Two Australian lawmakers used a diplomatic reception in Canberra last month to credit Filipino-Australians with helping make the country’s multicultural experiment work.
Solomon MP Luke Gosling and Senator Don Farrell spoke as guests of honor on June 23, 2026, at Hotel Realm, where Philippine Ambassador Antonio H. Morales hosted an event marking both the 128th anniversary of Philippine independence and eight decades of formal ties between Manila and Canberra. Jonathan Muir, chief of protocol at Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, offered the toast.
Morales pointed to defense cooperation, maritime security, trade, education, and the Philippines’ current chairmanship of ASEAN as areas where the partnership has deepened. He is the 16th person to hold the post.
Attendance drew from across Canberra’s official and civic life, including members of the diplomatic corps, defense personnel, parliamentarians at both state and federal level, business figures, community organizers, and journalists.
Those ties trace to 1946. Australia opened a consulate in Manila on May 22 of that year, and the Philippines followed with an embassy in Canberra on July 4, weeks after independence from the United States.
Filipino settlement in Australia predates any of it. Pearl divers known as “Manilamen” were living in the Northern Territory by the 1880s. Today roughly 400,000 Australians claim Filipino heritage, concentrated in health care, accounting, engineering, information technology, and the public service.
The June reception capped a run of commemorations. A Philippine-Australia Friendship Day was established, Quezon Memorial Circle was illuminated in Australian colors, and Canberra buildings were lit in Philippine colors. On June 12, the embassy hosted 150 guests — among them defense officers and Filipino community groups — for a program combining the independence anniversary with the 165th birthday of Jose Rizal. Three days before the Hotel Realm reception, on June 20, FCCACT organized an independence day celebration in Canberra for 200 attendees; Morales and MP David Smith led the toast.
Morales first flagged the approaching 80-year milestone in December 2024, shortly after arriving in Canberra and meeting with local Filipino residents.
Trust, mutual respect, and shared strategic purpose form the basis of the relationship, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said at a Friendship Day event held at Parliament House in May 2026. The two governments formally elevated their ties to a strategic partnership in May 2023, during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s address to the Australian Parliament.
