Investiture Ceremony C, Wed 30 Apr 10am

President of the Australian Bravery Association, Queensland Branch, Dr Sally Gregory; Deputy National President, Australian Bravery Association, Mr Michael Pearson BM APM; award recipients; your families, friends and colleagues; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

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 any First Nations people here this morning.

I am very pleased that you have all been able to join us this morning to hear the citations for these exceptional Queenslanders, and to see them invested with their bravery decorations.

Although they may not see themselves as such, they are heroes, and their selfless courage deserves the gratitude of us all.

It is particularly pleasing to have Dr Gregory with us today as the representative of the Bravery Association because 2025 marks 25 years since the organisation was established.

Dr Gregory herself received a Commendation for Brave Conduct 30 years ago and knows from personal experience that the split-second decision to take action can have an enduring psychological impact.

The fact that Australia’s bravery decorations can be awarded posthumously is a very important feature of our system of honours, and I once again commend The Late Senior Constable Brett Forte for his courage and thank Susan, Brodie and Samuel for being here to accept the Commendation for Brave Conduct in his memory.

Today, we also acknowledge the six Queensland Ambulance officers who went to his aid, continuing treatment as gunshots rang out around them from an armed offender whose location remained unknown.

We also heard of the brave actions of the three citizens who were the first on the scene of a burning bus in Moorooka in 2016 but were unable to rescue the driver, and the passerby who rescued an unconscious man from the surf in 2019, only to hear of his death in hospital shortly afterwards.

When a rescuer loses someone they were trying to save, it can be an emotionally intense and deeply personal experience, producing lasting feelings of guilt, anger and self-doubt as well as sadness and grief.

These feelings emerge even in cases where victims survive.

Today, as well as accounts of incidents that ended in tragedy, we have also heard of successful rescues from burning vehicles and of disarming a man with a knife.

All incidents have left their mark.

Like many veterans who have served in war or war-like situations, civilians can also suffer unintended consequences when they risk their life to save another person.

Flashbacks, PTSD, becoming distant and withdrawn, feeling that only those who have experienced the same trauma will be able to understand them—all of these are common and this is where the Bravery Association can play a vital role.

I strongly commend membership to you and echo the thoughts of our Governor-General, Ms Sam Mostyn, in the most recent edition of the Association’s magazine.

“I want to send a special message of thanks”, she says, “to those for whom an act of courage has left a legacy of physical or emotional wounds that endure long after the emergency has passed.

“I hope you will be supported, enriched and inspired through the friendship and kindness you will find in the Australian Bravery Association”.

The decorations you have received today are the ultimate recognition for bravery that a civilian can receive under the Australian system of honours and awards, and on behalf of all Queenslanders, I congratulate you all again and thank you for inspiring us to build a society in which bravery is honoured as the highest expression of our shared humanity.