Thank you all, for that very warm Labour Party welcome.
Here in Liverpool we are 10,000 miles from where I joined the Labor Party.
A long and winding road.
But in our mighty global movement, you never walk alone.
And - for balance - a shout-out to all the Everton supporters here as well.
Thank you to my mate, and your leader, Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Thank you for the great honour of inviting me to speak at your conference.
And thank you for your kind introduction.
Keir and I got to know each other well during our time as Leaders of the Opposition.
Back when we thought that was the toughest job in politics.
In Opposition, I was always grateful for the chance to share ideas and compare notes.
In Government, I value the opportunities we have to work together and get results.
To take action together on issues that matter to our two nations and to the wider world.
From standing together, with the Coalition of Willing, to help secure peace on Ukraine's terms…
…to striving together, to mobilise global action on climate change…
…to investing together, so our citizens can build and crew a new generation of submarines through our AUKUS Security Partnership…
…and working together to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and build something better, by recognising the state of Palestine…
…as a step towards the two state solution that is so essential for Israelis and Palestinians to live in lasting peace.
Can I also acknowledge a great Australian, a Labor legend and my friend, the 27th Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard.
Friends
None of us who join the labour movement, whether in Australia or here in the UK, do so in search of an easy life.
And no-one comes to a labour conference, expecting a quiet weekend.
Our conferences are big, diverse and passionate family gatherings.
And like any family, when we all get together, we have our differences.
Commentators sometimes fixate on those.
But the debates we hold here are not just healthy, they're essential.
They are a sign of life.
The energy and enthusiasm of our rank and file members, has always been the beating heart of our movement.
As parliamentarians, we stand on your shoulders.
And as parties, we draw our strength from solidarity of values - not uniformity of thought.
That's what all of us who belong to the labour movement understand.
The reason passions run high at our conferences, is because the stakes are high.
Because what happens here, matters.
Because our conferences are about what we want for our country.
We deal with real issues, grounded in the real lives and aspirations of the people we seek to serve.
And just like Liverpool itself, this great city of creativity, invention, and reinvention…
…our conference has always been a place for us to define our mission and renew our purpose.
That is how we have endured and evolved…
…by having the courage to test ourselves, to demand more of each other…
…and by demonstrating to a new generation, that we are alive to the challenges they face and engaged in the work of solutions.
That's what both our nations did after the Second World War.
When Clement Attlee and Ben Chifley and their Labor governments worked to build societies worthy of those who'd fought to defend the world from fascism and tyranny.
By opening the doors of opportunity through education.
By creating secure, well-paid jobs in manufacturing.
By treating housing as not only the need, but the right, of every citizen.
By making medicine affordable for all, through Australia's world-leading Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
And with the launch of that great pioneering endeavour in universal healthcare, the National Health Service.
A promise that still binds, defines and drives both our Labor Governments.
That no matter where you live, or how much you earn, you should be able to access and afford the health care you need.
The same work of renewal drove Harold Wilson and Gough Whitlam through the 1960s and 70s.
When their governments made equality for women a Labor cause.
When they grasped that for Labor to continue to be the party of fairness and justice…
…we had to become a party for the elimination of discrimination and prejudice.
Just as, in the 1980s and 90s, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating passed the torch to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
Where, in both our countries, Labor was able to remain the party of compassion and opportunity…
…by embracing our role as the party of openness, aspiration and prosperity.
In the pages of the history books - and with the benefit of hindsight - all of that seems like a natural progression.
But we know different.
We know every generation encountered resistance.
We know every generation had to overcome sceptics and cynics.
And we know that every Labor generation understood that to fufil their purpose…
…achieve their goals, give life to their values and keep faith with the people and movement they served…
…they had to be in Government.
Because Government is where you get things done.
The Labor mission has never been a theoretical exercise - or a rhetorical one.
Our work is measured in deeds - and it depends on delivery.
On change our citizens can see.
Tangible, practical outcomes that make a positive difference to people's lives.
This is where, all of you in the UK, have the most valuable resource for any Labor Government.
The asset every progressive leader in every positive and ambitious government wishes they had more of. Time.
To give you some sense of that, in Australia, my colleagues and I were re-elected less than five months ago.
And yet our next election is due before yours.
For Labor Governments, every day counts.
Because it takes time to turn promises into progress.
It takes time for plans to work - and be seen to work.
For inflation to fall, wages to rise, new homes to be finished, new energy connected, new hospitals to open, new investments in education to flow into results.
It takes time to tackle problems that have been created over decades.
It takes time to repay trust by delivering on our commitments - and in doing so build trust for future action.
It takes time to make change with people - and make change work for people.
And none of that means we can expect, or ask for, patience.
Cost of living pressures do not wait.
Communities that need new jobs and homes cannot wait.
Families that need better schools and hospitals cannot wait.
The challenges the world throws at us: from economic turmoil to threats to our national security, never wait.
