Address
to the Parliamentary Reception for Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess
of Cambridge
The Hon. Tony Abbott MP
Parliament House, Canberra
24 April 2014
Your
Royal Highnesses, Excellencies, Parliamentary colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
A couple of years back, Kelly
Slater visited Manly in my electorate. There were over a thousand screaming
fans – as you would expect when the world’s greatest surfer visited the world’s
greatest beach. But as I have seen with my own eyes, Sir, Ma’am, in Manly you
are bigger than Kelly Slater, perhaps by a factor of ten!
My friends, this is the 50th
royal visit to Australia and it will be remembered as one of the very best.
With young children and with
teenagers, sometimes in very difficult circumstances, with Indigenous people,
with Australians in all our diversity who have flocked to royal events, your
dedication to all your future realms, Sir, and your grace and warmth, Ma'am,
have been abundantly on display.
Now, royal visits are a reminder
that the best things in life are those that have stood the test of time.
Over centuries, the Crown has
come to symbolise the ideals of duty and service at the heart of our culture.
People instinctively warm to
those who represent the good to which we all aspire.
We saw that during your previous
trip, Sir, in 2011, specifically to meet communities impacted by the Victorian
bushfires and the Queensland floods.
As a Royal Air Force search and
rescue pilot, you know what it's like to endure ‘drought and flooding rains’.
You know what it means to serve in the armed forces.
We have seen in you, Sir – during
both your visits – through your words and through your deeds, the decency and
the sense of duty of your father and the compassion of your mother.
Your great-great-grandfather, the
future George V, opened our first Parliament in 1901.
Your great-grandfather as Duke of
York opened our first Parliament House in 1927.
Your grandmother, the Queen,
opened this building in 1988.
And your father, the Prince of
Wales, has been here many, many times.
Many decades, hence, when a
currently unknowable Australian Prime Minister welcomes your son, King George
VII to this building, that will be a sign of the stability and the continuity
in the life of our nation.
Your Royal Highnesses, you have
taken such obvious pleasure in this visit and that warmth has been amply
reciprocated by the Australian people amongst whom you will always be most
welcome.
It is not necessary to live
permanently in Australia well and truly to belong here.
This visit has meant a lot to
millions of Australians.
Thank you for the joy you have
given us. |
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