Declaring he was humbled by the record number of seats Labor won in last night’s SA election result, Premier Peter Malinauskas reached for a poem by Henry Lawson as he sought to give a message to ordinary Australians seeking social cohesion, while a war rages overseas, to welcome “the new chum”
“I lined up today as I have done it each election at the Woodville Gardens polling booth in my electorate,” Malinauskas said. “It is home to one of the most diverse communities in our state. And I got chatting to the gentleman in front of me, who I had met before. He was Vietnamese, a man small in stature. But tough as nails. He was a boatperson. He came out here from Vietnam, fleeing Communism, looking for the same thing that my grandparents did. An opportunity. An opportunity to live in a peaceful country where he knew he could work hard, provide for his family, put a roof over his head, and then, in turn, give back.
“And as he was queuing up to vote today, he said to me, rather quietly, ‘I like elections.’ Thankfully, he had a Labor how-to-vote card in his hand. (Crowd laughs.)
“But it struck me as being a clear signal of what patriotism can look like. It reminded me that patriotism in our country comes in a number of forms. All of them good.
“Subsequently, this afternoon, when I was thinking about tonight, I couldn’t help but go back to a poem that was written by one of Australia’s greatest authors, if not greatest writer, in Henry Lawson, who of course appeared on our $10 note.
“He wrote a piece titled ‘The duty of Australians.’ He wrote it just post our nation’s federation, well over 100 years ago.
‘Tis the duty of Australians, in the bush and in the town,
To forever praise their country, but to run no other down…
When a man, or nation, visits in the heyday of his pride,
‘Tis the duty of Australians to be kind but dignified…
‘Tis our duty to the stranger—landed, maybe, but an hour—
To give all the information and assistance in our power,
To give audience to the new chum and to let the old chums wait,
Lest his memory be embittered by his first days in the State.
‘Tis our duty, when he’s foreign, and his English very young,
To find out and take him somewhere where he’ll hear his native tongue.
To give him our spare moment, and our pleasure to defer—
He’ll be a father of Australians, as our foreign fathers were!
“Lawson was on to something that has remained true to this day in our island continent that we call home. And it is why Australians should be patriotic and be proud of what our nation stands for.
“”Because it is distinct. Australia’s version of patriotism is a little different to our Northern hemisphere friends. We are famous for being just a little bit more laid back. That is to say less brash and boastful, and more dogged and determined. We can and we should wave our flag with pride knowing that Aussie patriotism sometimes means sitting with a stranger and having a cuppa or a frothy. And arguing about the footy not our faith.
“Its been a hot summer in Australia. So maybe we should all look forward to the temperature coming down. Yeah. Just a little bit.
“So when we sing the national anthem with pride, we don’t forget there is a second verse. which reminds us , it reminds us that when we all combine we can achieve anything. When we work together diversity has always been our greatest strength.”
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Peter Malinauskas’ comment about footy and faith is not to say that there should be no talking about faith, but is an argument against merging faith into rancorous identity politics – in other words, sectarianism.
At this time, we are in a 1 Peter 2 moment. We are called to “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
“… Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honour the emperor.”
And as the apostle adds, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
The apostle Peter and the poet Henry Lawson have good words for us following the election.
Image: Peter Malinauskas’ speech on election night 2026. Image credit: Channel 10, screenshot.
Peter, thank you . You are a leader to be proud of. Congratulations !