December 4, 2023
Australia’s first female Governor-General today launched the memoirs of the nation’s first female prime minister.
Julia Gillard was prime minister for 3 years and 3 days from June 23, 2010. Her 504-page book of memoirs, My Story, was published this week.
In her speech, Quentin Bryce, appointed Governor-General by Gillard’s predecessor Kevin Rudd in 2008, emphasised the example Gillard set for girls and women.
Two hours after the announcement that she had been made a Dame, Australia’s 25th Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, was farewelled at a reception at Parliament House tonight.
Bryce’s official portrait, painted by artist Ralph Heimans, was unveiled during the farewell.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott spoke in glowing terms of Bryce’s service and approach to the position of Governor-General. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, Bryce’s son-in-law, also addressed the gathering.
The Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, has announced that Knights and Dames will be reintroduced for “pre-eminent” Australians.
The outgoing Governor-General will become Dame Quentin Bryce, whilst the new Governor-General will be Sir Peter Cosgrove.
The Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, has called for an Australian republic and same-sex marriage in the last of her Boyer Lectures, delivered just four months before she retires from the Vice-Regal role.
Bryce’s remarks came at the end of a speech titled “Advance Australia Fair”. She concluded by imagining a nation of care and equality, “where people are free to love and marry whom they choose and where, perhaps, my friends, one day, one young girl or boy may even grow up to be our nation’s first head of state”.
The Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, has officially opened the 44th Parliament.
After a day of ceremonies, including the swearing-in of the new House of Representatives, Bryce summoned members to the Senate and delivered the traditional government-written speech outlining the government’s program for the new Parliament.
The government will be “active” but not “big”, Bryce said. She outlined Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s plan to “repeal the carbon tax, abolish the mining tax, cut the waste and build the roads of the 21st century”.
Bryce’s 30-minute speech was followed by a 19-gun salute by military cannons outside Parliament House.
Earlier, the House of Representatives elected Bronwyn Bishop as its new Speaker, replacing Anna Burke, the last of three speakers in the 43rd Parliament.
The Parliament gets down to business tomorrow when it is expected that the bills to repeal the carbon tax will be introduced in the morning. Abbott and new Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will face off in Question Time at 2pm.
Today’s speech was Quentin Bryce’s last opening of Parliament. She retires in March next year.
Transcript of Governor-General Quentin Bryce’s Address at the Opening of the First Session of the Forty-Fourth Commonwealth Parliament.
Introduction
Honourable Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia.
Today, at the opening of the 44th Commonwealth Parliament, we celebrate the enduring health of our democracy.
One hundred and twelve years after the first Federal election, nearly 14 million Australians have cast their votes in another free and fair election.
For only the fourth time in three decades, the Australian people have voted for a change of government.
