I thank Agnes Shea for the Welcome to Country and pay my respects to the traditional owners of this land on which we gather.
In making that acknowledgment, I honour the dignity and resilience of all Indigenous Australians.
And I recall with pride today the fact that eight recipients of the Australian of the Year Award have been Indigenous, including the late Lionel Rose whose loss we mourned in May.
I also acknowledge:
Ministerial and parliamentary colleagues
Adam Gilchrist, Chair of the National Australia Day Council and fellow Council members
Australia Day sponsors and supporters.
Australian of the Year, Simon McKeon
Young Australian of the Year, Jessica Watson
I also acknowledge Professor Ron McCallum, 2011 Senior Australian of the Year, and Don Ritchie, Australia's Local Hero for 2011, who can't be with us today.
Friends, for more than 50 years now, the Australian of the Year Awards have played a vital role in our community - helping us to find outstanding role models for us all to admire.
And they do so in a way that is so deeply grounded in our Australian outlook and values.
Donald Horne once wrote that Australians are notoriously reluctant to reward “eminence without excellence.”
In other words, they will not doff their caps merely because someone holds an office or a position.
And that is how it should be.
That is something truly special about the society we have created here under southern skies.
We are not a people of hierarchy or deference or fine gradations of social status.
There is comparatively little pomp and ceremony in our public life.
I love a nation where the Prime Minister can walk down the street and grab a coffee and have people yell out “Julia give us a wave.”
The Australian of the Year Awards are a way of manifesting our democratic temper.
A way for our society to hold up a mirror to itself and discern the qualities and characteristics that are most valued by our community.
The Australian of the Year Award in fact tells a consistent and faithful story of what we value:
As I've noted, eight awards have gone to Indigenous Australians.
Sportspeople are well represented but by no means as much as one might imagine.
There is a generous selection of artists and performers.
A very large number of scientists and medicos.
Two churchmen.
And only one politician!
The 51 years of this award indeed show a grown up nation able to make mature and insightful choices.
A nation that can honour Steve Waugh but also Manning Clark.
John Farnham but also Neville Bonner.
And this year, a unique moment in the history of the awards - the appointment of our first Australian of the Year acknowledged for social entrepreneurship.
Making the point that as we become a wealthier nation,we must also become a more generous nation.
Friends, the single thread uniting five decades of this award is their connection to the Australian community.
Nominations come from the community.
They are not imposed from above.
All Australians have a chance to have their say by nominating someone who they think reflects the qualities that we admire.
I encourage all Australians to take advantage of this opportunity to share the stories of people that they know,or know of, by nominating them for the Awards.
The criteria are very simple:
* Demonstrated excellence in their field
* Contribution to the Australian community and the nation
* An inspirational role model for the community
Sometimes that brings forward obvious and outstanding names like Mark Taylor or Peter Cosgrove.
Sometimes those whose brilliance doesn't always occupy the headlines like Gus Nossal or John Yu.
But there is always a deep wisdom in the names chosen.
The abiding wisdom of a free people in a democratic and egalitarian society.
That is what these accolades celebrate.
Our better angels.
Our nation as it can and should be.
Friends, in launching these awards, I thank our major sponsor, the Commonwealth Bank, for more than 32 years of generous support.
I thank our newest supporter, ABC Television, who have just come on board as the Awards' broadcast partner.
I also thank our other corporate partners:Fairfax Media; Qantas; Holiday Inn; ABC Local Radio and SBS Radio.
I thank Adam and all his colleagues at the Australia Day Council and across government who support these awards and the wider Australia Day celebrations throughout the year.
Nominations for the Australian of the Year Awards 2012 will close on August 31.
That's plenty of opportunity for all Australians to get involved.
So log on to the Australian of the Year website and have your say.
In that great Aussie tradition, ‘have a go'.
If there's someone you look up to or admire, put their name forward.
You never know where it might lead.
It is now my pleasure to declare nominations for the 2012 Australian of the Year Awards officially open.