Lunch in support of Balonne Shire Community

Balonne Shire Council Mayor, Councillor Samantha O’Toole, Councillor Robyn Fuhrmeister OAM and Acting CEO, Mr Graeme Kanofski PSM and members of the Balonne Shire community.

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

Thank you all so much for accepting the invitation to join Graeme and me for lunch. It is our first official visit to the Balonne Shire and I thank you all, particularly your Mayor, Councillor Samantha O’Toole, for welcoming us so warmly to the region.

Mayor O’Toole was there to greet us when we arrived in St George this morning and then drove us to Dirranbandi, accompanying us on a delightful visit to the Dirranbandi State School.

It’s a marvellous example of the legendary hospitality of the regional and remote areas of our vast State, and I thank Mayor O’Toole and the other Councillors for giving so generously of their time while we are in the Shire. I also thank the many businesses, services, community organisations and wonderful individuals who have helped us to put together such a relevant and varied program of meetings, events and visits.

That itinerary is far from an exercise in local tourism; it helps me fulfil the public pledge I made when I was sworn in as Governor almost three years ago.

On that occasion, I promised to serve, acknowledge and support all Queenslanders, and to travel widely throughout our vast State to meet people where they live and learn more about the places they call home. My career has been built on gathering information, listening, and acting on behalf of the common good and our visit to the Balonne Shire is a vital part of that process.

Another part of the promise I made at my swearing-in was that, as Governor for all of Queensland, I would visit every public hospital in the State during my five-year term.

I made that promise because I am acutely aware of the importance of protecting the health and wellbeing of every Queenslander, and I’m pleased to say that over the coming couple of days we will be visiting Dirranbandi, St George and Mungindi Hospitals.

Apart from hospitals and schools, we will also visit the St George Men’s Shed and the Riversands Winery, host several other community events such as this, and attend an historic first-ever performance by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in St George. We are certainly looking forward to an interesting and informative three days.

Before I close, I want to thank the Dirranbandi branch of the Queensland Country Women’s Association for catering for today’s lunch – it would simply not have been possible without your support and I am in awe of your efficiency and resourcefulness because our visit could not have been at a more inconvenient time, with your wonderful annual Spring Affair to be held on Saturday.

Thank you all once again for being here today. After lunch, we look forward to hearing directly from you about the things that matter to you and your communities, whether you live in Dirranbandi or St George, or in Thallon, Mungindi, Bollon, Hebel, Nindigully or somewhere in between in this extraordinary region.