Your Excellencies, Parliamentary colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
Whenever she was talking to a group of politicians, Dame Quentin Bryce would observe that Members of Parliament don’t get the credit they deserve for their vocation to public life.
It was typical of her decency that she would dwell on the good in everyone.
But that’s what Governors-General do – they encourage us to be our best selves.
They are our cheerleaders-in-chief. They celebrate all that is good in our community in the hope that we just might live up to it.
Regrettably, it’s often hard to be proud of political leaders grappling with the most contentious issues we face.
Happily, it’s easy to be proud of Governors-General providing leadership beyond politics and appealing to the things that unite us.
Governors-General, like the monarch they represent, are the dignified part of our Constitution.
As Sir Peter Cosgrove and Lady Lynne travel the length and breadth of our country, visiting all the places that aren’t important enough for Prime Ministers, you will affirm these two fundamental Australian characteristics: to give a fair go to others and to have a fair go yourself.
As Governor-General, you will be a Knight for rolling up your sleeves and getting on with things, because that’s what you’ve always done – as a decorated platoon commander in Vietnam; as the clean-up commander after Cyclone Larry in Queensland; and as the commander of the Australian force which turned East Timor from a troubled province into a free country. There was nothing in that for Australia but risk, expense and the danger of antagonising a powerful neighbour, but you made the near impossible achievable.
We all yearn to lose the largely self-imposed shackles on what’s possible for us.
We all want to believe that tomorrow can be better than today.
Every human being wants to be uplifted and inspired and I can think of no better man than Peter Cosgrove to maintain our national morale and to fire our faith in ourselves.
The role of a monarch, said Bagehot, was to be consulted, to encourage and to warn.
I know, Sir Peter, you will approach this work with respect, discretion and judgement and our Government and our country will be the better for it.
Welcome, Sir Peter, 26th Governor-General of Australia – the latest in a long and distinguished line.
You will help to lead us into our future.
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