Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used the 125th anniversary of Australia’s Commonwealth Parliament to celebrate the country’s democratic evolution, multicultural identity and reform legacy, declaring Australians must continue to “lift people up, not shut them out.”
Speaking at Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building, where the first federal Parliament opened on 9 May 1901, Albanese reflected on how far Australia had changed since Federation, noting there were no MPs with surnames like “Albanese”, “Wong”, “Khalil” or “Ng” in the original Parliament.
“There were Labor MPs here in 1901,” Albanese said.
“But there was certainly no-one in the House of Representatives with a surname like Albanese.”
The Prime Minister contrasted Australia’s modern diversity with the overwhelmingly Anglo political class present at Federation, while also acknowledging First Nations Australians and “the oldest continuous culture on earth.”
Albanese described Federation as “the first country on earth created by the free and peaceful vote of its people” and said the Parliament’s opening carried an enduring democratic lesson.
“Australia is always at our best when we choose to lift people – not shut them out,” he said.
The speech repeatedly linked Australia’s democratic history with major social reforms, including compulsory voting, women’s suffrage, Medicare, universal superannuation and the dismantling of the White Australia Policy.
Albanese also praised Australia’s multicultural transformation, saying the nation had been enriched “with the hard work and aspiration of people drawn from every faith and culture on earth, united by their love of this country.”
Drawing comparisons with the United States’ upcoming 250th anniversary celebrations, Albanese said Australians were generally less inclined toward “grand civic celebrations” but should still take “real, patriotic pride” in the country’s democratic achievements.
The Prime Minister ended the address by invoking the Latin phrase painted beneath the building’s dome, Carpe Diem.
“Seize the day,” Albanese said.
“That is the optimism and the determination that brought Australians together, 125 years ago.”
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