Prime Minister: Well thank you, thank you very much in Selina, thank you very much for welcoming us to Ngunnawal country. And we, all of us, thank you for that and we acknowledge your Elders past and present, and we recognise that we are here, meeting together here in the National Parliament, on Aboriginal land.
You know, Harmony Day celebrates the greatest thing about Australia. The greatest thing that we have succeeded in creating, all of us, all of us succeeded in creating the most successful multicultural society in the world. There is none, there is no other country that has done so well at this as we have.
And, we have done so because of an essential ingredient which is so Australian. That of respect. Mutual respect, a fair go, live and let live. Many ways you can describe it but that mutual respect, that two-way street of respect is what underpins our great multicultural society.
And you know, we, all of us are enriched by that diversity. It is our great, it is our greatest strength. We are enriched and learn from, we are informed by the cultures and the backgrounds of all of our neighbours.
You know, there was a time when people talked about multiculturalism, some people did, as though it was a practice where people were separate in their own cultures like a series of enclaves. That's not Australia, our multiculturalism is one where we are all enriched by each other's cultures.
We learn from each other, and, we do so because we respect them as they respect ours. And, over time, we get a growth and synthesis that is uniquely Australian.
It is something we must be very proud of. But, of course we must not take it for granted. That's why how many days so important to.
You've got to always be prepared to stand up for mutual respect, stand up for harmony, stand up for the great achievements of our country.
And you know, there are so many, Craig acknowledged, the Leader of the Opposition and Dr Di Natale, to other party leaders here today but there are so… The Minister, Christian Porter, for social services. But, I should, at the risk of offending others, I should single out Philip Ruddock, if I may, the Father of the House. Philip has been a passionate supporter of, promoter of, interpreter of multiculturalism, all of his many decades here in Parliament, in public life, and especially of course as Immigration Minister.
All of us, every single Australian, 24 million of us, all of us have made, played our part in constructing this remarkable society but few have played a bigger part, few if any have played a bigger part than Philip Ruddock. And, I acknowledge you Philip for the great, you have helped make us the nation we are. And, we are richer and stronger for it.
Can I conclude on a more general note, perhaps even an economic one.
Harmony, multiculturalism, are vital economic elements for our future prosperity and our future security.
The most successful societies, be they nations or cities, have always been open and diverse.
Mutual respect, tolerance, if you want to use that word, I prefer mutual respect as a descriptor, it is absolutely key to success. When you look at the most successful societies and cities in years past and they have always been open and diverse.
And, it is, we can, we all follow with great interest, of course, the extraordinary rise of China. In 40 years, going from being barely part of the global economy to being now part of the largest or second largest international economy.
We should remember that when that, when China's revival began it began with Deng Xiaoping saying in his Southern tour in 1979, reminding Chinese that when China, in the past had been open to the world, it had been strong and then when it closed, it gradually became weaker and weaker and was exploited.
And so, he sought to open up that economy to the world again. We live, we see and we benefit from, of course, as the world does, of those extraordinary consequences.
An open Australia, a diverse Australia, and Australia which is bound together by the glue of mutual respect is a harmonious Australia. It is a great achievement and today we remember that, we celebrate that and we resolve to do all we can to ensure we remain harmonious, multicultural, diverse Australia.
Thank you very much and happy Harmony Day.