State Dinner for the Governor-General of Australia

Rau rangatira mā, e huihui nei, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātou katoa – nau mai haere mai ki Government House Wellington.   Distinguished guests, greetings to you all and welcome to Government House.

I specifically acknowledge: Your Excellencies, Ms Quentin Bryce, Governor-General of Australia and Mr Michael Bryce; Rt Hon John Key, Prime Minister and Mrs Bronagh Key; Dr Rt Hon Lockwood Smith, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Rt Hon Dame Sian Elias, Chief Justice and Mr Hugh Fletcher; and Your Excellency Paul O’Sullivan, Australian High Commissioner and Mrs Merrilyn O’Sullivan.

It’s an honour for Janine and me to host this State Dinner for the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia Her Excellency Ms Bryce and His Excellency Mr Michael Bryce at Government House Wellington.  It’s also a great pleasure to welcome all of you here tonight to share hospitality in the context of an extended family.

First and foremost Your Excellency, can I register our thanks on behalf of all New Zealanders for your official visit to New Zealand.  We appreciate the timing of your visit, so early on in our own tenure as a Vice-Regal couple and at an interesting time.  Welcoming you reminds me of what I say to new Ambassadors and High Commissioners to New Zealand after they’ve presented their credentials that when one has been welcomed three times to New Zealand, you’re considered part of the family.  At last count, this is the fourth time I have welcomed Your Excellencies so I’m thinking we might have the kids over for a “barbie” soon too! 

Seriously, this welcome and the dinner associated with it, is a very special event.  It’s special because as the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia you represent things, places and people that are familiar.  I trust you’ve noted during your visit that New Zealanders know quite a lot about Australia – and the things, places and people who we jointly claim – pavlova, Gallipoli and Robbie “Dingo” Deans!  It’s also special because this is the first State Dinner Janine and I have hosted since I was sworn in late last year.

New Zealand and Australia are separated by some of the roughest and most treacherous waters in the world.  The distance—some 1200 miles—was once described by a New Zealand Premier as “1200 reasons” not to join the Australian Federation.  Although we’ve chosen to be separate politically, in most other ways the distance, and the Tasman that lies between, has not prevented us from creating a strong and enduring bilateral relationship.

Our relationship with Australia is New Zealand’s closest and most significant.  It is underpinned by geography and shared historical linkages, values and institutions, and substantial people-to-people links. 

From the tragic shores of Gallipoli and the deserts of North Africa to Bougainville, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Afghanistan New Zealanders and Australians have served alongside each other in conflicts away from home.  We have fought together defending our shared heritage and democratic values and we have endeavoured to bring principled-peace to war-torn lands under the umbrella of the United Nations.

The relationship encompasses close co-operation across all dimensions.  Two-way flows of goods, services, people and capital are the highest of all New Zealand’s trading partners, underpinned by CER and the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangements.  Through CDR we have enhanced our cooperation in defence, especially in the Pacific.  In international fora we have advocated for the right to a dignified life, a sustainable environment and transparent governance.  We are both proud to be founding members of the Commonwealth and the United Nations. 

Migration and other people-to-people linkages also play a key role in shaping our close relationship and the robust trans-Tasman sense of identity.  There are many Kiwis living permanently in Australia and many Australians living here, furthering these links.  The New Zealand and Australian communities are closely inter-woven. 

None of this is new to anyone here and I could easily spend all night outlining our connections.  You’ll be pleased to hear then that I don’t intend to do that!

It’s easy to wax lyrical about strong friendships in the good times.  The real strength of any relationship lies in how we respond in the bad and sad times.  The strength of our ties has been demonstrated repeatedly in the last year as we have been tested by the forces of nature.

On 10 January, Australians marked the first anniversary of the devastating flooding in Queensland, which claimed 35 lives and damaged thousands of homes and businesses.  And last week, on 22 February, New Zealanders gathered to mark the first anniversary of the calamitous earthquake in Canterbury that claimed 185 lives and shattered Christchurch city. 

These anniversaries are sobering reminders of the power of nature and how precious life is.  They also bid us, in memory of those we have lost, to look forward, to repair and to rebuild.  

In responding to these and other disasters, Australia and New Zealand were quick to offer the other all necessary assistance.  We were impressed by the swift and generous support Australia provided.  The Australian Urban Search and Rescue Teams, Police and other support teams that came across in the immediate aftermath of the February quake were deeply appreciated.  My predecessor, Sir Anand Satyanand met and spoke to many of them.  We New Zealanders also appreciated your attendance at the National Memorial Service held in Christchurch on 18 March last year.

New Zealanders relate to the notion of family—we’re a people where nearly everyone knows everyone else.  We joke that there is only two degrees of separation between us rather than the usual six degrees.  New Zealanders who meet overseas can quickly find someone, someplace or something in common.  To New Zealanders, family is central to who we are as a people.

So it is that a New Zealander far from home will also feel a sense of the familiar when they overhear the distinctive Australian accent.  It speaks to us of somewhere very near home—notwithstanding the 1200 miles between our two countries.  For if New Zealanders consider themselves of one family, I think it is fair to say that we consider Australians family too.  Our cultures are not the same, and yet they’re not too dissimilar either.

The events of the recent past have shown us just how much we share in common.  Such are the people-to-people linkages that the ripples of grief from those disasters stretched far beyond our individual shores.

Yet, as family, we’re known to be competitive, especially when it comes to sport.  And we’ve been known to squabble occasionally, as only families can, and I’ll admit we considered putting apple crumble on the dessert menu. 

Seriously though, the ties between us are much stronger than minor disagreements because the roots of the relationship go deep.  Just how deep and close: I would like to recall the familiar words of Australian historian, CEW Bean, who wrote of the Gallipoli campaign and the bravery—and family ties—demonstrated by the ANZACs.  He wrote:   “In this fierce test, each saw in the other a brother’s qualities …Three days of genuine trial had established a friendship which centuries will not destroy.”

Tonight, we celebrate the bonds of friendship and kin between us, from those times, that continue to this day, and extend into the future.  Your Excellencies—in keeping with that enduring spirit, I welcome you again to New Zealand.