Queensland Volunteering Awards

Member for Redlands; Shadow Minister; other distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen. Last weekend in Northern Queensland a young boy in football boots threw his sandwich wrapper in the bin and ran onto the field to play. There would have been no game to play were it not for the parents who run the club and who staff the canteen every week.

 Last week in the Hinterland a koala was hit by a car and the joey inside would have perished were it not for the animal carer who checked the mother’s pouch and is now hand-rearing the baby.

 Yesterday in a regional town a tourist wandered into the art gallery and would have remained little the wiser about the exhibition were it not for the friendly guide who took him around and passed on a little of her knowledge and interest.

These are representative of the many stories I hear from people as I travel throughout Brisbane and the regions.

It is an honour, during this year’s National Volunteer week, to meet some of the people behind the stories.

Don’t ever think that your work goes unnoticed or unappreciated.

Today we recognise and celebrate the very worthy winners and finalists of the 2018 Queensland Volunteering Awards.

But we also recognise and celebrate every one of the generous-hearted Queenslanders who has seen a job that needs doing, and got on with doing it.

Without you, our world would be a much more limited place.

Queenslanders are renowned for giving a mate a hand, and our volunteering spirit was on global display last month during the Commonwealth Games.

At the Gold Coast the volunteers came from all ages and all backgrounds, in a true reflection of what happens in organisations across the State.

In schools, in churches, in sporting clubs and in service organisations, volunteers are the quiet heroes upon whose shoulders the success of a venture often rests.

They do every kind of task, and the only thing they have in common is that they are all very busy!

It is always a fine balancing act to fit everything into an already-crowded schedule. It takes a special kind of person to willingly add to their busy-ness.

And so, as Governor, as Patron of Volunteering Queensland, and as a fellow Queenslander, I would like to thank and congratulate today’s Award recipients. I would also like to extend my warmest thanks to every person who has volunteered in any capacity. Queensland would not be what it is without you.