Barnaby Joyce Australia Day Message

26 Jan 2017

AUSTRALIA DAY - Proudly marking the birth of modern Australia.

 

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources and Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce says there is nothing to be ashamed about in celebrating the day where a range of people, predominantly convicts with little but the resources between their ears and in the labour of their bodies, started the settlement of this nation as we know it today.

 

“Australia had human habitation for tens of thousands of years and we are very proud of our Aboriginal and Islander culture, but it is implausible to deny the effects of the arrival of the First Fleet.”

 

“We should celebrate it for all that it has achieved in a nation that is overwhelmingly good and, if you wish, make it a day to reflect on how we could do better.”

 

“We should celebrate that day in 1788 when we laid the foundations to create a vibrant and just democracy, a strong economy and nation that is overwhelmingly a force of good in the world.”

 

“If we compare the similar circumstances of the United States and the arrival of the Mayflower with Australia and the arrival of the First Fleet, we cannot deny that we have immense potential ahead of us.”

 

“In the almost 230 years that have passed since the arrival of the First Fleet, our population today pips 23 million. And here lies a remarkable coincidence: in the United States, in 1850 when they marked 230 years since the arrival of the Mayflower, they too had a population that just pipped 23 million people.”

 

“From the arrival of the first settlers, Australia has grown at the same pace as the United States did from the arrival of their modern settlers.”

 

“It’s often flippantly said that we live in the luckiest country. We do. But our luck has not been by chance: our luck has been made by Australians themselves.”

 

“We rode the sheep’s back” some say with reference to our economic beginnings that delivered wealth through agriculture that was later augmented by mining and energy.

 

“But there are many countries the world over that are also rich in prime agricultural land and rich in resources; but who are poverty stricken.”

 

“Luck didn’t fall into our lap. We made our luck.”

 

“We are lucky to have had the pioneers, the visionaries, and the entrepreneurs that have been inspired by what our country has to offer.”

 

“We have been lucky that Australians have perfected the ethos of a fair go; lucky that we embrace every democratic value and lucky that we cherish freedoms.”

 

“We are lucky we had the mums and dads that battled and overcame gruelling challenges to ensure that each new generation was substantially better off than the previous.”

 

“We are lucky that our country has been relatively free from attack and when that’s not been the case, we’ve been lucky that our allies have been proven to be just that.”

 

“And we are lucky that our country has celebrated and cherished the great diversity of cultures from the first inhabitants; to the first settlers; to the first citizenship ceremony that will be held today.”

 

“Our luck didn’t fall into our lap. But we have been lucky that Australians themselves had the grit and determination to build our country into what it is today.”

 

“Australia Day is a time to be mightily proud. It marks the birth of modern Australia.”

 

“And for those who may not have an ancestry with the first settlers, it is nonetheless thanks to our first settlers that modern Australia came into existence and was built into the country that millions of people have chosen to migrate to and proudly call home from a cross-section of nationalities and cultures. Over 7 million people have migrated to Australia since the end of World War II alone.”

 

“Celebrate Australia Day in your way. Whether you are chilling out with friends or family or whether you are attending community events, don’t be shy in telling people just how proud you are of the birth of modern Australia.”

 

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