Investiture Ceremony for Honours and Awards within the Australian Honours System

Official guests, ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys. Welcome to Government House.

I at once acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which we gather, the Turrbul and Jagera people, and pay respect to their Elders past and present – with encouragement to their young emerging leaders.

Kaye and I are delighted to have your company in the Investiture Room on this special day – the fifth and final ceremony hosted here this past week! What do they say about being last, but not least…

The Australian Honours and Awards system, which embraces the medals presented today, is the pre-eminent way our country seeks to recognise outstanding accomplishment and service.

To be acknowledged in this way certainly reflects an exceptional personal achievement.

It also demonstrates the value Australians place on community outreach, on the importance of engaging with others and advocating for those qualities which sustain and bind us.

It is my experience that individual success often relies on the support and encouragement of others.

To that end, I acknowledge the family and friends who are with us today.

Australia’s honours system was introduced in 1975, with the creation of the Order of Australia, to recognise service to the nation or humanity.

Recipients of wider Australian Honours and Awards are recognised for the contributions they have made to the improvement of our society.

This egalitarian awards system consolidates what it means to be an outstanding Australian: compassionate; curious; hard-working; generous with both time and talent.

Today we honour men and women of integrity who have made our communities safer, smarter, stronger, but perhaps, above all else, kinder. Happier.

I do not doubt that for the recipients we honour today, there have been times when they have felt overwhelmed by the task at hand.

But each of them has persevered on life’s journey, drawing on the resilience and inner-strength needed to achieve their goals… and in many cases, I am sure, to eclipse them!

If today’s recipients demonstrate anything, it is that you can make a difference to your community, and in a wide variety of ways.

Today we honour a group of Australians whose contributions are as diverse as they are impressive.

We celebrate the achievements of Queenslanders in many fields, including education, the arts, law, commerce, the media, our churches, community service and the environment – one who identified some of the more than 55 bird species which call Government House home! We have heard of eminent contributions to history, youth advocacy, charity and social welfare.

We honour men and women who have changed lives, as well as those who have saved lives, through their actions, or the organisations they advance.

We reward Queenslanders who have made a genuine difference, whether in the classroom or on the sporting field.

And, we offer our thanks to those among us for whom the wellbeing of others is paramount.

These awards are not given out lightly. The staff of the Australian Honours and Awards Secretariat in Canberra research thousands of nominations before decisions are made.

So please, feel immensely proud of receiving this award today.

I urge you to wear the symbols of your achievements with pride, and to celebrate the joy your actions have brought to your fellow Australians.

As Governor of Queensland, with the honour of representing the great people of this State, with Kaye, I conclude with an expression of gratitude for the contribution you have made to our community and our country. 

Kaye and I now invite you to enjoy the hospitality of Government House – and wish you an afternoon to cherish always. Thank you.