Official Opening 42nd Australian Parliament in Canberra

12th February,2008

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been sworn in by Chief Justice Murray Gleeson at the official opening of the 42nd Australian Parliament in Canberra.

Mr Rudd, along with Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Treasurer Wayne Swan and ministers Martin Ferguson, Nicola Roxon, Anthony Albanese, Peter Garrett, Tony Burke, Jenny Macklin, Simon Crean and Lindsay Tanner were the first MPs to be sworn in by Justice Gleeson.

Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson was sworn in with deputy Julie Bishop, Nationals leader Warren Truss and other members of the shadow cabinet including Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott.

Harry Jenkins, the Labor MP for Scullin, was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.

His father, Dr Harry Jenkins, was speaker between 1983 and 1986.

Mr Jenkins was previously a deputy speaker of the House of Representatives and an assistant deputy speaker.

The first day of the Federal Parliament since last year's change of government kicked off at 9am with the inaugural Welcome to Country ceremony, in which MPs took part in a historic ceremony involving the indigenous owners of the land on which Parliament stands.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dancers and musicians performed during the ceremony, which opened with a speech by Ngambri elder Matilda House-Williams.

Ms House-Williams described the Government's decision to invite the traditional owners of the land to open a parliamentary session as "a human act" to reach out to all Australians.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/02/12/1202760250319.html