Andrew Leigh

It’s gone largely unremarked in the press, but Julia Gillard has been giving some terrific speeches over recent months. For pure oratory, some of the best include:

• the Whitlam oration (citing Walt Whitman)


• a statement to parliament on Afghanistan


• the St Patrick’s Day lunch


• the CEDA lecture


• a condolence motion for victims of the summer natural disasters


• an address to the US Congress


• an after-dinner speech to the Australian-American Association