Suited to Success and Dress for Success Morning Tea with Volunteer Award Presentation

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the kind invitation to join you for today’s important occasion. It is an enormous privilege to have the opportunity to support your valuable work, both as your Governor, and as Patron.

Ultimately, our society thrives when individuals and families have the ability, without fear and free from prejudice, to craft a rewarding life of their own choosing. The tone of society is also enhanced when our citizens are meaningfully occupied, importantly, but not exclusively, through employment.

The disadvantaged, and those who find themselves ‘down on their luck’, often find it difficult to obtain employment and access services. This is for myriad reasons. The point is not to find the source in order to lay blame.

What Suited to Success and the Dress for Success program demonstrates, however, is that sometimes a tender, guiding hand of support is required in order to empower our peers so that they may participate meaningfully in our society.

The programs you administer are vitally important to ensuring all our fellow citizens, particularly the disadvantaged, feel independent, self-sufficient, and can take pride in their capacities.

You provide much more than suits and dresses. You provide fabric harnesses to success and employment, and the attendant benefits of empowerment and fulfilment.

Part of my community role as Governor is to promote our society’s unifying elements, and emphasize that these are often stronger than those features which divide us. Many of these unifying elements are reflected in your core values: respect, professionalism, compassion and fairness.

I am profoundly optimistic about our State’s future. This is largely because Queenslanders are conspicuously caring people – as you all magnificently demonstrate. This is reassuring, because no one has complete immunity from despair – it may befall any one of us.

The volunteers to whom I will shortly present these awards wonderfully embody that trademark Queensland spirit of service. They are also the essence of this organisation. I wish to publicly thank President Dr Elliott and board members, the many wonderful staff, pro-bono supporters and all the volunteers who support the precious work you do, particularly those who have joined us today. You are all truly wonderful people.