Luncheon for the Queensland Rhodes Scholar 2026 Shortlisted Candidates

Rhodes Scholarship Selection Panel members and shortlisted candidates, good afternoon.

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 afternoon.

As Governor and Chair of the Rhodes Scholarship in Queensland, I am delighted to welcome you to Government House for this special luncheon to honour our shortlisted candidates for the 2026 Rhodes Scholarship.

As we gather on the eve of the final interviews and subsequent announcement, it is important that we acknowledge the fact you are each exceptional candidates, which will make the panel’s final decision-making processes even more difficult.

The Rhodes Scholarship offers a life-changing opportunity to study at Oxford, among the world’s most highly regarded universities. Beyond academic study, the scholarship offers an opportunity to connect with other scholars and thought leaders from around the world who also seek to make positive and enduring impacts.

Queensland Rhodes Scholars have gone on to excel in diverse fields, including economics, science, medicine, law, diplomacy, public policy, engineering, and academia, to name a few. And as you no doubt are aware, several of our former Prime Ministers were Rhodes Scholars.

On behalf of the Selection Committee, regardless of who is announced as the 2026 Rhodes Scholar after tomorrow’s final interviews, I offer all of you our sincere congratulations for your brilliant efforts, leadership and dedication to date.

And I acknowledge your admirable aspirations to make ongoing impactful contributions in you chosen fields of endeavour. Whether or not you are named as the 2026 Rhodes Scholar does not diminish your accomplishments to date, nor should it in any way dampen your aspirations to serve the public good, solve future challenges and transform the world in positive ways.

In closing, I wish to acknowledge and thank the State Secretary of Queensland’s Rhodes Scholarship, Emeritus Professor Stan Hurn, selection panel members, and QUT for administering the Scholarship on behalf of our universities.

I trust you will enjoy your interviews tomorrow where you can elaborate on what it would mean to you to gain such a prestigious scholarship and how you might use it to make lasting and positive impacts in your ongoing pursuits to solve complex challenges and to help others.

I wish each of you every success now and into the future. Thank you.