Namaskar.
Thank you to Your Excellency Devvrat for hosting me at Raj Bhawan.
Thank you as well to Chief Minister Patel for welcoming me to your state of Gujarat.
This isn’t my first Holi — it’s definitely a highlight on the Australian festival calendar — but it is my first in India.
And it’s great to be celebrating here, in Gujarat.
Holi is a chance to renew ourselves — and each other.
And it’s little wonder it has been so heartily embraced back home in Australia, by people of all backgrounds.
That’s what we’re all about in modern Australia.
Our multicultural nation benefits from respecting the beliefs, traditions and experiences of people from all over the world.
From Australia’s First Nations peoples — custodians of the world’s oldest continuous culture — to families and communities joining us from every land.
And making Australia home.
This includes generations of Indian migrants.
Today, Australia has an Indian-born diaspora of nearly 800,000 people — and it’s growing quickly!
Many of them are Gujarati, too.
Our recent census reports more than 80,000 Gujarati-speakers have made a home in Australia.
Whatever the future holds, I know that Australia’s Indian-origin community is and will continue to be a crucial partner in the task of making our great nation greater still.
Across the board, Australians of Indian heritage are making incredible contributions.
In business and education, industry and academia, the caring professions.
And as volunteers, neighbours and friends.
They’ve given so much — and, in doing so, live out the message of Holi: making connections, building communities and enriching lives.
These human ties bind Australia and India — and must always be at heart of our relationship.And I know that when the gulal we scatter today has drifted away, the ties between us — hearts and minds; family and friendship — will endure and flourish.
Have a wonderful celebration.