I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
I extend a very warm welcome to all our international guests.
I am delighted that Australia is hosting this year's Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference, so soon after a very warm and productive Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa.
It was a uniquely Pacific CHOGM - the first to be convened by a Pacific island country.
Our discussions focused on the threat that climate change poses to all our nations: to our environment and economy, our fishing and farming, our future security and prosperity.
This is not a challenge any one of us can meet or solve alone - it demands the co-operation and commitment of us all.
It requires, as King Charles said at the Australian Parliament recently:
"Both ancient and new thinking".
The ancient respect for land and waters, paired with new breakthroughs in science and technology.
All of it driven by the organising and mobilising power of democracy.
Looking out on this extraordinary crowd, I see proof of the enduring strength of your Association.
I also see evidence of a shared determination, to learn from each other and work together, in the service and spirit of the oldest meaning of Commonwealth - the common good.
Where we are tonight, Sydney Town Hall, holds a special place in my heart.
For members of the New South Wales Labor Party like myself, this is almost-sacred ground.
The home of our State Conference: theatre, arena and colosseum all in one.
And for me, the cradle of my political life.
This is where I learned about putting arguments, demanding better for working people than the status quo - and respecting the outcome of democratic processes.
This is where my engagement in democracy and politics began - so I'm delighted to be part of your discussions on engaging and empowering citizens to sustain democracy around the world.
That's a challenge we all face, it's a responsibility we all share - and it can be an opportunity we all seize.
A chance to show that parliament, politics and democracy are not part of the problems facing our world, they are central to the solution.
A few hours ago, I was in Canberra for the final Question Time of the sitting week.
In our chamber, the two despatch boxes from which questions are asked and answered were a gift to Australia from King George V.
They were presented by his son the Duke of York, when he opened what we now call Old Parliament House in Canberra, in 1927.
And those boxes are such faithful copies of the ones that sat in the House of Commons that they even bear the pattern of nicks and scratches supposedly caused by the signet ring Prime Minister Gladstone used to wear, which would bite into the timber when he pounded the lid with his fist during speeches.
The King's gift was the second Westminster replica presented to Australia's Parliament.
The first was the Speaker's Chair. An elaborate oak masterpiece packed into crates and shipped to Australia by the forerunner of this group, then called the Empire Parliamentary Association.
That chair included timber taken from the beams of Westminster Hall, the scene of the trial of Charles I.
And Nelson's famous flagship at the battle of Trafalgar, HMS Victory.
Virtually every nation and parliament represented here, can point to a similar gift and tell a similar story.
Across the tremendous diversity of the Commonwealth we can trace this shared network of symbols and traditions, ritual and practice.
But of course, what truly binds and unites us is not the architecture of our chambers or the language of our proceedings.
It is the Parliaments in which we serve and the democratic systems that serve our nations.
And in different ways over the years all of us have done much more than diligently preserve the foundation stone.
We haven't kept our democracy under glass, or treated it like a museum piece.
We've helped it grow and watched it evolve.
We've shaped our systems to the unique needs of our own nations, the values of our people, the history and culture of our lands.
We've expanded the right to vote and reformed the way we vote -strengthening our democracies by broadening their foundations.
And we've learned from each other - and helped each other.
In May 1941, a German bomb landed on the House of Commons.
It started a fire which reduced the chamber to nothing but a smoking shell.
And in the years after the war, when the time came to rebuild, it was the Parliaments and peoples of the Commonwealth that made it possible.
From New Zealand, new despatch boxes, using Australia's as the template.
Australia reproduced the Speaker's Chair, replacing English oak with Queensland timber.
From the people of Zambia, the bronze brackets to hold the mace.
Jamaica, the bronze bar beyond which visitors to the chamber cannot pass.
Pakistan, a new door for the South Entrance.
Uganda furnished the lobby for the Noes.
Nigeria, the Ayes.
And from the people of Sri Lanka, the chair for the Serjeant at Arms.
The list goes on.
All of it adding up to more than a mere reconstruction of what had been.
Instead, something stronger, better, drawn from a wider world.
Given shape by the aspirations of every nation that drew inspiration from that mother of Parliaments.
That's the unifying spirit of this association.
A mutual respect, a shared willingness to listen and learn.
A common resolve to tackle the environmental challenge of climate change - and seize the economic opportunities of clean energy.
There is powerful diversity in the Commonwealth story.
And there is also a shared understanding that every nation's history contains complexity, trauma and sorrow.
And no nation's democracy is beyond improvement.
Recognising that while tradition can bind us, teach us and inspire us - it is not enough to sustain us.
Because no system that derives its authority from the people will ever be the definite article, a complete and finished artefact.
And we should never put ourselves in the position of saying that democracy peaked sometime in past.
The value, power and relevance of Parliament is not something we can merely assert, it's something we have to demonstrate, by rising to meet the challenges of the future.
We live in a time when trust in institutions is low and the media landscape is fragmented.
When people are confronted online with more and more opinions and fewer and fewer verified facts.
When the challenges of climate change, technology and population are complex and sometimes controversial.
We cannot simply trust to the weight of tradition.
Instead, just as the House of Commons built on its history with new materials drawn from all over the world.
All of us must be willing to draw on new ideas for engaging our citizens and new initiatives for strengthening our democracies.
And a great place to start is making our Parliaments look more like the nations and populations we serve.
In my time in politics, one of the most significant changes in culture and representations can be traced to a decision the Labor Party took at our 1994 National Conference.
I was proud to be among the delegates who voted for our party to adopt Affirmative Action with the aim of equal representation for women in our ranks.
Today, I am even more proud to lead the first Government in Australian history with a majority of women.
Over those three decades, I've seen firsthand that such change doesn't just mean better representation, it also drives a better culture and better decisions, informed by a broader range of views.
The final point I want to make is that making Parliament and democracy better is not about reducing disagreement or dialling-back the contest of ideas.
We serve in adversarial systems - that's a feature, not a flaw.
Parliament should be a proving ground for ideas and policies, a place where we apply the sternest possible test to the strength and rigour of propositions.
A fierce contest can be a good thing, as long as it's a contest about substance, about things that matter to people and issues that affect the country.
Sometimes this means things can be loud or unpredictable, sometimes the arguments are more sledgehammer than scalpel.
When the stakes are high, passions run high.
But these are not warning signs, they are vital signs. Proof of life and cause for hope.
Because only dictatorships pretend to be perfect.
Democracy is proud to be human.
It is, in every sense, a work in progress.
And that's why I've always believed that the strongest antidote to the corrosive forces of cynicism and division.
And the most compelling argument in favour of democracy, is not an abstract, theoretical or historical one.
It's about demonstrating the capacity of government to make a positive difference.
Delivering for people.
Proving worthy of their trust. Living up to our shared values.
And taking on the big challenges - even if the causes are complex and the solutions unknown.
In all of this, we must make people our partners in this task.
Showing the humility to listen and explain and advocate, not just assert.
The courage and capacity to push back against cynicism and extremism, division and disinformation.
In many ways, this has never been more difficult.
But in every way that matters, it's never been more important.
Thank you all for visiting Australia.
Thank you for the contribution you make to life and strength of Parliaments around the world.
Have a wonderful evening.
