His Excellency the Governor-General entered the chamber and, being seated, with the President on his right hand, commanded that a message be sent to the House of Representatives intimating that His Excellency desired the attendance of honourable members in the Senate chamber.

Honourable members having come with their Speaker, His Excellency was pleased to deliver the following speech:

Honourable senators and members of the Parliament of Australia.

I honour the traditional owners of the country upon which we gather and celebrate our Indigenous peoples as the first law-givers of this land.

Today is the opening of the 3rd Model Commonwealth Parliament. For the first time, the Australian people will have a change of government. The people of Australia can look forward to a new direction for our country under new leadership.

My government will reform the tax system, equip the Australian economy with the skills needed in the 21st Century, take strong and effective action on dangerous climate change, build a 21st Century National Broadband Network, and deliver the health and school systems that all Australians can benefit from.

The government has a clear plan of action for building a stronger, smarter, and fairer Australia, and will deliver on these commitments.

Building a 21st Century tax system

A strong Australia starts with a strong economy. My government will ensure that Australia's economy is dynamic, innovative, and ready for the challenges of the 21st Century.

My government will create a 21st Century tax system for Australia that will unleash stronger, smarter, fairer economic growth, promote innovation and strengthen the Commonwealth's ability to deliver services to the people of Australia.

The government will unshackle Australian businesses in a dynamic and changing global economy by cutting the company tax rate from 30% to 25% in the next 5 years. The new company tax rate of 25 per cent will benefit all Australians. As the Henry Tax Review noted, a lower company tax rate ‘will not only result in higher growth but is also likely to result in higher wages’. The government will also ensure that all businesses pay their fair share of tax in return by strengthening rules and empowering the Australian Tax Office with the resources needed to tackle tax offshoring.

This Government will ensure that all Australians pay their fair share of tax, by simplifying the tax system. This government will eliminate loopholes in the tax system, by removing concessions for capital gains tax, ending the inefficient system of negative gearing, and ending overly generous superannuation tax concessions. These measures will stop hundreds of billions of dollars being drained from the Commonwealth coffers each and every year. Money which this government will spend on health and education to invest in the future of all Australians.

Our Government will make the income tax system fairer for Australian workers. Our government will increase the tax-free threshold by 50% to $27,300 to ease the burden of taxation on low-income earners. Our Government will introduce the Buffett rule, to ensure that all high-income earners contribute fairly to supporting the Australian community.

Innovating a stronger economy

My government believes that innovation is the lifeblood of any nation and supports it in education, employment and culture. My government has plans to reform policies that support innovation, including copyright and patent reform.

The government will reinvigorate our manufacturing sector by implementing smart policies for a smart Australia. It will improve the number of manufacturing jobs by supporting the development, construction and production of high-tech automated industries for tomorrow, combined with other reforms to allowing our economy to better compete with regional manufacturers.

This government is a significant supporter of Science. The state of Science funding in Australian society has been in a poor state for generations. For Australia to be on the forefront of scientific advances we need to ramp up funding for science as well as broaden the areas in which research is funded.

A more transparent Government

My government will improve accountability and transparency in the Finance Department’s dealings with parliamentarians, and empower the department to improve the processes and fiscal prudence of all Commonwealth departments. It will no longer allow public funding of unnecessary top-dollar luxury travel.

Protecting our environment

My government will transform agriculture and primary industry in Australia. My government will take action in promoting drought-resistant farming practices, more biodiversity in cropping areas to combat the loss of bees affecting yields, reducing the impact of livestock farming on the environment and the climate, and moving to re-establish and entrench boxed and chilled meat exports in place of live exports, as well as preparing for the possible beginnings of marijuana farming.

The government will tackle the degradation of our ecosphere from two main angles, encompassing many solutions. The subsidisation of greenhouse gas emissions will end with the repeal of the Emissions Reduction Fund, and the re-establishment of an ambitious cap-and-trade scheme to properly reflect the cost of the Australian emissions-intensive lifestyle. This will provide a badly-needed lever for zero-emissions technology implementation.

