Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship Commonwealth Day Reception 2024

Representing the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Jarrod Bleijie MP; Commanding Officer of the HMAS Moreton, Commander Rosemarie Apikotoa RAN; representing the Royal Australian Airforce, Wing Commander Jason Lynam; representing the Acting Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service, Inspector Peta Compadora; Dean of St John’s Anglican Cathedral, Brisbane, The Very Reverend Dr Peter Catt; Members of the Consular Corps in Queensland; Chairman of The Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship, Queensland, Mr William Willcocks and President, Mr Barry Dineen; Chairman of The Order of Australia Association Queensland Branch, Mrs Ronda Nix OAM; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbal and Jagera people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people with us today.

I am delighted to join you here for this reception following the moving and joyful multicultural observance many of us have just enjoyed in St John’s Cathedral.

As Patron of the Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship in Queensland, I take this opportunity to thank the League for their continuing commitment to the Commonwealth, especially in our contemporary world where conflicts rage and the League’s ideals of peace, cooperation and shared values are under increasing threat.

In such an environment, the League’s foundation story is truly an inspiration and a great example of what can be achieved by seeing opportunities rather than barriers.

It’s thanks to that positive attitude, combined with a great deal of determination, that a chance conversation between two women on a train in South Africa in 1901 during the Boer War led to the global society we know today as the Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship.

Neither of the two founders could have imagined that members of the League, throughout the then Empire and later the Commonwealth, would continue to carry the flame that was first lit in 1901.

Over more than 120 years, the League has reached a third of the world’s population through its branches in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, the Americas and the Pacific.

Throughout that time, its commitment to the society’s core principles and beliefs has remained steadfast, while striving for contemporary relevance and adapting to changing times.

Recent Commonwealth Days have served as markers of those changing times – in 2021, at the height of the COVID pandemic, Queen Elizabeth broadcast her message rather than delivering it in person in Westminster Abbey; the following year, the Prince of Wales delivered the message on Her Majesty’s behalf; last year, following The Queen’s death, King Charles the Third delivered his first Commonwealth Day message as Head of the Commonwealth; and this year, we heard the first message from His Majesty since his Coronation.

His Majesty’s succession may have given 14 Commonwealth realms a new Head of State, and every one of the 56 member nations has had to adapt to the change in some way, but the heart of the Sovereign’s message for Commonwealth Day remains as it has since 1901 – the need to uphold the core values of peace, friendship and unity and work together to create a better future.

King Charles’s chosen theme for Commonwealth Day and for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in October is: One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth. It’s a theme that highlights the need for member countries to harness their strengths, build resilience, unlock their potential, and foster a connected, digital Commonwealth if we’re to ensure a future where no one is left behind.

As His Majesty says in his message, it is “by coming together that we create the best chances to improve our world and the lives of people everywhere.”

 In this spirit, may I commend The Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship on the role you so aptly play in bringing people together to foster friendship and understanding.

Happy Commonwealth Day!