I want to acknowledge my dear friend, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios, for his leadership of this community and for his ongoing contribution to our nation.
I want to acknowledge as well all the other members of the clergy who are with us today; my ministerial colleague, the Leader of the Government in the House of Representatives and the proud Member for Watson, Tony Burke; my friend Sophie Cotsis, representing the Premier of New South Wales; other public representatives who are here, the Ambassador from Greece, the High Commissioner for Cyprus, the Consul-General of Greece, other representatives; particularly, welcome to the representatives from the Parliament of the Hellenic Republic who've joined us here today.
I want to give a special shout out to the wonderful young Greek Australians who are here in their traditional dress, celebrating their culture. You look fabulous and you enrich our nation of Australia by celebrating your culture.
Whenever we come to this sacred memorial here, we come solemnly. We gather in respect. We gather in gratitude. Above all, we gather to remember.
We remember all who have stood against darkness and all who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
We remember all who were lost and everyone they left behind.
We remember all who lived to keep fighting and all who finally made it home, but with the battle still echoing in their hearts.
We reflect on all they went through and all they were up against, and we give thanks for the difference they made just when the world needed it most.
This week, we remembered when the Greeks were crying out for freedom, and we remember an honour all who answered that call.
Greek and Independence Day, 205 years since the great revolt in the Peloponnese that saw a people rise to their feet and so decisively put centuries of occupation to an end.
We celebrate a great nation born in liberty and remember the revolutionaries who so courageously put their own lives on the line. They did it armed with one of the most powerful mottoes ever heard around this earth. Eleftheria i Thanatos. Freedom or death.
It was a remarkable moment in the story of a remarkable nation that has given so much to the world, not least of which is of course the gift of democracy and so much of the philosophy that shapes modern Australia today.
Yet perhaps most powerful of all is that hunger for freedom and independence. It was, of course, not Greece's final fight. In time, Australians would join Greeks in their struggle against those who tried to take that precious independence away.
Earlier this month, we marked the passing of the remarkable Les Cook. Les Cook was 104 years old when he passed.
Les Cook marched on Anzac Day at the age of 100. And I spoke to him at the Australian War Memorial after that march. And I said, "You could have gone in a car." And Les Cook, age 100, courageous man that he was, said, "No. I walked just like I fought, going forward with courage and I made it. "
And indeed, he did make it. Because he was one of the last surviving veterans of the Battle of Crete. A place very special for my friend, His Eminence.
He was one of the many Anzacs who took up arms alongside Greeks against the Nazi invaders. Many Anzacs were protected and sheltered by Greek civilians during that bleak time. Many Anzacs were fated to never come home, and they rest for eternity in the earth beneath the Greek sky.
We stood together then, and we stand together today. What else came out of that war was the remarkable story of Greek immigration to Australia, to a land that represented the possibility of a peaceful and prosperous future.
Thanks in no small part to the immigrants who arrived in the post-war years, Australia has what is proudly one of the biggest Greek diasporas in the world, and Little Greece is right in Marrickville, my home.
I will always be proud of growing up with my fellow Greek friends, and I'm proud to be Prime Minister of a country that has a heart which has long had in part a Hellenic beat to it.
Australia without Greeks is beyond imagining. You are cherished, you are celebrated, and well and truly cemented into how we see ourselves as a country.
I thank Greek Australians for all you have added to Australia through your energy, aspiration, and hard work. The small businesses you've created, those small businesses that have grown into very large and successful businesses indeed.
Your love for this country is so perfectly balanced with the love of the land of your heritage, and Australia will always celebrate your contribution to our great nation.
As we gather here in remembrance of those who gave everything, we are once again reminded that the cause of peace and freedom can sometimes feel elusive, but it is a cause that we never stop fighting for.
We give our humble and enduring gratitude to those who so bravely took up that fight and we carefully tend the flame of memory so its glow touches generations to come.
As we say whenever we are at these grand memorials in Australia, lest we forget.