Photojournalism Exhibition and Launch of Anti-Poverty Week

Thank you for your introduction and warm welcome, Geoff.  I also give thanks for the welcome to these traditional lands of the Jagera and Turrbal people, and pay my respects to their elders, past and present.

When Cath Bartolo, from Youth Family Services in Logan, approached me earlier this year about my possible involvement in Anti-Poverty Week, I was very pleased to give my support and to offer to conduct today’s official launch.

As Governor, I officiate at many such events, but Anti-Poverty Week deserves and needs advocacy at the highest level, and I am particularly pleased that today, I can use my unique position as the Queen’s representative in our State to highlight the sobering fact that poverty is not just a problem of the developing world – there are more than a million Australians living in poverty.

That’s at least one in every twenty-four of us and reflects the fact that, while our living standards have increased over the past decade, growth has not been shared evenly. As a nation we need to understand what is driving this inequality. More importantly, we need to ensure that decision-makers in government, communities and organisations are fully informed – and encourage them to take action.

Anti-Poverty Week plays a vital role in identifying and highlighting what needs to be done and has won the support and respect of many of the key community organisations working at the coal-face of disadvantage. They are the people who know, first-hand, what it means to be poor in a wealthy country like ours and, on behalf of all Queenslanders, I thank and congratulate them on the selfless work they do and on their commitment to building a more inclusive society.

It is also very pleasing to see that Anti-Poverty Week has inspired the students of the Queensland College of Art at Griffith University to capture the real stories and images of the inequality that poverty represents. I am greatly moved by the photojournalism exhibition and certainly hope that their work attracts the attention it deserves. I congratulate them and thank them for giving us the opportunity to see poverty through their eyes.

It is now my privilege to officially launch Anti-Poverty Week twenty-fifteen. I wish everyone well for a successful week and in their ongoing efforts to address disadvantage and help build a fairer, less divided Australia.

Thank you.