Official opening of the Royal Flying Doctor Service Traeger Clinical Innovation and Learning Centre

Royal Flying Doctor Service Queensland Chairman, Mr Mark Gray; fellow RFDS representatives; members of the Bell family; ladies and gentlemen.

It is my pleasure, as both the Governor of Queensland and proud Patron of the Royal Flying Doctor Service in this State, to join you today on this important occasion.

It was wonderful to tour your offices earlier and meet some of the dedicated men and women who do the groundwork so vital to keeping the Royal Flying Doctor Service in the air.

I was also pleased to present three of the aptly-named Above and Beyond Awards to RFDS staff and teams, for excellence achieved during the second half of last year.

Once again, congratulations to all recipients.

Further to the theme of ‘above and beyond’, I acknowledge the attendance today of Mrs Judy Bell, who has generously funded the development of the facility we are here to celebrate.

The remarkable contribution of the Bell family really does demonstrate an outstanding commitment to the health and well-being of their fellow Queenslanders.

Indeed, on behalf of all Queenslanders, I offer the Bell family my sincere thanks.

It was Judy’s wish to name the centre after Alfred Traeger, the Australian inventor responsible for a tremendous piece of historical innovation – the pedal radio.

The ‘Traeger Radio’ enabled remote stations to communicate with the Flying Doctors in the early years of its service.

Known as ‘the man who gave the outback its voice’, I cannot think of a more fitting tribute than naming this state-of-the-art learning centre in Alfred’s honour.

The story of the Royal Flying Doctor Service is well known to Australians, and that is as it should be.

This iconic institution delivers the finest medical care to more than 290,000 people each and every year – that is one person every two minutes.

It is a vital service and a deeply treasured part of both our nation’s identity and history.

Though I must say, what I saw during my earlier visit to the centre belongs very much to the 21st Century.

The use of cutting-edge, immersive video technology is incredibly impressive and will continue to ensure the delivery of the highest-possible standards of training.

What a wonderful asset for our State.

I congratulate everyone involved in the realisation of this ambitious project, and I look forward to learning more about the technology in just a few moments.

And now, it is my privilege to declare the Traeger Clinical Innovation and Learning Centreofficially open!

Thank you.