Beef Australia Gala Ball

Rockhampton Regional Council Mayor, Councillor Tony Williams; Beef Australia Chair, Mr Bryce Camm, CEO, Mr Simon Irwin and the Board of Directors; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands around Rockhampton, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to all First Nations people here this evening.

What a magnificent time Graeme and I have had on our first official visit to Beef Week, here in Rockhampton. We are honoured to be with you this evening to bring this year’s event to a close in style, here at the Gala Ball where, I am told, ‘It’s time to suit up and dust off the gowns, trade the boots for a bit of glam, let the hair down and dance the night away’, and I must say you clearly got the ‘brief’ as you all look fabulous tonight!

It is so important that as a state and nation, we not only applaud the efforts of our primary producers, but support and advance them in all ways possible.

Beef Week does a wonderful job of showcasing and celebrating our nation’s beef industry – which enjoys a deserved reputation as the world’s best, not only due to the exceptional quality of its produce, but also thanks to its commitment to safe and sustainable production.

What seems like a long time ago now – back in 1988 during Australia’s bicentennial celebrations – this event was born, and as they say, ‘From little things, big things grow’, with this year’s Beef Australia event attracting an estimated 100,000 people from across Australia and around the world, some 32 years later.

Here in Queensland, we are home to almost half of our nation’s beef herd, with an estimated 13,000 farms. It’s big business, and it’s a growing business, with exports to China alone increasing by an estimated 30 per cent since 2022.

In fact, I will be travelling to China later this month to support Queensland’s trade and export interests there and will be seeing the Aussie Beef and Lamb team in action, bringing the best of what we have to offer to the world stage.

Now, while Rockhampton may be considered the ‘Beef Capital’ of Australia, to me – and to the many who visit – you are so much more.

Rockhampton is a wonderful and welcoming regional city servicing many associated regions of Central Queensland.

Graeme and I have so enjoyed the vibrancy of those we have engaged with during our visit, whether that be on this morning’s community wellbeing walk through the Botanic Gardens, and morning tea with some of your local Australia Day Awardees, or yesterday’s visits with Multicultural Australia and the Fitzroy Hospice, the community pride and commitment on display has been palpable.  

I personally have so many fond memories here, having been welcomed into the Rocky community with open arms when I first moved to Queensland as a single mother in 1994 to take up the role of Director of Medical Services at Rockhampton Hospital. The warmth and friendliness of this city struck me as special then, and it clearly remains true today.

Your collective contributions to our State, not only this week, but each and every day, is a fabulous show of strength in community, and that is what Queensland is all about.

Congratulations to everyone involved in bringing this wonderful Beef Australia 2024 program together.

Now it really is time to celebrate all that you have achieved this week, kick up your heels and have a wonderful night.

Thank you.