National Council of Women Queensland 2017 Bursaries Presentation

Senator Claire Moore; Mr David Littleproud MP; Mayors and Councillors; other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I too acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbal and Jagera people, and express respect for Elders past, present and emerging.

I am delighted as your Governor and Patron to join you all tonight. Kaye and I were unable to attend the annual President’s dinner in March. We were in England representing Queensland at the launch of the Commonwealth Games Baton Relay.

It is nonetheless a great privilege to present tonight bursaries under the National Council of Women Queensland’s flagship outreach program.

The admiration I have long maintained for the work of the Council in Queensland has greatly intensified over the past three years as Governor and Patron.

Two characteristics for me denote this uplifting organisation as exceptional.           

The first is the simplicity of your mission – to raise the awareness of members as to their rights and responsibilities as citizens and encourage their participation in all aspects of community life.

The second is the complexity of the manner by which you achieve this.

This is starkly highlighted tonight the sheer volume of organisations sponsoring bursaries which will shortly be presented.

It is also evident in the diverse objectives of the bursaries themselves, from supporting rural, regional and Indigenous women enrolled in tertiary education to supporting young women from refugee backgrounds enrolled in high school, to supporting young women to continue studies in STEM courses and music.

That so many organisations and individuals actively seek to channel their support for women in education under the umbrella of the Council’s bursary program speaks of the extraordinary high regard in which the National Council of Women Queensland is held.

And of course, the bursary program is just one aspect of what you do! What a remarkable, multifaceted organisation the Council is!

I express my gratitude to the organisations and individuals who have sponsored tonight’s 31 bursaries, including the two National Council of Women Queensland endowments I will shortly present.

I congratulate recipients, and I further commend the Council for ensuring this beneficial program continues to tangibly benefit young women in reaching their educational goals, thereby their wider life goals.

I particularly signal out tonight your former President Mrs Noela O’Donnell, who was instrumental in the program’s establishment and who will shortly be invested as a Member of the Order of Australia for her “significant service to women in rural and regional areas of Queensland, to medical research fundraising and to the community.”

 Thank you all, emblematic as you all are of the mutually supportive, big-hearted and courageous spirit upon which as Governor I seek to shine light.