Your Majesty,
For decades, you have been warmly welcomed to our country by generations of Australians as the Prince of Wales.
Here, in the heart of our democracy, it now gives us the greatest pleasure to welcome you for the first time as sovereign – and to welcome alongside you Her Majesty, Queen Camilla.
Since your first visit in 1966, you have been taken into Australian hearts – just as you have taken us into yours.
You have known the great natural beauty of this continent in all its challenge and all its reward.
You have known the warmth, strength and humour of our people.
And what has grown out of your appreciation of all of this is an affection that flows both ways.
You have stood with us proudly in our good times.
You have stood with us just as emphatically in our difficult times.
In that same spirit, I know how greatly many Australian charities value the quiet yet deeply personal interest Queen Camilla has taken in their work over the years.
Your Majesty,
We also like to believe that, along the way, this country has managed to make something of a mark on you.
Not least through some of your uniquely Australian educational experiences, ranging from your time at Timbertop to your time in the Countdown studio being interviewed by Molly Meldrum.
Both, in their own ways, deeply formative experiences.
As King, you have an extraordinary duty to the traditions so carefully upheld, protected and nurtured by generations of your forebears.
Not least your mother, Queen Elizabeth II, herself such a shining thread through the story of modern Australia.
As she served her people unflaggingly, she was respected, she was cherished, and she was much loved.
At the end of her extraordinary life, Australia mourned with you and your family.
Your abiding duty to all that has been built on the foundations of tradition is balanced by a great responsibility to the future – its serious challenges, and its exciting possibilities.
You have long apprehended the grave reality of climate change.
You take seriously the threat that it represents, as well as the necessity – and, crucially, the capability – of humanity to take meaningful and effective action against it.
For a considerable time, you have also been a valued contributor to discussions on the urban environment and sustainability.
You have also shown a deep and abiding interest in reconciliation and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
And you have shown great respect for Australians, even during times when we have debated the future of our own constitutional arrangements and the nature of our relationship with the crown.
Nothing stands still.
The Australia you first knew has grown and evolved in so many ways.
Our communities have been strengthened and enriched by people drawn from every culture, background and tradition.
As a modern, outward-looking economy, we’ve found our place in the world - and made our home in the region.
We’ve gained a deeper and truer understanding of our national story.
Yet through these decades of change, our bonds of respect and affection have matured - and endured.
Your Majesty,
It was an honour to lead the Australian delegation attending your coronation, as it was to be granted a private audience with you.
Australians have long felt that the warmth your mother felt for this country is a warmth that thrives in your own heart.
In the coming days, we will be together again in Samoa, carrying the warmth of the Australian people to the extraordinary community of nations that is our great Commonwealth.
For Australia, the Commonwealth is family.
And as with any family, we appreciate our differences, we have regard for each other’s achievements, and we revel in the closeness of what is a remarkable and enduring bond.
Indeed, it is a family in which you have been immersed nearly as long as your own.
In 1966, you came to us a fresh-faced student, ready for an education that was never going to be contained within the walls of a classroom.
Nearly six decades on, you have come to us in your new role, bearing the weight of the crown and all that it entails.
We know the institution is secure in your hands, and we know your commitment to peace and stability will act as your guide during the challenging times in which we find ourselves.
The regard and the respect we feel for you has been decades in the making.
It’s a story that has seen so much change over so many years.
What never changes is the truth stamped on every page of that story, which is that your majesties are very welcome here – and on behalf of all Australians, we wish you a splendid stay.