I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, and I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
It such a great pleasure to join you all here in Five Dock for the joy of Ferragosto, and I thank your wonderful local member Sally Sitou for inviting me along today.
It is especially a pleasure to be here with you as Australia’s first Prime Minister with an Italian surname – and as a very proud son of the Inner West.
The story of Italian Australians is deeply and proudly woven into the fabric of our nation.
Over so many generations, Italian families have made their lives here and enriched this country beyond measure.
A big part of Australia’s beating heart is Italian, and where we are gathered together today has long been such a key part of it.
What we celebrate today is a beautiful and rich part of the Australian identity, a part of our nation that has its roots both here and in that remarkable country on the other side of the world.
An Australia without Italians is unimaginable.
If anything, an Australia without nonnas is even harder to imagine.
Australian multiculturalism has been a great achievement.
Our breadth as a society has long been a strength.
We celebrate our wonderful differences – just as we are today.
And, like an orchestra, we bring our diverse qualities together in the unifying harmony of our national identity.
Today we also celebrate all that this festival has become.
A bit like all those success stories that had their humble beginnings in the family garage, Ferragosto began in 1998 in a carpark in Garfield Street.
Twenty-six years on, you’d be hard-pressed to find a carpark anywhere that could contain this.
Ferragosto has grown into one of Sydney’s most popular Italian festivals, its big and welcoming atmosphere drawing in 120,000 people every year.
So much of the credit for what we all get to enjoy today goes to so many people over more than a quarter of a century.
Five Dock’s Main Street Committee, which kicked this off in the first place.
The local community that got right behind it.
The Council that has been an ever-growing source of support.
All the local businesses, entertainers, community organisations and residents.
And every Sydneysider from outside the area who has come to take part, and to enjoy everything that’s on offer.
What infuses it all, of course, is the great Australian-Italian spirit in all the richness of its heritage, its culture and its faith.
Ferragosto is something to be proud of.
And it’s something for all of us to take heart from.
Because in it, we see so much of what is best about our country.
Thank you for having me. Have a wonderful day.