An address by Sir William Deane at the University of Queensland on 29 May 2003.Australia Council, La Trobe University, National Library of Australia, Holding Redlich, Arts Victori

Deane, Sir William

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A U S T R A L I A N  B O O K  R E V I E W  A U G U S T  2 0 0 3     9AT THE OUTSET, I ACKNOWLEDGE the traditionalcustodians on whose ancestral land Queensland’sfirst university stands.It is now approaching eight years since I retired from theBench. In the time since then, I have effectively ceased to bea lawyer. Consequently, I do not feel qualified to offer anyreally worthwhile professional advice to those of you whoare setting out on legal careers.The most I can do is to urge you to be true to your ownpersonal principles and to the ethical standards which areessential to the proper practice and administration of law inthis country. That having been said, I venture toshare a few thoughts with you about the nation,which will be increasingly reliant on the leader-ship of people like yourselves as it passes throughits third half-century.Perhaps the most significant thing about ourcountry that my years as governor-generalbrought home to Helen and me is the impor-tance, particularly in this modern turbulent world,of maintaining the mutual respect and accept-ance which lie at the heart of our Australianmulticulturalism. One sometimes hears well-intentioned suggestions that multiculturalism isdivisive. I respectfully disagree. I’m convincedthat it is our multiculturalism which has madepossible our national unity, notwithstanding thatwe Australians, directly or indirectly, come fromall the regions, races, cultures and religions of the world.For me, multiculturalism means inclusiveness, notdivision. It has enabled us to blend the many into a prettyharmonious whole without bringing to this new land oldhatreds, old prejudices and old conflicts. It is ourmulticulturalism, in that sense, which inspires and sustainsour modern Australia.Our multiculturalism is not, of course, the only thing ofwhich Australians should be justly proud. There is our landitself — this matchless continent, its islands, its surround-ing seas. There is the commitment to democratic governmentunder the rule of law which we have maintained tenaciouslyin war and in peace. Very few other nations can look back onmore than a century of democratic rule unbroken bydictatorship of the left or right, civil war, military coup orconquest. And there are all the achievements of ourAustralian people who, as the preamble to our Constitutionmakes plain, are our nation. All that they are; all that theyhave been; and all that they have done.Let me add a few words about what I see as the principalchallenges which our country faces in the years ahead. Thereis the challenge to reverse the damage we have done to ourland, its rivers and its coasts, and to make good our failure asa nation to do enough to help safeguard the world environ-ment for future generations. There is the challenge to faceup to the completely unacceptable yet growing gap betweenthe haves and the have-nots in this the land of the so-calledfair go for all. For the plight of the disadvantaged, even inaffluent Australia, is an overwhelming problem which no oneof us who has a voice to speak or the means tohelp can in conscience ignore. And of course there is thechallenge to achieve true and lasting reconcilia-tion between our indigenous peoples and thenation of which they are such a vital part.There is one challenge for the futureleaders of our nation which I would particularlyemphasise in this gathering. It is the challenge ofjustice and truth. The challenge never to beindifferent in the face of injustice or falsehood.It encompasses the challenge to advance truthand human dignity rather than to seekadvantage by inflaming ugly prejudice andintolerance.Who of us will easily forget the untruthsabout children overboard? Or the abuse of thebasic rights of innocent children by incarcera-tion behind Woomera’s razor wire? Or the de-nial of the fundamental responsibility of a demo-cratic government to seek to safeguard the human rights ofall its citizens, including the unpopular and the alleged wrong-doer, in the case of the two Australians indefinitely caged,without legal charge or process, in a Guantanamo Bay jail?Some may think that these and other similar unpleasantthings should be left unmentioned. But if our coming gen-eration of leaders refuses to honestly confront the denial oftruth or responsibility which they reflect, our nation willsurely be in peril of losing its way in the years ahead.Finally, I sincerely thank the chancellor, the vice-chancellor, and all the members of this great university forthe honour done me by the conferral of the honorary degreeof Doctor of Laws. I am truly delighted to be admitted toyour company. I also offer my sincere congratulations to allmy fellow graduates. Or should I say ‘classmates’? May allyour plans be successful, all your ambitions be fulfilled andall your dreams become reality.(An address by Sir William Deane at the University ofQueensland on 29 May 2003)CommentarySir William DeaneArchived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au

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