PM: G'day to all Australians as we celebrate Australia Day for 2010. Wherever we celebrate Australia Day, on the back veranda, at the beach, at a picnic in the park, or maybe volunteering with our emergency services, this is a chance to remember our past, to reflect on the present, and to look with confidence to our future.
The summer holiday gives us the opportunity to spend time with friends and families and enjoy more of Australia's natural environment. This year I had the chance to experience some of the sensational beauty of the Tasmanian wilderness with Therese and the kids, from Cradle Mountain to the magnificent coastline of the Freycinet Peninsula. It's a reminder to me of how stunningly beautiful our land, Australia, is.
Of course, sometimes our natural environment also presents our greatest challenges. This time last year all Australians were horrified by the deadly summer fires which tore through Victoria. We were inspired by the courage of those who endured unimaginable losses in these natural disasters.
We were inspired by the firefighters who came from right across Australia. We were lifted by the outpouring of support that came from across the nation.
A year ago, we were also facing huge challenges with the global financial crisis bearing down on us. I said then that Australia was better placed than almost every other nation to handle the global meltdown, and that if we all pulled together we could get through it - and 12 months later, we've come through that crisis in better shape than most countries in the world, and in large measure we did so because we've all worked together because we all knew we were in this together.
Our challenge in the new year ahead and the new decade ahead is not just to build for recovery, but also to build the foundations for our long-term economic future. In the coming weeks, we'll be releasing new information on some of the key long-term challenges facing Australia for the first half of this new century. We need to be planning for the long term. We can't simply be content with the short term and can't afford to be complacent.
We need to prepare now for these challenges: our ageing population; the importance of tackling climate change; and the need to build a strong economy for the future.
But big challenges also bring big opportunities. I am supremely optimistic about Australia's future, because we will tackle each of these challenges in the Australian way - with good humour, with strong spirit, with absolute determination, and with practical common sense, and an over-riding commitment to work together to build Australia's future together.
That's what's got us through in times past, and that's how we'll navigate the future as well - building a better Australia for all Australians.
I wish you a happy and a safe Australia Day 2010.