I have also received the following message from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The
Queen Mother:
I offer my congratulations to the Commonwealth Parliament on its Centenary. I
remember so well our visit in May 1927 when my husband opened the provisional Parliament
House in Canberra and how touched we were by the warmth of the welcome we received.
I have such fond memories of my visits to Australia and I send to all Australians
my best wishes for happiness and prosperity in the years ahead.
On this day in this magnificent building in 1901, our nation's central democratic
institution, the Parliament of the Commonwealth, came alive.
Throughout the following century, that Parliament has been the focal point of our
national political life Ö the place and the means whereby national laws are made,
national governments are controlled, national aspirations are articulated and pursued
and national questions are debated and determined.
Over the years, the overwhelming majority of our Commonwealth parliamentarians have
served Australia with dedication and integrity. As a nation, we have known a century
of democratic rule, uninterrupted by military conquest, civil war or dictatorship
of the left or right. Truly, we have much to celebrate as we look back on the first
century of the life of the Parliament and of the democracy of which it is the keystone.
At the same time, we must look to the future and to the challenges which lie ahead.
For the strong and vibrant democracy, which we have inherited, must never be taken
for granted.
One challenge is for our democratic institutions to remain stable and yet be responsive
enough to meet the aspirations and expectations of the changing Australian community.
Those expectations include: the expectation that, in the context of our multicultural
diversity, the Parliament will be truly representative of all the people; the expectation
that the elected representatives of all Australians will work to heal any divisions
in our society and, in particular, to achieve true and lasting Aboriginal reconciliation;
the expectation that the voices of the disadvantaged will be heard; the expectation
that our natural environment will be protected and preserved for future, as well
as present, Australians.
All of us who are privileged to hold public office, be it elected or appointed, owe
a duty of trust to the present and future generations of Australians to put the pursuit
of the common good above personal gain or ambition. As we celebrate the Centenary
of the first meeting of our national Parliament, let us be conscious of that duty
and of the basic fact of our democracy, namely, that the ultimate source of all government
power and authority in this land is the people - all the people - of our Commonwealth.
God bless Australia.
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