AUSTRALIA DAY 2016

That this House notes that 26 January marks Australia's national day, commemorating the anniversary of the day on which Captain Arthur Philip in 1788 unfurled the union flag at Sydney Cove; recognises the strong historical bonds reinforced through the military, sport, the media and the arts, and the shared heritage and special relationship between the peoples of the UK and Australia, which are strengthened through flourishing bilateral trade, investment and most notably the sharing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State and Sovereign; and calls on the Government to make strengthening the close political, economic, sporting and cultural ties that continue to bind these two great nations together one of its very highest priorities for 2016.