India Independence Day 2024

Good evening – thank you for that kind introduction.

I acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet.

I pay my respects to their Elders, past and present; and I extend that respect to any other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here with us today. 

[Acknowledgments]

Let me begin by saying that in his brief time in the role, High Commissioner Baglay and I have met in every corner of our enormous country - from Melbourne to Canberra to Darwin to Perth.

He's shown an extraordinary commitment for engaging with every part of our nation and I thank him for his energy and enthusiasm.

The first time I met the High Commissioner I told him then that he would be in for a very busy time as Indian High Commissioner to Australia.

I also told him a story about an early touchstone of the Australia-India relationship that Australian Ministers are now very fond of retelling.

It's the story of the special role that Australia had in the history of Indian independence.

Due to the quirk of international time zones, and Australia's rapid recognition of an independent India, the first outdoor unfurling of independent India's national flag – the tiranga – took place at 34 Mugga Way, Canberra, at the Indian High Commission to Australia.

A somewhat less dramatic backdrop than the Red Fort in New Delhi true, but it's a very special location for all of us here in Canberra nonetheless.

I like to say that because of this quirk of history Australia was present at the creation of an Independent India and ever since, our national destinies have been entwined.

And truly, in the 78 years since independence, Australia has had a habit of playing a role in many moments of Indian national pride.

It's long been a cliché to note the shared passion of Australians and Indians for the contest on the cricket pitch.

But while we are all recovering from the time zone inflicted sleep deprivation of watching the Paris Olympics from the other side of the world, I want to highlight our shared history on the field of my first sporting love, field hockey.

Only a year after Independence, India competed at its first Olympics as an independent nation at the 1948 London Games, coming away with a gold medal in the men's hockey – one of six consecutive golds won by one of the most dominant dynasties of world sport.

Including I should say, winning the gold medal game at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics played in front of a massive crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

It's a mark of the depth of the friendship between our countries that I can note that while Australia pulled off its best Olympics result in Paris with 53 medals….

In the men's hockey, led by the tournament's leading goal scorer Harmanpreet Singh, India beat the Kookaburras 3-2 to record their first Olympic victory against Australia since the 1972 Munich games on their way to the Bronze medal.

But of course the relationship between India and Australia on the hockey pitch extends beyond the playing field.

Earlier this week I had the honour of hosting icons of Indian film making Rani Mukerji and Karan Johar at Parliament House for an event celebrating the 15th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

In his comments to the adoring crowd that came to our Parliament to see these icons, Karan noted that the iconic Indian film, Chak De! India, in which Shah Rukh Khan plays a former Indian Men's Hockey player who becomes the coach of the Indian Women's Hockey team was filmed in both India and Australia.

Indeed, the Hockey Centre in Royal Park in my home town of Melbourne provided the backdrop for a movie that has now become a powerful symbol of Indian pride and sporting achievement.

The world has now become used to hearing Indian athletes and sporting teams singing the movie's title track after a great victory – including Virat Kohli after the Indian Cricket team's 2011 ODI World Cup victory.

I can't recall him singing it after the 2023 ODI World Cup Final, but it would be undiplomatic of me to explore the reasons for that in this forum.

Was there a T20 World Cup recently too? I can't seem to remember it.

Instead, let me say that while Australian and Indian cricket fans are eagerly anticipating the start of the contest for the Border-Gavaskar trophy in this year's summer of test cricket, and the rivalry between our teams on the field has never been greater, there have never been more friendships between Australian and Indian players.

Australian and Indian cricketers now regularly play side by side in Twenty20 competitions around the world.

Australians are a regular feature in the IPL and this year, extraordinarily, Australians and Indians even teamed up in the United States in the Major League Cricket.

I'm not sure anyone could have imagined in 1947 that Australians and Indians would be playing professional cricket together in Washington 77 years later.

As the world's largest democracy celebrates the occasion of its independence, I reflect on the close friendship between our two nations.

The Australia-India partnership has never been as close, nor as active, nor as vital, to our region.

Since we elevated our relationship with India to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2020, we have committed to boosting two-way trade and investment, increased our defence engagement and strengthened our community ties.

The high tempo of engagement and visits over the past year underlines our mutual commitment to our partnership.

In 2023, we had 19 Australian ministerial visits to India during its outstanding G20 presidency – that included half of Australia's national cabinet.

I have had the pleasure of visiting twice in my time as Minister.

Our Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, has met her Indian counterpart Dr Jaishankar more times than she has any other foreign minister.

And in February, the Foreign Minister and I were pleased to welcome Minister Jaishankar to Perth for our jointly-hosted Indian Ocean Conference, where we made real strides in advancing our cooperation and commitment to securing our shared region.

The next chapter of the Australia-India relationship requires even more ambition.

One important signal of our commitment to this is the newly launched Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR).

The Centre seeks to lift Australians' understanding of contemporary India and push for greater business engagement; this is an important objective as we negotiate an ambitious Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).

We know India is a vital partner in unlocking economic opportunities.

Building on our India Economic Strategy, a new Roadmap for Australia's economic engagement with India is underway.

This will concentrate our efforts for the next phrase of the economic partnership:

The Roadmap will focus on the most prospective sectors and significant opportunities, including clean energy and climate change, education and skills, tourism, agriculture and agricultural cooperation.

While the Australia-India relationship is important in itself, it's also critical to shaping the kind of region we want to live in.

We share an ambition: that the Indo-Pacific region is peaceful, stable, and prosperous.

A region where no country dominates, and no country is dominated.

That is why we work together so closely bilaterally and through the Quad.

Lastly, I want to turn to the growing number of Australians of Indian heritage.

These communities are such an important part of modern Australia today.

And our Australian Indian communities will continue to play a key role in bringing our two countries closer together.

As part of our dynamic multicultural society, we are proud that one in 25 Australians claim Indian heritage - our fastest-growing overseas born group.

You'll see it on show in Melbourne tomorrow night at the Awards night of the 15th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne – the biggest annual celebration of Indian film outside of India.

Over the last 15 years, the IFFM has attracted some of the biggest names in Indian film making to our shores including Priyanka Chopra; the Big B himself – Amitabh Bachchan; Rani Mukerji; Karan Johar; and of course, King Khan himself, SRK.

This year I'm excited to meet the maestro AR Rahman and to get my Naatu Naatu on with Ram Charan, the star of the mega hit, RRR.

Their presence, and the scale of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, is symbolic of the deep connection and appreciation between our societies and cultures.

Australians of Indian heritage continue to make significant contributions to all aspects of Australian life, whether that be in business, civil society, academia, science, the arts, sport and politics…

… the latter of which includes my colleagues, Senator for Western Australia, Mr Varun Ghosh – who is also here tonight – and the Member for Swan, Ms Zaneta Mascarenhas MP.

I feel fortunate to experience the dynamism and talent of our Australian-Indian communities every day in my own community – around one in four of my voters was born in India.

I see their contributions everywhere, whether it's:

• the delicious Indian mithai shops (where I was proud to host PM Albanese to make some laddu last month);
• the food relief charity drives that spring up any time a disaster strikes our community;
• the family fun of heading to Holi to throw colour with people from all backgrounds and stations in life; or
• the valuable perspectives of my Indian-Australian staff members.

Indian-Australian talent is everywhere.

Australia's diversity, truly, is our national strength.

The government is deeply committed to its relationship with India and we will pursue new ways to work even more closely with India in the years ahead.

On that note, I thank the Indian High Commissioner for hosting us tonight, and close by wishing you all a very happy Independence Day.