Reception for the Defence Reserves Support Council, Queensland For the Conferral of the 2016 Prince of Wales and Tasman Scheme Awards

Kaye and I are delighted to welcome you all to this reception in honour of the work of the Defence Reserves Support Council.

And we extend a particular welcome to the 2016 Prince of Wales and Tasman Scheme recipients and their employers.

As many of you may know, Kaye and I were honoured to represent Queensland at commemorations of the centenary of the battles of Fromelles and Pozieres, on the Western Front.

The Australians who fought in those battles were all volunteers. Many were also members of the various militias, antecedents of what today we call the Defence Reserves.

From our biggest city to our smallest towns – in almost every settlement across our vast State – you will find a war memorial dedicated to the memory of those men.

Speaking of very small towns and remote war memorials, it was only two days ago that Kaye and I saw the war memorials in Bedourie and Birdsville in the far South West: both memorials great symbols of civic pride and national loyalty, notwithstanding the remoteness and smallness of the communities: 140 people live in Bedourie and 120 in Birdsville – wonderfully resilient, proud Queenslanders, Australians.

The memorials are well known, continually and rightly reminding us of the sacrifice of our forebears.

Less well known is the fact that most of these memorials were paid for by public subscription, and the most significant donations often came from the employers of those who gave their lives in service of their country.

Big employers erected honour boards to the men they had lost, like the cast-iron Roll of Honour on the façade of the Post Office in Queen Street.

Small businesses, so often the heart-blood of small towns, often made up the difference when public subscriptions on a hard-up population fell short of the target.

That same patriotism is visible today in the public, private and not-for-profit employers who employ reservists, thereby serving both their businesses and their country.

Organisations gain a great deal by employing reservists, with defence training and experience leading to staff with growing skills and self-confidence which enhance their contribution to any workplace.

The Prince of Wales Awards demonstrate how employers and Defence can both benefit when a reservist employee builds their skills.

I commend the recipients of the 2016 Prince of Wales Awards, and acknowledge the support of their employers.

And in this year when we remember the service of the ANZACs on the Western Front, it is highly appropriate that we celebrate and reinforce our enduring Defence relationship with New Zealand with a new group of Tasman Scheme awardees.

I thank their Defence Reserves Support Council for their commitment to fostering the links between the Australian Defence Force, employers and the community.

I thank the Employers present today for your support of our Defence Reserves, and through you the wider community of businesses, government and non-for-profit organisations who collectively employ Australia’s 45,000 reservists.

You are integral to the strength and readiness of our Armed Forces.

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy our hospitality.