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PRIME MINISTER
FOR PRESS 27MRH 9
PARLIAMENTARY LUNCHEON FOR HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS
THE PRINCE OF WALES
This is a special occasion for us all, because it is a
pleasure and privilege to have you, Sir, as our guest
today in Parliament House.
We welcome you most warmly, for you come, not only as the
young and greatly respected Prince of Wales, but also as an
old friend of many Australians inside and outside this place.
Moreover, on this, your seventh visit to Australia in 13 years,
you've made many new friends some of whom, if our newspaper
photos are accurate, seemed to dispense with the formalities
usually associated with greeting royalty. But perhaps that
only serves to highlight the warm feelings that the people of
Australia have for the Royal Family.
Your participation in some special anniversaries in Australia
has involved you in some hard travelling, but neither distances
nor our ubiquitous bush flies nor even the rigorous attention
of our press seem to deter you. The good humour with which you
take it all is characteristic of the Royal Family.
The Crown, of course, has a fundamental role to play in this
Parliament. In the Constitition, our founding fathers wrote
that " the legislative power of the Commonwealth shall be vested
in a Federal Parliament which shall consist of the Queen, a
Senate and a House of Representatives"
This point was well made by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the
Second when, as the first ruling Sovereign to visit Australia,
she opened Federal Parliament here in 1954. Her Majesty told
the assembled Members and Senators that and I quote " In
a real sense you are here as my colleagues, friends and
advisers." It is in that spirit, Your Royal Highness, we
welcome you today.
Just as the Monarchy has a strong and an assured place in'the
hearts of the British people, so it has here in Australia.
The traditions, the stability and the continuity of the British
monarchy make one of the great stories of history. / 2
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The ability and the readiness of the Crown to respond to
the needs and aspirations of its people, its recognition of
the need to changc as circumstances alter, has enabled
the Monarchy to make a positive contribution to democratic
government in the 20th Century. This was seen most clearly
by the founders of our nation.
Our form of Government, with the Crown at its Head, was
deliberately chosen by the people of the six founding states.
Their's was an act of free choice. In the words of the
Constitution they: . agreed to unite in one indissoluble
Federal Commonwealth under the Crown.. This was a natural
decision for them to make. They had seen that the Monarchy
could adapt to change and, as was expected, the Crown did not
hinder nor resist the Australian people's deeply-felt yearning
to govern themselves.
Our history has been one in which the transition from colonialism
to self-government has been peaceful and in which the Crown
has played an important, constructive part.
The Commonwealth of Nations is a further example of how the Crown
responds to new situations. In not much more than half a century
the " British Empire" became the " British Commonwealth" and
later the " Commonwealth of ' Nations". Throughout, the Monarchy
has retained its central role. It has given a focal point for
the unity of the Commonwealth of Nations " a unity with
diversity" as it has been described with members pledged to
co-operate in the cause of " peace, liberty and progress"
Last year, Australia hosted the Regional Meeting of Commonwealth
Heads of Government. It was a stimulating experience to
sit in that company, seeking to find solutions to common problems
by discussion and a readiness to co-operate for mutual benefit.
The Crown helps to link nations of different races in a common
purpose as it has linked the British people in a more direct
way over all the years. Australia is proud of its links with
the Throne-and I firmly believe that the great majority of
Australians want our relationship with the Crown to continue.
Of course, early Australians' links with England were of a
more material kind they rattled when they walked. Yet from
those early settlements has sprung a free, independent and prosperous
nation which will be ever conscious of the traditions it has-,
inherited.
As the Monarchy has changed, so Australia has changed. In earlier
times, we were very much an Anglo-Saxon community. Our geography
made it '_ inevitable that one day that would end. The aftermath
of the Second World War . accelerated that process. In the post-war
period many people from many lands saw Australia as a land of
political freedom, a land of economic opportunity. .3
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The great migration brought with it significant changes to
Australia. We are steadily developing into a multi-cultural
society, where people from many backgrounds still cherish and
preserve their traditions and at the same time contribute
to the emergence of a distinctive Australian culture and
the evolution of a stronger Australia.
Together Australians are building a greater country to do
this they have needed independence and freedom of spirit.
Perhaps it is a consequence of this individualism that we do not think
often enough about what Australia has done for our well-being
and in turn what we can do for Australia. This suggests a
need for a greater effort to focus attention on our nation's
achievements and aspirations.
Australia Day presents us with such an opportunity. It is a
day on which we can reflect on the progress our nation has
made and re-affirm our faith in the ability of Australians to
meet the challenges of the future. The Government, therefore,
has decided to appoint a new National Australia Day Committee.
It will advise on and co-ordinate efforts to foster the observance
of Australia Day through existing Australia Day organisations
and through other cultural, historical, ethnic, sporting,
children's and youth organisations. The committee will be selected
from as wide a spectrum of the community as possible to
reflect Australia's diversity. The new Australia Day committee
will contribute, I hope, to giving expression to our national
pride as an independent nation and a member of the Commonwealth
of Nations, owing allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen.
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