Your Excellency Sir Rodney Williams, Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda, and Lady Sandra Williams.

The Right Honourable Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, and Minister Maria Browne.

Your Excellencies, Heads of Government and Heads of Delegation.

The Honourable Shirley Botchwey, Commonwealth Secretary-General.

It is a great pleasure to be here in Antigua and Barbuda.

And to join friends from across the Commonwealth.

This means friends from every continent, many cultures and multiple faiths.

The Right Honourable Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda.

Your Excellencies, Heads of Government, Heads of Delegation, Honourable Ministers.

Our host Dr Andrew Forrest.

Business and nongovernment organisation leaders.

It’s a pleasure to be here, on the Green Pioneer, for a green pioneer – to honour the environmental leadership of His Majesty The King.

Protecting and restoring nature is a global, intergenerational compact.

And that is the ambition at the heart of the Commonwealth Nature Initiative.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: This morning I had the great honour of giving the keynote address at the opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting here in Antigua. The Commonwealth is an important institution of which Australia has played an important historical part. 56 countries representing one third of the world's population, 2.7 billion people. The combined economies will be pretty close to $30 trillion dollars next year. That represents a double of what it was just a decade ago.

What you see on this stage is the best of what being an Australian looks like.

It is people who tell our national story through action.

And they tell our national story through the compassion they have for Australians that they will probably never meet themselves.

And a lot has changed over the last five years.

But I've had the joy of being responsible for helping with the National Australia Day Council for five years, and something I learned really early on, which remains as true today as it was when I first learnt it.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to Antigua and Barbuda to attend the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) from 31 October to 4 November 2026.

Representatives from over 50 countries are expected to attend the meeting to discuss shared challenges and opportunities under the theme of Accelerating Partnerships and Investment for a Prosperous Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth is a unique and diverse grouping of 56 countries, representing 2.7 billion people from both advanced and developing economies across the world.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. This has been a big week in parliament. Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the Digital Duty of Care legislation. It is vital that this get the support of the Senate. It does two things essentially, the first is it makes big tech accountable. Just as the media organisations represented here are accountable for what’s on their platforms, they should be held to account for the role that they play and what appears on their platforms and which therefore then get circulated right around Australia.

I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet and I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging.

Thank you, Aunty Serena Williams, for that beautiful welcome to country.

I’d like to acknowledge all our distinguished guests, including my colleagues from across the Parliament.

I especially want to thank the veterans and serving personnel of the Australian Defence Force and the families who provide them with support.

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.

I would also like to acknowledge:

Scott Weber, CEO of the Police Federation of Australia

Krissy Barrett, Commissioner of the AFP

And all other distinguished guests, including my colleagues from across the Parliament.

I would especially like to acknowledge all police officers here with us tonight – and on behalf of the nation, I thank you.

Supporting the long-term wellbeing of veterans and their families is a key focus of the Albanese Government.

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide identified the transition from full-time ADF service to civilian life as a key pressure point for many in the veteran community.

A good job with a supportive employer can ease that pressure and underpin a successful transition for veterans and families of veterans.

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and I pay my respects to their elders past, present, and emerging.

To National Secretary, Paul Farrow, National President Marina Chambers, National Executive Members, Elected Delegates, and Rank and File Members.

Thank you for this opportunity to acknowledge the great support of the AWU.

Paul invited me personally and I was delighted to accept.

It’s been a privilege to get to know Paul in recent years.