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I send my warmest best wishes to all Australians celebrating the Chinese New Year as we welcome the Year of the Dragon.

The Year of the Dragon is traditionally associated with strength, loyalty and luck – and I hope you and your family enjoy these qualities in abundance.

The strength of Australia is our people, their humility and kindness, their willingness to lend a helping hand to those in need of support. The Gillard Government is recognising the extraordinary contribution made by many Australians in our communities through the People of Australia Ambassador’s Program.

Today in Gatton, Queensland, the Prime Minister attended a commemorative service to mark the anniversary of the floods which devastated the area one year ago.

Today Prime Minister Gillard delivered a speech to the Carbon Expo where she spoke about yesterday's historic passing of the Clean Energy Future Bills by the Parliament.

After two decades of debate about action on climate change, the Gillard Government’s Clean Energy Future legislation passed through Parliament today. For the first time, we will have a law that cuts the carbon pollution which causes climate change.

On Diwali, the Prime Minister today conveyed her best wishes to all Australians celebratingthe event.

Alsoknown as the "festival of lights", Diwali is one of the biggest celebrations of the year for those of the Hindu, Jain, and Sikh faiths.  It signifies the Hindu New Year according to the Lunar calendar.

It is now just over three years since Lehman Brothers dissolved into bankruptcy. Shattered by vast debt it had no hope of recovering. The largest bankruptcy in US history, sparked a period of uncertainty in global financial markets unparalleled since the 1930s.

Events quickly ricocheted around the world. More than US$12 trillion was lost from global markets in the space of a few months.

Today I introduced into the House of Representatives the first of the Bills which will create Australia’s price on carbon. This is an historic step along the path to our clean energy future. I am determined to make change work for us to create a cleaner environment and better opportunities for generations to come.

Today in Hobart Prime Minister Gillard delivered the Robert Garran Memorial Oration.  In her speech the Prime Minister spoke about the strength of the Australian economy and the challenges posed by uncertainties in the global environment.

Today Prime Minister Gillard explained she believes we need to look at our older Australians as an asset to be valued, rather than as a problem to be solved. 

During a speech in Melbourne the Prime Minister urged Australians to consider an ageing population from a new perspective and said, 

When Australian Labor introduced the aged pension - and I won’t tell you what the conservatives said about the aged pension in 1909 but here’s a hint, it started with 'n' and rhymed with 'go' - when Australian Labor introduced the aged pension, life expectancy – 57 years – was lower than the age for the pension itself – which was 65.