Their Majesties King Frederik X and Queen Mary of Denmark

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, Alison Byrnes as Co‑Chair of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for 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 March 16th. Her Excellency Ingrid Dahl-Madsen for her great deal of work on Denmark-Australia relations and the state visit.

Mr Lars Aagaard Møller, 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 for Climate, Energy and Utilities and the delegation of around 50 Danish companies involved in sectors with a focus on agriculture and renewables.

It was a great honour to acknowledge and welcome Their Majesties to Parliament House.

I said in my speech to the Parliamentary friendship group, I can 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 did so 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 Fyn, the home of Hans Christian Andersen—but rather Jutland’s less sophisticated dialect, fondly known as ‘Jysk’.

And so I tell my story with fondness, and table the English translation for the House and attendants.

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Og derfor fortæller jeg min historie med kærlighed..

Den oplevelse, jeg fik som 17‑årig pige, da jeg repræsenterede mit land som Rotary‑udvekslingsstudent til det yndige land, som hedder gamle Danmark, ændrede virkelig mit liv.

Jeg tror, at hvis jeg ikke havde været 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 ekstraordinær oplevelse.

Jeg anerkender også Hendes Majestæt Dronning Margrethes

enestående regeringstid på 52 år, sammen med Prins Henrik.

Fire værtsfamilier, skolekammerater fra Herning Gymnasium og Rotary‑fællesskabet 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 erfarent og tolv kilo tungere! Det var for meget chokolade og for mange fastelavnsboller, tror jeg.

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

Hvert år laver jeg en dansk juleaftensmiddag for min familie—flæskesteg, rødkål og brune kartofler, og risalamande—men ikke rødgrød med fløde på til Jul!

Jeg pynter juletræet med danske dekorationer fra år tilbage.

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

Danmark og Australien ligger langt fra hinanden på verdenskortet, men vi står hinanden nær i værdier. Begge vores lande er demokratier, der tror på frihed, retstatsprincipper, lighed og menneskelig værdighed.

Venskabet mellem vores lande har dybe rødder. I mere end et århundrede er danskere rejst til Australien for at arbejde, studere og bosætte sig—kun for at tage et stykke Australien med hjem… nogle endda med kongelige ægtefæller.

Samtidig har australiere fundet inspiration i Norden—i fællesskab, velfærd og bæredygtighed. I dag vokser samarbejdet fortsat inden for handel, forskning, uddannelse, forsvar og den grønne omstilling.

Verden står overfor store udfordringer. Danmark og Australien besidder stærke kompetencer —særligt inden for vedvarende energi, maritim teknologi, landbrug og innovation.

Sammen kan vi gøre mere.

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

Et partnerskab bygget på gensidig respekt, åben dialog og viljen til handling til gavn for vores borgere og kommende generationer.

Vi takker Dem for at vælge at besøge vores land, Uluru, Canberra, Melbourne og Hobart og håber, De nød vores varme gæstfrihed.

Den afspejler vores følelser for Danmark.

Må forholdet mellem Danmark og Australien fortsætte med at vokse i styrke og dybde.

Må vores lande stå sammen i arbejdet for fred, frihed og en bæredygtig fremtid.

Tusind tak til Hans Majestæt Kong Frederik, Hendes Majestæt ‘vores’ Dronning Mary, Minister Aagaard, Statssekretærer, Ambassadør, Den Danske delegation-hvem må jeg have lyst til at tale til i Melbourne- for dit voldsomt succesfulde statesbesog, med Kong Frederik’s ord,  ’Down Under fra Up over’

Og endelig, hilsen til dem i lille Vildbjerg.

 Det var hyggeligt!

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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 pork, 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 Frederik, Down Under from Up Over’.

It was hyggeligt.