“The loyalty we pledge to the Crown is the loyalty which, as Australians, we all share. Each one of us may choose his own friends, his own political party or his own church, and can be loyal to each of those groups. But, though as Australians we may have many different hopes and interests and look for leadership and guidance in many places, yet we all have the one Queen and the loyalty which we pledge to the Queen is a higher loyalty than our sectional hopes and ambitions. It is a loyalty to the purposes and ideals of the whole Australian nation. In this bond of loyalty there are no sections and no preferences but only one body of Her Majesty's loyal subjects, all of them Australian citizens within the British Commonwealth of Nations.
You will notice that when you took the oath of allegiance you pledged yourself to the Queen. If you enter the armed services the oath you take is to the Queen. If you gain office in a Parliament or in a Government the oath is to the Queen. All Acts of our Parliaments and Governments, whether Commonwealth or State, are done in the Queen's name. The Navy, Army and Air Force and many other bodies which serve the nation are formed in the name of Her Majesty the Queen.
These facts symbolise a great truth in Australian nationhood. As a nation, on great national matters, we are united. On such matters, our membership of different political parties, or of different churches, or of different social groups, is of less account than our common loyalty as Australians. If a soldier is called to arms he does not go to serve only his own political party, or his own church or the interests of the little group of people who follow the same occupation as himself. He goes to serve the whole nation.
When a Government takes office it does not do so to govern for its own supporters but to take charge of national affairs on behalf of the whole nation. An Opposition in Parliament, which is in fact, as well as name, Her Majesty's Opposition, is not simply the voice of a section but performs a national duty.
When you took your oath to the Queen, the meaning of what you said was that, over and above those loyalties which quite properly you have to your family, your mates and the various bodies to which you may belong, you pledged yourself to a wider loyalty covering the whole Australian people. That oath brought you into a new brotherhood. For you are now linked by a common loyalty with every other subject of the Throne and every other Australian citizen. We are one nation, with one Queen, one flag, one destiny and one great task of building for a better future.
When you became a subject of Queen Elizabeth the Second, you did not only give; you also received. You gave your loyalty; you received the protection of the Crown. Just as the loyalty of all the Queen's subjects is lifted above any question of politics or creed, so also the protection which you have as a British subject is beyond the grasp of any party or faction.
Your privileges as an Australian citizen and a British subject are not the gift of any political party or any organisation of your friends; and no political party or any organisation of your enemies dares hold them back from you. Your rights belong to you as a loyal subject. These rights belong to all subjects, whether they be rich or poor, young or old, strong or weak, man or woman.” END
NEW VERSION:
“The loyalty we pledge to the Crown is the loyalty which, as Australians, we all share. Each one of us may choose our own friends, our own political party or our own religion, and can be loyal to each of those groups. But, though as Australians we may have many different hopes and interests and look for leadership and guidance in many places, yet we all have the one Queen and the loyalty which we pledge to the Queen is a higher loyalty than our sectional hopes and ambitions. It is a loyalty to the purposes and ideals of the whole Australian nation. In this bond of loyalty there are no sections and no preferences but only one body of Her Majesty's loyal subjects, all of them Australian citizens within the Commonwealth of Nations.
You will notice that when you took the oath of allegiance you pledged yourself to the Queen. If you enter the armed services the oath you take is to the Queen. If you gain office in a Parliament or in a Government the oath is to the Queen. All Acts of our Parliaments and Governments, whether Commonwealth or State, are done in the Queen's name. The Navy, Army and Air Force and many other bodies which serve the nation are formed in the name of Her Majesty the Queen.
These facts symbolise a great truth in Australian nationhood. As a nation, on great national matters, we are united. On such matters, our membership of different political parties, or of different religions, or of different social groups, is of less account than our common loyalty as Australians. If a soldier is called to arms he does not go to serve only his own political party, or his own religion or the interests of the little group of people who follow the same occupation as himself. He goes to serve the whole nation.
When a Government takes office it does not do so to govern for its own supporters but to take charge of national affairs on behalf of the whole nation. An Opposition in Parliament, which is in fact, as well as name, Her Majesty's Opposition, is not simply the voice of a section but performs a national duty.
When you took your oath to the Queen, the meaning of what you said was that, over and above those loyalties which quite properly you have to your family, your mates and the various bodies to which you may belong, you pledged yourself to a wider loyalty covering the whole Australian people. That oath brought you into a new brotherhood. For you are now linked by a common loyalty with every other subject of the Throne and every other Australian citizen. We are one nation, with one Queen, one flag, one destiny and one great task of building for a better future.
When you became a subject of Queen Elizabeth the Second, you did not only give; you also received. You gave your loyalty; you received the protection of the Crown. Just as the loyalty of all the Queen's subjects is lifted above any question of politics or creed, so also the protection which you have as an Australian subject is beyond the grasp of any party or faction.
Your privileges as an Australian citizen and subject of the Crown are not the gift of any political party or any organisation of your friends; and no political party or any organisation of your enemies dares hold them back from you. Your rights belong to you as a loyal subject. These rights belong to all subjects, whether they be rich or poor, young or old, strong or weak, man or woman.”
You will notice that when you took the oath of allegiance you pledged yourself to the Queen. If you enter the armed services the oath you take is to the Queen. If you gain office in a Parliament or in a Government the oath is to the Queen. All Acts of our Parliaments and Governments, whether Commonwealth or State, are done in the Queen's name. The Navy, Army and Air Force and many other bodies which serve the nation are formed in the name of Her Majesty the Queen.
These facts symbolise a great truth in Australian nationhood. As a nation, on great national matters, we are united. On such matters, our membership of different political parties, or of different religions, or of different social groups, is of less account than our common loyalty as Australians. If a soldier is called to arms he does not go to serve only his own political party, or his own religion or the interests of the little group of people who follow the same occupation as himself. He goes to serve the whole nation.
When a Government takes office it does not do so to govern for its own supporters but to take charge of national affairs on behalf of the whole nation. An Opposition in Parliament, which is in fact, as well as name, Her Majesty's Opposition, is not simply the voice of a section but performs a national duty.
When you took your oath to the Queen, the meaning of what you said was that, over and above those loyalties which quite properly you have to your family, your mates and the various bodies to which you may belong, you pledged yourself to a wider loyalty covering the whole Australian people. That oath brought you into a new brotherhood. For you are now linked by a common loyalty with every other subject of the Throne and every other Australian citizen. We are one nation, with one Queen, one flag, one destiny and one great task of building for a better future.
When you became a subject of Queen Elizabeth the Second, you did not only give; you also received. You gave your loyalty; you received the protection of the Crown. Just as the loyalty of all the Queen's subjects is lifted above any question of politics or creed, so also the protection which you have as an Australian subject is beyond the grasp of any party or faction.
Your privileges as an Australian citizen and subject of the Crown are not the gift of any political party or any organisation of your friends; and no political party or any organisation of your enemies dares hold them back from you. Your rights belong to you as a loyal subject. These rights belong to all subjects, whether they be rich or poor, young or old, strong or weak, man or woman.”
END
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