Far North Queensland Investiture Ceremony - Cairns

Cairns Regional Council Mayor, Councillor Amy Eden; representing the Commissioner, Corrective Services Queensland, Chief Superintendent Gabrielle Payne ACM; Order of Australia Association Queensland Branch, Chair, Mrs Ronda Nix OAM and Far North Queensland Regional Group Convenor, Mr John Hardy; representing the President of the Australian Bravery Association Queensland Branch, Mr David Raymond BM APM; representing the Leader of the Opposition, Mrs Yolonde Entsch; award recipients, your family and friends; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen; boys and girls.

I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands of the Cairns region, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and any First Nations people with us today.

I also acknowledge and welcome our official guests and, especially, our awardees and the proud families and friends who have encouraged and supported them.

As Governor of Queensland, I represent His Majesty, King Charles the Third here in our State, and it has been an honour and a pleasure for me this morning to present five Far North Queenslanders with medals under the Australian system of honours and awards on behalf of our King as the Sovereign Head of The Order of Australia.

One of those five medals, the Commendation for Brave Conduct, is a decoration for bravery; another, the Australian Corrections Medal, is an award for service; and the remaining three are honours of the Order of Australia, Australia’s own order of chivalry.

If words like ‘decoration’, ‘honour’, ‘investiture’ and ‘chivalry’ sound as if they belong to a different time, that is because today’s ceremony is derived from a tradition dating back more than a thousand years to mediaeval times when rulers and kings acknowledged and rewarded their followers by bestowing gifts and honours on them.

Around the world, many of those ancient orders have persisted, but Australia’s honours system is different  – it was specially created in 1975 to replace the Order of the British Empire and other imperial awards, and, over the past 59 years, has earned international respect for its integrity, fairness, rigour, and independence from patronage or political influence.

It's a system that enables any Australian to nominate any other citizen, irrespective of their age, gender, ethnicity, education or profession. So, if you believe someone you know has made an exceptional contribution to the nation or humanity, you can nominate them, and I would encourage all of you to consider doing this because today there are no fewer than 55 different types of honours and awards in our system – each of them celebrating excellence, service, and achievement.

And they are all equally important because, together, they reinforce Australian values and help build a more resilient, cohesive and tolerant society.

The five citations you’ve heard today demonstrate just how well our system works to enable us to honour our fellow Australians, whatever their field of endeavour – Philip has been acknowledged for his significant service to youth and outdoor education; John for service and leadership in his career with Queensland Corrective Services; Jo-Ann for her service to youth through Girl Guides; Margaret for her service to business and the community of Cairns; and Dylan for his selfless bravery in rescuing a friend from drowning.

I congratulate each of you once again on the honours and awards you have received and hope you will wear your medals or lapel pins often, not as a statement of boastful pride, but as a way to publicly acknowledge those who nominated you and to thank them for their support and belief in you.

Shortly, we will invite you all to join the official party for a celebratory morning tea and I am very much looking forward to meeting and talking further with each of you and with your family and friends. This is a special day – and it’s your day. Enjoy it!