23 November 1963, Canberra, Australia

Ladies and gentlemen, we've had terrible news today. The assassination of President Kennedy. This is of course a tremendous tragedy for the United States of America. It's a tremendous tragedy in my opinion for the world. And of course, what it can mean in terms of horror and tragedy for Mrs. Kennedy, we may only imagine.

President Kennedy was a very remarkable man, young vigorous, extremely able, full of courage, full of character. I saw a good deal of him in a limited period of time over the last three years. And I came to admire him tremendously.

And I'm sure you did, because he did give to the western world another source of strength in powerful leadership determination. You look back not so very long ago to the time he confronted the Soviet Union over Cuba and produced from them an agreement to withdraw Soviet arms and troops from Cuba.

This was of tremendous importance for the free world. I believe it was one of the turning points in recent history. What will happen now? I don't know. All I know is that it will take some time for the new president to settle in, so to speak. And it will be some time before we forget how tremendously indebted the free world has been to John Kennedy and the work that he did.

I do hope that the dangers of the world will not be too much increased by this horrible event. That they will be somewhat increased, I'm afraid I have no doubt. We would like all of us, wouldn't we, to send our sympathy to Mrs. Kennedy and her family, and to the American as a whole.

22 February 2009, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia

To each and every one of you sharing this quiet. To those in all the towns about. To those in homes, in prayers, in pubs, in hospitals, in city streets. To those in the relief centers, the staging points. To those who have assembled here. To those buried in each other's arms, holding each other's hands, wiping each other's tears. To those trembling still. To the children in wonder. To those who answer the call from far and wide, in yellow, in green, in orange, in blue, in khaki, in white, and under the cross of red. And those still dusted in black.

To those pitching the canvas, those under it, those who have lost homes, lost livelihoods. To family and friends of those who have perished. But most of all, to those who have seen the flames. To those who have been blinded by the darkness of the day, smelled the smoke, heard the roar, and then in turn, been deafened by the silence.

As simple message is, we are as one. Victoria is as one. You have our hearts, you have our hands. We could quell these fires with tears, but tell your stories. Tell your stories and let's lift the sadness together. Victoria at its most ferocious is now at its finest.

Mr Baillieu is a guest on the 39th episode of the Speakola podcast.