It gives me immense pride to bring to realisation the commitment I made one year ago to institute a National Emergency Medal.
And there could be no better occasion to do so than on the day when we pause to reflect on what it means to be Australian - January 26; Australia Day.
In a diverse country, this day necessarily means different things to different people.
But if there is one common trait that we can unite in respecting above all others, it is courage and resilience in times of trouble; when everything we express in our poems and songs is put to the test and the Australian spirit shines most brightly.
Today we award these Medals to a group of Australians who inspired us with their courage and service during two of the most devastating summers of natural disaster Australia has ever witnessed: the Victorian bushfires of 2009 and the Queensland floods and cyclone of December 2010 and January 2011.
Some of our darkest days that were followed by some of our finest hours.
The long hours without rest or sleep.
The stories of men and women who went to work to help others not knowing whether their own homes would be standing when they returned.
Of those who risked injury or even death to help others.
Or brought comfort to those who had lost everything they owned.
I've been speaking a lot to survivors as we recover and rebuild.
Their talk is never of how much compensation they received or how much they appreciate their new house.
Without fail, they speak of the people who reached out to them in their time of need: family, friends, neighbours and so often strangers, whose assistance extended far beyond the bounds of convention or obligation.
In other words, they speak of you.
Ordinary Australians who in difficult times did extraordinary things.
Of course, those who are worthy of honour never seek it.
And medals are only ever tokens of inner values and qualities that can never fully be measured or even understood by those who were not there.
Alone, they are pieces of cloth and metal worth only a few dollars.
But what they symbolise is beyond price.
These medals obtain their value from you who receive them.
From who you are, what you have done and the things you represent.
Today's recipients were nominated by the heads of major non-government and government organisations which deployed staff and volunteers in response to the natural disasters.
I thank the National Emergency Medal Committee for crafting a set of eligibility criteria that are both appropriate and credible but also generous.
And to any Australian who feels a friend or a colleague merits this award, I strongly urge them to lodge a nomination because this is an award for the many, not the few.
An award that springs from a nation's gratitude.
But also from our very real sense that your actions displayed the depth of your love for this country and its people.
That is why the decoration of this medal is itself so eloquent - a green and gold ribbon, with the image of our national flower, the wattle, on its face.
Because heroism and community service are an expression of citizenship and what it means to be Australian.
This medal is therefore a message from your country that what you did was more than just a job well done.
You carried the hopes and goodwill of the nation with you.
You reminded us why we are proud to be Australian and how we are a people who never fear adversity whether from the vastness of our continent, the fury of our climate or the uncertainty of what the future may bring.
That story is written across every page of our history.
As long as our nation has men and women like this, it will never cease being written.
And your names now have an indelible place in those pages.
So please accept the National Emergency Medal as a symbol of our thanks.
We are a brave and resilient nation.
But we are grateful nation too.