Acknowledging the Traditional Owners
I’d like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the Toowoomba Region, whose song lines traverse our lands, and pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging, for they hold the knowledge, rich traditions and bold ambitions of Australia's First Peoples. As a people we need to move forward, walking hand in hand.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart says:
We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.
We are sincerely willing to walk with Australia's First Peoples and engage where we can.
Greetings to all service & ex-service women & men
To the women and men that served their country, past & present.
We would like to acknowledge that service to country by the women and men of the Australian Defence Organisation, those who wear a uniform and those who wore a uniform. Service comes at a price.
The truth is that all veterans pay with their lives. Some pay all at once, while others pay over a lifetime.
To quote the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide Interim Report:
For ex‑serving ADF members, the 2021 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report found that the age-adjusted rate of death by suicide when compared to the general population was 24% higher for men and 102% higher for women – that is, women who served in the ADF were more than twice as likely to die by suicide than those who had not.