Speeches
Monday, 03 November 2025
Channel 7 Research Foundation of South Australia CRF Annual Research Grants and Awards
Rod and I are delighted, as joint patrons, to join you for the announcement of the Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation annual grants, and to recognise some remarkable researchers.
Both Rod and I have seen the impact of these grants year after year, as leaps in understanding powered by research are translated into new treatments and interventions which are making children’s lives better.
It is both heartening and exciting and we commend the CRF and the researchers its supports for your dedication and commitment to making a difference.
Rod, especially, as a physicist and mathematician, has an understanding of the challenges and opportunities in scientific and medical research.
Researchers stand on the edge of the unknown, seeking out the solid ground of evidence.
They question closely held ways of looking at the world and examine their assumptions about the way things work.
We know this is challenging work and that research dollars are keenly contested.
But the importance of what our researchers do cannot be overestimated.
Your research underpins innovation, decision-making and problem-solving.
It has the potential to overcome barriers to children’s health and wellbeing and change the trajectory of their lives.
We know that some South Australian children experience a range of challenges that undermine their health and wellbeing.
The causes are complex and the solutions take time and investment.
I am heartened by the CRF’s commitment over almost 50 years to supporting research that addresses these challenges and many more that impact our children.
When this organisation was founded in 1976, it was underpinned by generous South Australians inspired to donate to the 24-hour entertainment marathon that was the Christmas Appeal Telethon.
I wonder if these donors had any idea just how far their money would go and that it would be continuing to change lives 50 years later.
Donors today can be confident they are supporting world-leading research that will have impact into the future. Thank you for your generosity.
Impressively, since 1976, the CRF has funded more than 1,000 research projects with a focus on children’s health, education and wellbeing, spanning babies to teens, and physical, mental and social health.
In the process, the Foundation has also backed early career researchers and early concept research ideas, fostering a pipeline of future talent and innovation.
Rod and I congratulate this year’s award and grant recipients and wish them every success in delivering research that supports our young people to live safe, healthy, happy lives.
The CRF continually seeks ways to strengthen its impact and we look forward to watching it evolve beyond its 50 years.
We can be confident that any new direction for the Foundation will continue to be an investment in our children’s future and the future of South Australia.