Children's Week Afternoon Tea

Children’s Rights Queenland President, Mr Dan Marais and Vice-President, Mrs Helen Fogarty; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen; boys and girls.

I begin by acknowledging the original custodians of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbal and Jagera people, and pay my respects to Elders, past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people here today.

It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to Government House to celebrate Children’s Week.

I particularly welcome the children here today, because in a very real sense this event is all about you. You hold a very special place in our lives. It is, after all, because of you that Children’s Week exists! 

This year’s theme, based on Article 27 of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, is that all children have the right to a standard of living that supports their wellbeing and healthy development.

This is just one of the rights that you were born with, and it’s one of many, such as the right to feel safe, to learn, and to have a home.

The protection of your rights, the protection of the rights of every child, is the responsibility of every Queenslander.

And that includes you! You get to help other children enjoy their rights too. When you speak, when you act, you can help make sure that every one around you is free to be themselves, just as you are.

When you leave today, you will take with you a copy of The Right to be Me, a book that beautifully outlines your rights, and the rights of all the children throughout our State. I would like to congratulate author Allison Paterson, illustrator Amanda Letcher, and Children’s Rights Queensland on the book’s publication and to thank them for this wonderful resource.

As Patron of Children’s Rights Queensland, I would like to congratulate and thank the organisation for over 50 years of advocacy on behalf of all children.

Children are the future of Queensland. When children thrive, so do all of us. 

I am always greatly encouraged when I speak with children across the State and hear their thoughts and opinions on what is going on around them. Their perceptions are sometimes funny, often insightful, and always heart-warming. I look forward to speaking with you all this afternoon, and I know that, as always, I will leave today’s celebration much enriched by what I have heard.

Now before I invite you all to enjoy our wonderful Government House hospitality, I would like to first take this opportunity to present a Certificate of Patronage to Children’s Rights Queensland.