Representing Commanding Officer, HMAS Moreton, Captain Paul Luckin AM RAN; Commander of The Australian Army’s 11th Brigade, Brigadier Richard Peace; Director-General of Career Management – Army, Brigadier Andrew Moss AM CSC; Deputy Head of the Reserve & Cadet Support Division, Air Commodore Grant Pinder; representatives of the Australian Defence Force, Reserves, and Emergency Services; Prince of Wales Award Recipients and Alumni; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.
I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbal and Jagera people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people with us this afternoon.
Graeme and I are delighted to welcome you all to Government House today to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Prince of Wales Awards.
In particular, I extend a very warm welcome to the Award Alumni who have joined us for this special celebration, as well as the three most recent recipients, announced in December last year. Each of you has shown exemplary discipline and motivation, commitment to service, and determination to make a positive contribution to your workplace and community. I thank you for that.
As everyone here is aware, Reservists have played an essential role in Australia’s Defence Force since Federation, but there has also been considerable debate over the years as to how best to structure a Reserve Force.
One of the key changes came in 1984. Until then, awards for Reservists had existed, but were funded through what was then called the ‘Citizens in Support of Reserve Forces Trust Fund.’
In June 1984, the Chairman of the fund was advised the then Prince of Wales (now King Charles the Third) had agreed that the awards should be renamed the Prince of Wales Awards.
It was certainly a much more memorable title, and in the four decades since, the awards have flourished, recognising more than 350 recipients.
At the same time, the awards have served to improve cooperation between employers and the Department of Defence, and have produced greater public understanding of the benefits the awards bring for both Reservists and their employers.
Another major change for Reservists came in 2019. For the previous 42 years, the Defence Reserves Support Council had been responsible for the relationship between Defence and employers. From 2019, a new model was introduced, building on the work of the former Support Council to cement solid, positive relationships with business and industry.
The new model has been a great success and today, the Defence Total Workforce System offers Australia’s 32,000 Reservists a plethora of opportunities to serve in roles in the Navy, Army or Air Force, and enjoys unprecedented support from employers.
Reservists now constitute more than 50 per cent of our Defence Force. As flexible, highly skilled personnel, they serve alongside full-time colleagues on all Defence exercises and operations, both domestically and internationally, and contribute to the community by providing assistance and support after events such as natural disasters.
It is an exceptional success story, worthy of celebration, and one we should all be proud of – and we are!
On behalf of all Queenslanders, I extend my warmest congratulations on 40 very successful years of the Prince of Wales Awards.
