RSL Queensland State Congress

Returned and Services League of Australia in Queensland, State President, Major General Stephen Day DSC AM (Rtd); State Vice President, Mr Bill Whitburn OAM; State Deputy President, Ms Wendy Taylor; CEO, Mr Robert Skoda; State Secretary, Mr Iain Carty CSM; RSL sub-branch delegates and staff; 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.

As Joint Patrons of the Returned and Services League of Australia in Queensland, Graeme and I are very pleased to join you again for the Opening Ceremony of this annual Congress. As always, this is a very busy day in the League calendar, but it is also important because it demonstrates clearly that the Queensland State Branch – even though the RSL is approaching the 110^th anniversary of its establishment – has successfully transitioned into a modern, 21^st century enterprise.

Here in Queensland, that transition has been guided for the past three years by the goals outlined in the 2030 Strategy, and, at the outset, Graeme and I congratulate the Board and management, as well as the State Council of District Presidents and the leaders and members of the Sub-Branches, on the steady progress made towards realising those goals.

In adopting the 2030 Strategy, the Branch in Queensland has truly seized the opportunity for change, and it has been very pleasing to see the emergence of a capable, responsive, and more relevant organisation, and to see a clear focus on the three core pillars of the League’s mission – care, commemoration and camaraderie.

It’s no easy task to ensure that those three key priorities are relayed to every member of every one of the more than 230 Sub-Branches in the State, but a strategic plan needs to be challenging, bold and visionary, or else it risks irrelevance.

The Queensland Branch’s 2030 Strategy is certainly what it needs to be and represents a deep commitment to providing and advocating for the services that will meet the needs of our nation’s largest population of veterans and their families now and well into the future.

One of the most pressing needs acknowledged in the plan is wellness, particularly mental health, and Graeme and I, who trained as doctors, have been very pleased to see this emphasis, especially given the findings of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide last year and the concerns it raised about the challenges confronting veterans transitioning to civilian life.

We were very proud and pleased to officially open the very first Veteran and Family Wellbeing Centre in Stafford in October 2023 and have watched with equal pride as further centres have opened and as the emphasis on compassion and empathy has increased.

Similarly, we have been pleased to see the increased focus on the challenges faces by incarcerated veterans. Around 6,000 men and women leave the ADF each year and while the majority can reintegrate successfully, some are overwhelmed by the challenge and become involved in the criminal justice system. The State Branch’s collaboration with The Eighth Mile Consulting has been instrumental in developing an appropriate response.

It is initiatives such as these which have helped to make the modern RSL relevant – and it’s very pleasing to see concrete evidence for that in the solid membership growth for the last three consecutive years.

It is cause for celebration and, in officially opening the 2025 Congress, we once again congratulate everyone concerned on the progress made in the past year and thank you for all that you do to support veterans and their families and to commemorate the service and sacrifice of the men and women of the Australian Defence Force.