Investiture Ceremony 16 May 2024, 10am

Representing the Chair of The Order of Australia Association, Queensland Branch, Mr Peter McMurtrie AO; award recipients, your family and friends; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen; boys and girls.

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

I warmly welcome you to Government House, and congratulate all of this morning’s awards recipients for your incredible achievements.

Each of you is here today, because you have been identified by a peer, colleague or by someone in your community, as an individual who has contributed significantly in order to enhance the lives of others. 

The formal recognition you are receiving is important, because our unique Australian Honours and Awards System places a value on efforts that reach deeply into our communities, enriching them, enlivening them, and making them better places to live and work.

These awards have been earned through lengthy devotion to your area of focus, by committing yourselves to causes that will have a lasting impact, and delivered through hard work, enthusiasm, passion and a deep sense of connection with those you serve.

At this point, I would like to make special mention of the Late Reverend Donald Whebell, who sadly passed away before he could receive his OAM for service to the Uniting Church in Australia. I thank his wife, Mrs Pamela Whebell, for representing him today—we are all immensely appreciative of his endeavours.

This morning, we honour those who have demonstrated significant service to business, and to people with a disability, to education and to community and indigenous health.

We honour those who have made outstanding contributions to the media, animal welfare, to the safety of women, to local government, to our veterans, the arts, music and to the wider community, in myriad ways.

You have each helped make our places safer, more inclusive and more understanding, as your actions forge stronger bonds between people, assist the vulnerable, and help empower our important charitable organisations and the work they do.

Your dedication is reflected by the variety of roles you are happy to undertake to make a genuine difference, allowing the benefits of this generous spirit to spread much further into our society.

And this purposefulness is also reflected in the way you serve on boards and committees, to ensure that the initiatives implemented by organisations and associations you support, are in line with needs. 

You are educators, advisors, mentors and advocates—sharing your expertise and knowledge with humble readiness, by reaching out to others and involving yourselves with tireless enthusiasm—much of which is voluntary.

In regional areas, these networks are even more vital, and in travelling through the State, I am always so delighted to see the impact that benevolent efforts, such as yours, are having on places that do not benefit from larger populations, where there are more hands available to help.

Your energy is impressive, your impact is great, and you should each be very proud of being here today. I know that your families and friends are tremendously supportive of your activities, assisting you through challenges, and helping you reach your goals, and I take this opportunity to thank them for their encouragement.

We are so fortunate, as a State and nation, to have kind and capable people like you amongst us, and it is wonderful that our system of awards unearths achievements that might otherwise remain hidden.                 

As role models, you set an example to which others can aspire, and this reinforces the standards and ideals we strive for as a nation.

Please continue to wear your pins and medals once you leave today, to demonstrate how the merit of your contributions should be celebrated.

On behalf of the people of Queensland, I extend my heartfelt gratitude and congratulations.