Honours and Awards within the Australian Honours System - Investiture Ceremony (A) for Residents of Queensland

It is a great pleasure for Kaye and me to welcome a group of exceptional people to Government House today – the fine men and women who have received decorations and commendations for bravery. At the same time, I extend an equally warm welcome to the families, friends and colleagues they have invited to share this important occasion, as well as to our official guests.

I at once acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbul and Jagera peoples, and extend respect to Elders past and present.

This ceremony is very special for those who are receiving honours or who are here as witnesses, but it is also significant for the wider community – indeed for all Queenslanders and all Australians, because it acknowledges, publicly, the contribution these men and women have made to Australian society.

These recipients, without thought to their own wellbeing, have endangered their lives to go to the aid of others.

As the representative of Her Majesty The Queen in our State, I am both honoured and humbled to present their medals and awards to them today.

Each citation you have heard today is a factual, almost clinical description of the events that led to the decision of the Honours Secretariat and the Australian Bravery Decorations Council to honour today’s recipients. You have heard the date, the time, the location, and the situation all stated calmly, and with a clarity that we know would have been totally absent from the events themselves. When those citations are read, we don’t smell the smoke or feel the knife blade; we don’t see the trapped victim or feel the power of moving water; we don’t know the fear.

What we do know is that, through their actions, each of these recipients stands as an example to us all of that rare and valued human quality of altruism – putting others before the self.

Bravery is not determined by age or gender; it’s not a quality we are born with or can learn. Time and again, recipients, asked about the action that led to their award, will simply say that they did what anyone else would have done in the same circumstances or that they were ‘just doing their job’.

This latter remark is most frequently heard from police officers, and on this occasion, as you will have noticed, we have a very high number of serving officers in the ranks of our recipients.

This is a potent reminder for us all that the men and women of the Queensland Police Service put their lives on the line on a daily basis to protect us and uphold the law in our communities.

It also reminds us that bravery awards were created to recognise acts of bravery by members of the community. These officers are not only receiving these honours today because they are police officers; they are honoured also as members of our community.

The motto of the Queensland Police Service is With Honour We Serve. Thisis particularly apposite for the police officers today, but it applies equally to the members of the public who are being honoured.

They have not been bystanders; they have not turned away.

They have taken action; they, too, have served with honour.

Once again, I congratulate these fine men and women and thank them on behalf of all Queenslanders and of our nation – you represent the qualities we value most highly and are splendid role models for us all.