Ladies and gentlemen, shipmates and friends.

Thank you for joining us on this important day for our Navy.

To our outgoing Chief of Defence Force, Admiral Johnston and to Belinda, I wish you fair winds and following seas as you embark on your next adventure.

Thank you for your remarkable service and leadership. The Navy will always be your home and you will forever be welcomed back as a valued and esteemed member of our Navy Alma Mater.

To Admiral Hammond, shipmate, thank you for your exceptional leadership as our Chief of Navy and for the example you have set through your service. As you step up to Command our Defence Force, please know that you and Jodi remain an integral part of our Navy family.

I am deeply honoured to follow you and build on the strong foundation you leave behind.  You have set us a clear passage plan to execute and I commit our Navy to executing with alacrity and patrolling with purpose, always of course operating within our moving haven.

I would also like to acknowledge the distinguished leaders gathered here today, with a special note to former Chiefs of Navy and the many friends and colleagues whose support, counsel and partnership have helped shape the Navy we see today.

To our Navy family: our sailors and officers - including the 21 Ships and the 1,267 Navy people at sea today. To our public servants and all of our families- I thank you. The Navy demands much of our service and I am grateful for all that you give. Your professionalism, commitment and collective effort, have enabled Navy to meet every challenge asked of it.

You have supported the Chief; delivered capability and upheld the standards expected of our service. I am deeply proud to serve alongside you.

To our sister services, our shipmates across the Defence portfolio and government and to our industry partners - I thank you sincerely for all that you do as an integral part of our shared enterprise.

On a personal note, I especially want to thank my family and closest friends.  Your guidance and support is indispensable, always appreciated and critical to my service - to our Navy and our Nation.

Our Navy is one of this country’s most respected national institutions. At 125 years of age it is as old as our Federation, with a remarkable record of service in peace and in war.

To the 2,514 RAN sailors lost as casualties of war, and the 23 warships lost in conflict and on operations, we follow proudly in your wake.

The specific challenge I set today for our men and women, is to undertake the profound re-capitalisation of our Navywhile remainingalways prepared with a Fleet that is lethal and ready.

We are rapidly growing the number of people and platforms in our Navy and will be introducing into service more complex and lethal capabilities.

Including:

• Nuclear Powered Submarines;
• Mogami and Hunter Frigates; and
• Remote Autonomous Systems (RAS).

This offers our Navy exciting opportunities and enormous challenges - in parallel. It will require us to maintain the most rigorous attention to detail and to embrace a nuclear mindset.

As I assume Command of our Navy, my intent is clear.

We will invest in our People. Developing highly skilled, resilient naval war fighters, grounded in mastery. Supported by strong teams; and a system that looks after them and their families.

We will maintain and evolve our Platforms. Ensuring our ships are safe, seaworthy, and lethal. While transitioning deliberately to the next generation of capability.

We will strengthen our Partnerships. Across Defence, government, industry, and with our allies. Recognising that we fight and succeed as an integrated force.

We will remain focused on our Purpose. Delivering capability at the speed of relevance. Setting high standards; and getting it right the first time - because doing it right is doing it fast.

In all that we do, the safety and wellbeing of our people will remain paramount.

I am honoured to assume this responsibility and I look forward to leading our Navy into its next chapter.

Thank you.