Fair Work Court, health student prac support expansion announced by Anthony Albanese in 50th National Conference in Adelaide

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese concluded his speech by rejecting Pauline Hanson’s vision of a monocultural Australia and celebrating the diversity of his own group.

“Even the first Labor government, like the new nation it served, was not a monoculture. There were Protestants and Catholics, English, Irish and Scots. One was an American pretending to be Canadian, and no one was quite sure whether the leader was born in New Zealand or Chile. For all that, these men could never have imagined a Labor government in a boardroom with a majority of women,” he told the conference to applause.

“Or roll call: Abdo, Albanese, Aly, Ambihaipahar, Ananda-Rajah and Ayres. And that’s just the letter A. They might have been more comfortable with the union leadership team of O’Neil and McManus. But Michelle and Sally would have been a real shock,” he said.

Albanese said Labor and the nation embraced “the fullness and richness of our own history, the privilege of sharing this ancient continent with the oldest continuous culture in the world”.

“Labour has changed because Australia has changed and our movement had the decency and courage to drive that change and shape that change for the benefit of everyone.”