Today is indeed an historic occasion when as a first chair-in-office woman I hand over to another woman chair in office, your Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, in the presence of a woman head of the Commonwealth, Her Royal Highness, Her Majesty the Queen of England.

As a child in the rural district of Penal I remember sharing meals from the same pot with neighbours of different racial, ethnic, social and economic backgrounds.

When I was travelling in Rajasthan people were waving hands, and it felt like I was visiting my own constituency.

We need to rekindle those values, those strengths as a nation and as a people... And we must do so as one people with one goal.

Looking towards the future, one of the most important issues the national community must face is the widening gap between the liberated, modern, independent women and our traditional men who are being left behind.

Women are outperforming men in almost every sphere of life in our society and the women of East Indian ancestry are no exception to this rule. They have broken the cultural mould.

I am my own woman…and was, long before I became Prime Minister. Attending to my family’s needs only made me stronger as a leader because if you know how to run a home and ensure each person’s particular need is met, it’s the best leadership training you can have.