And the action we need to take on climate change, the work we need to do to seize the jobs and opportunities of clean energy, that cannot wait.
So while governments always need to be able to tell the difference between what's urgent and what's important…
…in the end, we have to do both.
To take immediate action in a way that anticipates and creates future opportunities.
To navigate stormy seas, while always keeping our eyes on the horizon.
And to bring both optimism and urgency to the work of delivery.
To acknowledge the pressures that people are under.
Explain the causes.
And take action to help.
To make it clear, that while we cannot always predict or control the challenges we will face - we can determine how we respond.
In Australia, our election came against the backdrop of the worst global inflation since the 1980s and the biggest international energy crisis since the 1970s.
And there was no quick fix, no easy answer.
These same circumstances had brought about the defeat of incumbents around the world.
And had some predicting that our first term Labor Government would be defeated, or reduced to minority.
But one of the reasons we won re-election and, indeed were able to increase our majority…
…is because in difficult times, we offered people real hope.
We didn't pretend that we had solved every problem in just three years.
But we could point to an economy that was turning the corner: inflation down, wages up, unemployment low and interest rates starting to fall.
And we offered a second term agenda that built on the patient and disciplined work we had done in our first term.
A positive plan to cut taxes, boost wages, build homes and make it easier to see a doctor for free.
That is the work we are focused on delivering now.
That's the essential task of every Labor Government.
To apply our timeless Labor values to the challenges of our time.
And friends, in 2025, our values and purpose and effort are needed more than ever before.
In an era where Artificial Intelligence is transforming our economies…
…we must stand up for secure jobs and fair wages.
We must show our citizens that what Harold Wilson called 'the white heat of technology' can forge new opportunities for working people.
At a time when young people feel the housing market is beyond their reach…
…we must build the new homes and create the economic opportunity that revives the dream of home ownership.
For cities and regions on the frontlines of economic change…
…we must invest in the education and training that empowers people to fulfil their potential…
…and we must build the clean energy that will power new jobs and industries.
We approach this work with determination and with optimism.
Because all of these problems can be solved.
All of these opportunities can be seized.
But only if our people continue to see our institutions as the best way to make
it happen.
We all know this is a time when trust in governments and institutions is under challenge.
We all sense this is an era when our capacity for peaceful disagreement is being tested.
But I what I see here in UK Labour, is the same determination that I know lives in every member of Australian Labor.
An absolute resolve to stand together and defend democracy itself.
Friends
This is where one of the oldest choices that both our parties made, remains one of the most important.
In Australia, and here in the United Kingdom, the trade union movement chose to advance the rights of working people, as a political party.
In Australia and the UK, Labor chose democracy.
We chose parliament and progress, over protest.
We chose to be both a movement for change and a party of government
We chose to make ourselves part of a system where our political fortunes rise and fall on the power of our ideas and the judgement of our citizens.
We set ourselves the task of winning people's trust - and proving worthy of it.
And make no mistake, when we chose democracy, we chose the hard road.
Because building to last, takes time.
Delivering change is more difficult than demanding it.
Working within the system is tougher than railing against it.
And creating solutions requires more of us than shouting slogans.
In a democracy, being a party of government means grappling with uncertainty and complexity.
It means dealing with the gritty realities of the world as it is.
It means making - and owning - tough decisions, in the national interest.
Being honest with people about the scale of the challenges facing us - and the time and effort required to meet them.
But - friends - we would not have it any other way.
We are better for all of that.
Our plans and policies are stronger for it.
Our vision and our ambition for our people is bigger because of it.
And our countries are better for it too.
Because, in the end, the hard road is the only one that takes us anywhere.
Tearing things down is easy - but it doesn't leave you with anything.
The low politics of fear and resentment are easy - but they only divide the country, they don't advance it.
The things worth doing, are hard.
And things worth doing, are worth fighting for.
Friends
Democracy was a defining choice that both our parties made.
I want to finish with an old truth that both our movements know.
A message that the men and women of the trade union movement carried on their banners more than a century ago.
"Unity of labour is the hope of the world."
That has always been labour at our best.
Unity of party - and unity of purpose.
A movement that looks out to the world with hope for the future - and works together to make it better.
Unity of labour reflects the power of solidarity to drive change.
And it reflects the responsibility of labour to promote unity.
To foster co-operation and understanding in the world.
And to build cohesion, respect and harmony at home.
We do that by embracing patriotism as a truly progressive cause.
By demonstrating that our love of country is what drives us to serve it.
And also to change it, for the better.
By encouraging pride in everything that sets our nations apart from the world.
By building faith in everything that brings us together.
And by making it clear that the strength and power of the symbols that unite us lies in the fact that they belong to all of our citizens.
Because in both our nations - our democracy, our laws and our values are for all of us.
For all of us to take pride in.
For all of us to protect.
For all of us to build on.
Unity of labour is the hope of the world.
And in that spirit of hope, unity and solidarity - I wish you all the very best for a fantastic conference.
