Speeches
Wednesday, 06 May 2026
City of Tea Tree Gully Luncheon
I am pleased to be here today at The Tea Tree to join you all for lunch.
Rod and I have had a lovely time getting to know the Active Ageing participants and volunteers.
It’s easy to see that the Active Ageing Program in Tea Tree Gully values its participants as active members of community life, not merely as recipients of services.
As we sit down to lunch, our volunteers and Active Ageing staff remain ‘on duty’, and I thank them sincerely for their dedication to the Active Ageing program, and the individuals they support.
As Governor, I’ve been pleased to engage with your local community during my term.
In my very first weeks, Rod and I attended a Joint Community Services Meeting hosted by the Rotary Club of Tea Tree Gully, and I also had the pleasure of opening the Dernancourt Memorial in 2022.
Government House is also grateful to members of The Tea Tree Gully Redbacks Concert Band and Marching Band, who have played music in our grounds for Lunch on the Lawns, a free public event where people can come in and enjoy their lunch in our gardens on the first Friday of the warmer months.
Today, Rod and I have had the opportunity to engage further with your community, and we thank the City of Tea Tree Gully for a great morning.
From Harpers Field Community Hub to the Wynn Vale Kindergarten, the Community Garden, and St Francis Xavier's Regional Catholic School, it’s easy to see that the City of Tea Tree Gully is not simply planning for the future, but actively and visibly building it.
Local government is where policy meets people's daily lives, and what we have seen today reflects something I believe strongly: that connection is not an optional extra, it is essential infrastructure for a healthy society.
As Tea Tree Gully grows, and the Golden Grove code amendment signals significant growth ahead, a strong sense of community is vital.
Planning for connection is as important as planning for housing, and belonging is built intentionally, through events just like this one.
To the participants, volunteers, and councillors of Tea Tree Gully: your work together shows us strong communities come about not by chance, but through the everyday care that Rod and I have seen, and felt, today.
We wish you all the best for the future.