11 Seeing people work together to save lives and rebuild homes and businesses
00:16 is a powerful reminder that the worst of times reveal the best of the Australian character.
00:23 Those values of compassion and respect, courage and kindness
00:27 are at the heart of our national identity
00:30 and they remain the foundation of our national success.
00:34 These values and how they shape our nation are what we pay tribute to on Australia Day.
00:41 Indeed, when we look at everything happening around the world today,
00:45 all of us can be proud of the way that Australia's diversity strengthens our unity.
00:52 This begins with the unique privilege we have of being home to the oldest continuous culture on earth.
00:59 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have loved and cared for this country
01:04 for over 65,000 years and they continue to uplift our nation.
01:10 And over generations, people from every part of the world,
01:14 from all faiths and backgrounds and traditions,
01:17 have enriched and enlarged our society and our democracy,
01:21 adding to our national spirit of aspiration and endeavour,
01:25 embracing that profoundly Australian determination
01:29 to create a better life and greater opportunity for our children and our grandchildren.
01:36 The story continues today as thousands of people in big cities and small towns across our nation
01:43 will take the pledge of citizenship and join us in making Australia their home.
01:49 On Australia Day, as we all reflect on how lucky we are to live in the greatest country in the world,
01:56 let us remind ourselves that the fairness, democracy and community harmony we treasure is not down to luck.
02:03 What we have is not an accident. It is our Australian values in action.
02:09 The product of generations of hard work, sacrifice and cooperation,
02:14 not the least of those men and women who have worn our uniform in defending our nation.
02:21 Today we recognise those Australians who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
02:26 We give thanks to all those who serve in our armed forces, defending our democracy and our values.
02:32 Everything we have, we're built together.
02:35 We cherish that, we celebrate it and best of all, each of us has a chance to add to it.
02:42 Working together, we can make this an even better, stronger and fairer country.
02:48 Happy Australia Day.
02:50 [Australian Defence]
02:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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