On 28 April, 1996 at Port Arthur, 35 lives were stolen in the worst mass shooting in our nation’s history, an atrocity seared in our collective memory. Just as the grief of those who lost loved ones has not faded with time, the devastation of Port Arthur still resonates with all Australians.

Our thoughts are with all those who can never forget this day.

Australia is with you, always.

The Kokoda Track runs across the hills and mountains of Papua New Guinea. 

And the Australians who fought here repelled relentless attacks from the advancing Japanese forces despite being malnourished, exhausted and outnumbered.





Just walking the section between Kokoda and Isurava brings home the unforgiving terrain they faced. 

It’s something every Australian I’ve met along the way says to me. 

“Such incredible determination and sacrifice. I’m proud to be an Australian,” is how one hiker put it.

It’s been a big week.

At National Cabinet, we reached an historic agreement to create a National Firearms Register.

We made a deal to make sure the NDIS is strong and sustainable, so it can deliver life-changing support into the future. And we agreed on a landmark hospitals agreement and further package of Strengthening Medicare measures to take pressure off hospitals, boost our health workforce and Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.

Every one of us in the Labor family is broken hearted by the death of our beloved Peta Murphy.

At this saddest of times we offer our deepest sympathies to her loving husband Rod and all her family. Peta Murphy was the strongest of local members, the most inspiring of colleagues and the very best kind of friend.

To attend a community event with Peta was to bask in her glow. Like all of us who served alongside her, the people Peta represented admired her determination.

Today in San Diego, alongside President @JoeBiden and Prime Minister @RishiSunak, I announced the next steps for AUKUS. A new chapter in the friendship between the Australia, the US, and the UK. Strengthening Australia’s national security and stability in our region.

Building a future made in Australia with record investments in skills, jobs and infrastructure.

And delivering a superior defence capability into the future.

India has changed a lot since I was a backpacker here in 1991.

But the warmth of the Indian people is as strong as ever. Prime Minister @narendramodi has been a gracious host over the past three days.

We’ve forged a deeper connection between our two nations – from education and culture to defence and trade.

For Australia, India is a top tier security partner. The Indian Ocean is central to both countries’ security and prosperity. And we are working together to ensure the Indo-Pacific is open, inclusive and prosperous.

Australian food and wine is finding its way into the bustling restaurants and dinner tables of India. And here in Mumbai, the capital of Indian cinema, we're seeing more Aussies in Bollywood productions. Both on and off-screen.

And we want to see more Bollywood productions in Australia.

It’s been a big week, with legislation passing on:

✅ Establishing the National Anti-Corruption Commission
✅ Preventing sexual harassment at work
✅ Getting wages moving, closing the gender pay gap, and creating more secure jobs
✅ Making sure companies keep your data safe We heard how the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Voice to Parliament can be a unifying moment and can help with Closing the Gap.

This morning I went to Gough Whitlam’s family home to celebrate the anniversary of a famous victory, and the home's preservation. [1/4] Fifty years ago, people all over Australia voted to change the direction of our nation. [2/4]

Today we have introduced laws to set up a National Anti-Corruption Commission. Here’s what that means: (1/5) The National Anti-Corruption Commission (or NACC) is an independent, transparent and powerful body that will look into serious and systemic corruption in national politics. (2/5)

At the Palace’s invitation, 10 Australians who have made extraordinary contributions to their communities will attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II alongside the Prime Minister and Governor-General on September 19.

Here's more about who they are:

(1/11) Danny Abdallah founded the i4give Foundation to assist families like his own who have suffered through trauma, and to increase community awareness of the power of forgiveness.


(2/11)

“I consider myself lucky, because I have somewhere to go.”

Nadiia works at the Australian Embassy in Kiev. Her apartment building in Irpin, just outside Kiev, was bombed by Russian forces a few months ago. It’s still unsafe to live in, but many of her elderly neighbours remain because they have no option.

Watch my address to the National Press Club:
If we get this moment right, Australia can emerge from this once-in-a-century crisis better, stronger, more fair, and more prosperous.

Today @MattBQLD and I visited a GP clinic in Gladstone that only has 8 vials of Pfizer left in the fridge.

People are ringing up trying to book, but all have to be told to wait.

They’ve got capacity here to administer 1000 doses a week.

The problem is lack of supply. Matt Burnett, Labor’s candidate for Flynn, rang his local GP to try and get a Pfizer vaccine – he was told there were none available. We’ll keep fighting for the people of Flynn to get their fair share.

Over the past five days, while Scott Morrison was hiding from the Australian public, I’ve been in Queensland hearing from the people affected by his government’s failures.

He had two jobs this year: the rollout and quarantine, and he’s failed at both. On Monday I visited Wellcamp Airport outside Toowoomba, where we could have a quarantine facility up and running. Mr Morrison found excuses why it couldn’t be done.

We're 18 months into this pandemic, and he still hasn’t built any fit-for-purpose quarantine facilities.

None.

Scott Morrison had two jobs this year: the rollout and quarantine.

He has failed at both.

26 leaks from hotel quarantine.

12 million people under lockdown.

Priority Australians, including aged care workers and frontline workers still aren’t fully vaccinated.

(1/7) With 4.7% of Australians fully vaccinated, we are last in the OECD.

Australia, when you were asked to do your bit, you stepped up.

You put on masks. You isolated. You shut down your business. You avoided social contact.

The Prime Minister is failing in his two jobs.

(2/7)

In this photo are three of the most important people in my life.

There’s my son Nathan and my mum Maryanne. And there’s Tom Uren.

A minister in the Whitlam and Hawke Governments, Tom was more than just a political mentor. He was the closest thing I had to a father figure. (1/5) Tom always fought for what he believed in. As a veteran, he campaigned against the Vietnam War and nuclear weapons. As a believer in progress, he campaigned for land rights and a better life for working people. His life was a lesson in courage for us all. (2/5)

This is the lockdown we didn’t need to have.

But we’re here because of the complacency of the Morrison Government.

They've been slow on the vaccine rollout and they're refusing to fix quarantine. Here is Labor's plan to beat COVID-19.

1. Build dedicated quarantine facilities. Hotels aren't up to the task.

2. Fix the rollout. We've got plenty of vaccines, we need to get them into arms, especially of vulnerable Australians.

Mother’s Day is such a special day, but for me and many others it's always a bit difficult.

Mother's Day was the day my mum went to hospital and never came back.

(THREAD) I remember it was a Sunday in autumn of 2002. I had just flown back to Sydney from Canberra to take my mum Maryanne and her sister Margaret out for Mother’s Day lunch.

When I got to her home in Camperdown, I knew something wasn’t right.

The front door had been left open.

Soon, I’m giving my pre-Budget address at @McKellInstitute – laying out Labor’s values and what’s required from #Budget2021.

Quarantine. Aged care. Child care. Secure jobs.

After eight long years of the Liberals and Nationals, Australians need a government that’s on their side. Speech starting soon. Live tweets from my team.