Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Youth) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to pay tribute to Their Majesties King Frederik X and Queen Mary of Denmark on their recent state visit to Australia. Thank you to the member for Cunningham, as co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Denmark, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, members and senators for attending the event held in Their Majesties honour at Parliament House on Monday 16 March. I thank Her Excellency Ingrid Dahl-Madsen for her great deal of work on Denmark-Australia relations and of course on the state visit; Mr Lars Aagaard Moller, Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities; Mr Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen, Permanent Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Mr Lars Frelle-Petersen, Permanent Secretary of State at the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities; and the delegation of around 50 Danish companies involved in sectors with a focus on agriculture and renewables.

It was indeed a great honour to acknowledge and welcome Their Majesties to Parliament House. I said, in my speech to the parliamentary friendship group, that I could never compete with Queen Mary's impeccable Danish, but, as a grateful Rotary exchange student to Denmark in 1986, I gave it an Aussie red-hot go. I do so again as a mark of respect for the enduring relationship between Australia and Denmark; for the Royal Danish Court, Kongehuset; and for the Kingdom of Denmark, including Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

I say in advance that my accent is neither the King's Copenhagen Danish nor the Odense Danish of Funen, the home of Hans Christian Andersen, but rather Jutland's less sophisticated dialect, fondly known as jysk. I tell my story with fondness, and I table the English translation for the House.

Ms Bell then proceeded to speak in Danish.

Og defor fortaeller jeg min historie med kaerlighed.

Den oplevelse, jeg fik som 17-årig pige, da jeg re-praesenterede mit land som Rotary-udvekslings-student til det yndige land, som hedder gamle Danmark, aendrede virkelig mit liv.

Jeg tror, at hvis jeg ikke havde vaeret modtager af Rotarys og Danmarks generøsitet i 1986, ville jeg ikke stå her i dag som medlem af det australske parlament.

Jeg vil gerne benytte denne lejlighed til at takke Rotary International og Kongeriget Danmark for en helt-dinaer oplevelse.

Jeg anerkender også Hendes Majestaet Dronning Margrethes enestående re-ger-ing-stid på 52 år, sammen med Prins Henrik.

Fire vaertsfamilier, skolekammerater fra Herning Gymnasium og Rotary-faellesskabet viste venlighed, tålmodighed og tro på en ung kvinde fra Australien. De investerede i mig og tog mig til sig.

Jeg vendte hjem efter et år meget klogere , mere erfaren-og tolv kilo tung-ere! Det var for meget chokolade og for mange fastelavnsboller, tror jeg.

I dag baerer jeg Danmark med mig, hvor end jeg går, i mit berømte danske design—et Georg Jensen-ur.

Hvert år laver jeg en dansk jule-aftens-middag for min familie—-flaeskesteg, rødkål og brune kartofler, og risalamande—men ikke rødgrød med fløde på til Jul! Jeg pynter juletraeet med danske dekorationer fra år tilbage.

Australiere har meget til faelles med danskere. Vi deler humor og livssyn.

Danmark og Australien ligger langt fra hinanden på verdenskortet, men vi står hinanden naer i vaer-dier. Begge vores lande er demokratier, der tror på frihed, ret-stats-principper, lighed og menneskelig vaerdighed.

Venskabet mellem vores lande har dybe rødder. I mere end et århundrede er danskere rejst til Australien for at arbejde, studere og bosaette sig—kun for at tage et stykke Australien med hjem..(nogle end-da med kongelige aegtefaeller.)

Samtid-ig har australiere fundet inspiration i Norden—i faellesskab, velfaerd og baere-dygtighed. I dag vokser sam-arbejdet fortsat inden for handel, forskning, ud-dannelse, forsvar og den grønne omstilling.

Verden står overfor store ud-fordringer. Danmark og Australien besidder staerke kompetencer—saerligt inden for ved-varende energi, maritim teknologi, landbrug og innovation. Sammen kan vi gøre mere.

Deres Majestaeters besøg er ikke blot en fejring af venskab—og af familie—men et løfte om fortsat partnerskab.

Et partnerskab bygget på-gen-sid-ig respekt, åben dialog og viljen til handling til gavn for vores borgere og kommende gene-rationer.

Vi takker Dem for at vaelge at besøge vores land, Uluru, Canberra, Melbourne og Hobart og håber, De nød vores varme gaest-frihed. Den af-spejler vores følel-ser for Danmark.

Må forholdet mellem Danmark og Australien fort-saette med at vokse i styrke og dybde.

Må vores lande stå sammen i arbejdet for fred, frihed og en baere-dygtig fremtid.

Tusind tak til Hans Majestaet Kong Frederik, Hendes Majestaet 'vores' Dronning Mary, Minister Aagaard, Statssekretaerer, Ambassadør, Den Danske delegation (hvem må jeg have lyst til at tale til i Melbourne) for dit voldsomt succesfulde statesbesg med Kong Frederik's ord "Down Under fra Up Over''.

Og endelig ... hilsen til alle dem i lille Vildbjerg ae osse!

Det var hyggeligt!

English translation

The experience I had as a 17-year-old girl, when I represented my country as a Rotary exchange student to Denmark, truly changed my life.

I believe that if I had not been the recipient of the generosity of Rotary and Denmark in 1986, I would not be standing here today as a member of the Australian Parliament.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rotary International and the Kingdom of Denmark for an absolutely extraordinary experience.

I also acknowledge Her Majesty Queen Margrethe's remarkable 52-year reign, together with Prince Henrik.

Four host families, classmates from Herning Gymnasium and the Rotary community showed kindness, patience and belief in a young woman from Australia. They invested in me and took me into their lives.

I returned home after a year much wiser, more experienced—and twelve kilos heavier! It was far too many cream buns and slices of chocolate.

Today I carry Denmark with me wherever I go, in my famous Danish design—a Georg Jensen watch.

Every year I make a Danish Christmas Eve dinner for my family—roast park, red cabbage and caramelised potatoes, and rice pudding—but not red berry pudding with cream at Christmas! I decorate the Christmas tree with Danish ornaments from years past.

Australians have much in common with Danes. We share humour and a way of life.

Denmark and Australia lie far apart on the world map, but we stand close together in values. Both our countries are democracies that believe in freedom, the rule of law, equality and human dignity.

The friendship between our countries has deep roots. For more than a century, Danes have travelled to Australia to work, study and settle—only to take a piece of Australia back home, some even with royal spouses.

At the same time, Australians have found inspiration in the Nordic countries—in community, welfare and sustainability. Today the cooperation continues to grow within trade, research, education, defence and the green transition.

The world faces great challenges. Denmark and Australia possess strong capabilities—particularly within renewable energy, maritime technology, agriculture and innovation. Together, we can do more.

Their Majesties' visit is not only a celebration of friendship—and of family—but a promise of continued partnership.

A partnership built on mutual respect, open dialogue and the will to act for the benefit of our citizens and future generations.

We thank you for choosing to visit our country, Uluru, Canberra, Melbourne and Hobart and hope you enjoyed our warm hospitality. It reflects our feelings for Denmark.

May the relationship between Denmark and Australia continue to grow in strength and depth.

May our countries stand together in working for peace, freedom and a sustainable future.

Thank you very much to His Majesty King Frederik X, Her Majesty 'Our' Queen Mary, Minister, Secretaries of State, Ambassador, and the Danish delegation—so many of whom I enjoyed speaking to in Melbourne—for your wildly successful state visit, in the words of King Frederick, 'Down Under from Up Over'.

It was hyggeligt.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tak, member for Moncrieff.