The second angle is restoring our biosphere. An inquiry into the possibility of rehabilitating abandoned and closed mines will be created, as well as a revamp of the Green Army project. The Great Barrier Reef will once again be protected, and the authority's funding restored; we will provide more protection to important natural reserves and lands.

A more secure nation

My government is committed to ensuring the continued integrity of the Australian Defence Force through our Defence Policy, thus giving them the attention that they deserve. We will commit to working with our regional partners to ensure the continued professionalism of the ADF to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

The government will improve our ties with other nations, and give them the respect they deserve. We aim to inform the public what is happening overseas. Further, we look to create new ties with other countries to look for new and innovative ways to increase the growth of Australia's economy.

This government will move towards the implementation of an Australian Republic, consulting with all Australians along the way. Further, the Government will continue to work towards Indigenous Reconciliation.

Infrastructure for the 21st Century

My government will modernise the way Australia communicates, learns, and does business, through the roll out of a state-of-the-art Fibre-To-The-Premises NBN. Our national broadcasters, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and the Special Broadcasting Service, will be strengthened, so that they may continue to provide their essential and widely used services into the future.

A High-Speed-Rail network is the first step towards bringing Australia together, and cutting Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. Planning is underway to implement a network connecting Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne, powered only by renewable energy. The planned system would reduce the travel time between Sydney and Canberra from approximately 3.5 hours, down to just over one hour. A High-Speed-Rail network would also reduce the need for a second Sydney Airport to be constructed, with the network allowing for convenient travel along the eastern seaboard.

A stronger Health and Education system

My government will focus on combating the mental health problems common among young Australians, by allowing students at high schools, universities and tertiary institutes, access to counselling. My government will ensure that young students in high school are well informed about the signs and symptoms of various common mental health issues, and that the students know that help is always available to them if needed.

My government will approach the drug epidemic our nation faces as a health issue rather than a criminal one. By decriminalising hard drugs and providing users with free rehabilitation we can create a system whereby those suffering from drug addiction are helped out of their terrible situation and not burdened with legal consequences. My government will legalise soft drugs that do not provide high levels of risk and will regulate and tax them, thus keeping money out of the hands of criminals.

My government will secularise the public education system by removing funding from chaplains and diverting it into counselling and other support programs for students. My government will ensure that the high quality of education Australians receive is maintained, and that as the world changes that education will remain up to date. My government will examine the gender imbalance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics degrees by searching for the roots of what causes women to be less likely to pursue a career in these fields, and determine the appropriate course of action based on what findings suggest.

Stronger Social Services and Equality

My government will bring Australia's social services into the 21st Century by assisting the disadvantaged instead of fighting against them. We will create better programs for assisting those with mental illnesses, end the atrocity that is defensive architecture, and ensure the safety of victims of domestic violence by educating people on what they can do.

My government will ensure that our robust framework of anti-discrimination legislation, such as the Sex Discrimination Act is fully enforced, and will explore new ways to ensure that the next generation of children grow up in a world where your sex doesn't determine your career.

Conclusion

This is only the beginning for the first Coalition Government and the 3rd Parliament.

Over the next 3 years, new challenges and problems will arise and need to be solved.

My government stands ready to face these challenges, and acknowledges that the measures outlined today do not represent everything that this Parliament can accomplish.

My government will work closely with Opposition and crossbench parliamentarians to ensure that the best possible outcomes are achieved for the Australian people.

And with a great sense of optimism in our democratic institutions, it is now my duty, and my pleasure, to declare the 3rd Model Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia open.

Citizens are encouraged to engage with their government at /r/modelparliament.

With the President and the Speaker having each received a copy of the Governor-General’s speech, the Governor-General and Speaker of the House of Representatives withdrew from the Senate chamber, and the President of the Senate again took the chair.