Community Bushland Walk

Good morning and welcome to our co-hosts, the team from Health and Wellbeing Queensland, including Board Chair, Mr Steve Ryan; a special mention to CEO, QSport, Mr Tim Klar; CEO, Institute for Urban Indigenous Health, Mr Wayne Ah Boo and a particular welcome to Acting Chief Health Officer, Queensland Health, Dr Catherine McDougall; and all who have joined us here today.

I begin by acknowledging the Original Custodians of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbal and Jagera peoples, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people here this morning.

Graeme and I are delighted that you have taken this opportunity during the school holidays to explore our newly opened bushland pathways, designed to open up the wonderful Fernberg Estate to as many people as possible.

In the four years since I became Governor and this became our temporary home, we have been very keen to restore the century-old tracks established by one my predecessors as Governor, Sir John Goodwin.

Sir John was also a doctor, and I’m sure he would be pleased to see the tracks being put to good use as part of our regular program of community walks in conjunction with my patronage organisation, Health and Wellbeing Queensland.

And I take this opportunity to thank Health and Wellbeing Queensland for their ongoing efforts to promote and support this initiative, among many others around the state to promote a healthy and active Queensland.

The community walks that Graeme and I have already led, not only here but in Rockhampton and Cairns, have helped to promote a range of health-related organisations and causes, including Arthritis Queensland, Queensland Walks Month, International Youth Day and World Health Day.

Today, our walk coincides with World Environmental Health Day and I suspect Sir John would approve as a committed environmentalist who understood that a healthy environment is fundamental to a healthy community.

The theme for World Environment Day this year is ‘Clean Air, Healthy People’ and there’s nothing quite like an invigorating climb up and down the hills of the Fernberg estate to increase the heart rate, fill the lungs with fresh air, and get those muscles working.

So let’s get walking!