E&OE TRANSCRIPT

DOORSTOP

LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN, CANBERRA

TUESDAY, 26 JANUARY 2021
 

SUBJECTS: New Australians; Australia Day; First Australians being the oldest continuous civilisation on Earth; uniting the nation; recognising First Australians in the constitution; Kerry O’Brien and Margaret Court; Australia Day Honours; Greg Gibson.
 

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: It's been, as always, a great honour to be present when new Australian citizens swear allegiance to our country. We are a multicultural nation, and today we commemorate that. But today is also a day when we need to acknowledge that it is a very difficult day for First Nations peoples, that First Nations peoples didn't have a Welcome to Country for the First Fleet. For them it was a time of dispossession, a time in which, literally through the frontier wars, through violence occurred, and one in which we need to recognise that our history didn't begin in 1788, but be proud of the fact that we have the oldest continuous civilisation on Earth that can be traced back at least 65,000 years. We need to work out ways in which we avoid the divisive debate that has occurred every year around this time, about the choice of date to have our national day. One of the things that I proposed, now three years ago on Australia Day in 2018, was the idea that what we could do, perhaps, is to consider having the date for the constitutional recognition of First Australians, have that referendum on 26 January so that truly that was the date in which we could remember our history and our past but also acknowledge, of course, that it is a very significant day. And that in Australia in 2021, most of us are either descendants of, or directly, people who have come through migration to make modern Australia the great multicultural nation that we are.
Happy to take questions.
 

JOURNALIST: What's your reaction to the Prime Minister's speech today where he said ‘this is the day when the course of this land changed over. There is no cancelling or escaping this fact’. What's your reaction to that?
 

ALBANESE: I think today is a day when we should, in our words and our actions, unite the country and bring it together, rather than seek to have any divisive debate. That's why I put forward that proposition. I reminded people of it yesterday as well. It seems to me that we do need to have a day in which everyone can celebrate, and particularly young Australians, increasingly, I guess, engaged in this debate. You've had issues like the Hottest 100 moved from this date to an earlier day. I think that it's time to have a debate about how we move forward in a way that truly unites the nation, one that recognises dispossession, but one that also recognises that modern Australia has continued to evolve and will continue to evolve into the future.
 
I note former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's comments. And he, of course, is a supporter of a Republic. So am I. But I think that in terms of our priorities, the first priority for constitutional change needs to be recognition of the First Australians in our national constitution.
 

JOURNALIST: Is division inevitable when this is such a different experience on Australia Day for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians?
 

ALBANESE: Well, it is a different experience, and we need to acknowledge that and respect that. For the First Australians, you can understand that this is a very difficult day for them. It is one of heartache and one in which they recognise what occurred to their people. And, remember, of course, Paul Keating's great Redfern Park speech, and I think that that was the sort of speech that makes me proud not just to be a Labor Party leader, but proud to be an Australian.
 

JOURNALIST: What do you make of Kerry O'Brien refusing his Order of Australia?
 

ALBANESE: I think that the awarding of Margaret Court for the highest honour in Australia, a Companion of the Order of Australia, I can't see what the justification is for that, in terms of it can't be for her tennis prowess because she had already been awarded an AO for that, and she hasn't struck a ball in anger on a major tennis tournament for many, many decades. I know that the way that Australia Day Honours occur is that in order to get an upgrade, so to speak, a second award, it has to be for things that you've done since the first award was given. I know that because I was one of the nominees of Tom Uren for an AC, and he got it for the work that he had done on behalf of his fellow prisoners of war and the work that he had done in the peace and community movement after his retirement from politics. So, I still haven't heard any explanation for why Margaret Court was given that award.
 
And I must say that today, someone who I knew, a late president of Marrickville Tennis Club that I'm a member of, Greg Gibson, received an award for tennis, and for his contribution. What Greg Gibson did was work with young people in particular with disabilities, young boys and girls, coached them, mentored them to the point whereby they could compete around the country and in international tournaments, including the Olympics, and he received his award for that. None of you would have heard of Greg Gibson. That's the sort of thing that we need to recognise and acknowledge, and I was very pleased to be notified of that as his local member. Greg passed away about a year ago, very sadly, from leukaemia which struck him down all too quickly. He was far too young. But that's the sort of award, the work that he did in tennis, I think, is one of the unsung heroes, and I think that today in of our awards that's important. But Margaret Court, her award clearly was not about tennis.
 

JOURNALIST: So Kerry O'Brien refusing is, because of her…
 

ALBANESE: Well, I respect his decision. That's a decision for him, I don't want to say anything other than it is a personal decision. It's one that I respect, and it's one also that is consistent with someone who is a man of integrity and high values.
 

JOURNALIST: Do you think the ceremony, the way the awards are decided, on the back of the discussion around Margaret Court today, and the days leading up to today, needs to be overhauled somewhat?
 

ALBANESE: I think that the awards are independent, but again, I think it is difficult to comprehend the basis for this decision, and I do think it would be helpful if someone explained what the basis of the award was.
 

ENDS