Australia Day

Today is our national day of celebration. It's a day of barbeques, of fireworks, of the beach, sand, surf, of parties and strangers calling out 'g'day, mate'. It's a day when most of the population sigh and think 'damn, I'm glad I'm Australian'.

Every country thinks theirs is special. I'm no different. To me, Australia is special. I've travelled, so don't think I'm being parochial. I even tried to live in England, my mother's birth country. I couldn't do it. Not because it was cold and damp during winter and mild in summer. I loved the scent of the sweet grass in spring, the dying leaves in autumn, the snow in winter. I loved the... Britishness; the ancient monuments, cobblestone streets, the fluffy, white clouds and long evenings. I even enjoyed the harsh northern winters of chilled rain and sharp wind, the cold winter sun, the red-cheeked, pale people huddled in thick coats; it was all wonderful.

I've been to America - twice, and plan another trip. I enjoyed their openess and willingness to help a stranger, the spectacular Rocky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Puget Sound, Arches National Park, the snow swept grasslands of North Dakota, the sulky heat of New Orleans, the wooded hills of Tennessee. I was intrigued by the class and racial divisions that are denied, the diversity of accents; I listened with interest to the tales and stories of ordinary Americans. I was in San Francisco for the devastating fires - yeah, some time ago now, but I remember the familiarity.

I've been to Thailand, to Fiji, Denmark, Canada, Ireland... and nowhere felt more like home than... Australia.

Because this is where I was brought up? Probably. But this country was built by those who came from other countries. How hard was it for them to give up their nationalities to create this new country? How difficult to leave behind everything they'd ever known, friends, family, lifestyle to come here?

There are alot of attractive things about Australia: the weather, the people, the sheer openness and diversity of our landscape.

We welcome thousands every year who come from everywhere to settle. We're proud to be Australian no matter where you came from, we believe in the ethic of a fair go and we believe in mateship.

It probably comes from our convict origins, but we pull together during times of adversity. This country is not an easy one to live in. We are a land of drought, of floods and bushfires, of surf and sand, of snow and mountains and deserts and rainforests. Some of our best people were born elsewhere, but call Australia home. And some of our best people were born here and succeed overseas.

It doesn't matter where you were born, we are proud to call you ours. And on this Australia Day, it is our multiculturalism that is celebrated with such style.