Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

It is a day of citizenship ceremonies, of looking to the future, of celebrating all our cultures, faiths and traditions. The member for Barton, for example, has spoken most eloquently about this. Reconciliation is more about changing hearts and minds than it is about moving public holidays, but, of course, if we look at national days that are important in the history of this country, there is 1 March 1901, when the Australian parliament, the Australian nation, came into being—when our old friend the Constitution came into being! There is, of course, another potential national public holiday, which has not yet been gazetted, and that will be the day when we finally have an Australian head of state.

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