Speeches
Thursday, 27 August 2026
Lions Assistance Dogs Reception
I am delighted to welcome you to Government House. Your patron, my husband Rod is unable to be with us tonight due to illness, but we speak as one when it comes to the important work of Lions Assistance Dogs.
This reception brings together philanthropic, corporate, government and community leaders who share an interest in improving the health, independence and participation of members of the veterans community, and Australians living with hearing loss and Type 1 diabetes.
It’s wonderful that we have Lions Assistance Dog Malley, a diabetic alert dog in training here today.
You can see he is very friendly and curious and while he can have no concept of how vital he will be to people’s lives, I think we can be confident that he will nonetheless get enormous tail-wagging pleasure from the discharge of his duties.
Rod and I have watched the trainee assistance dogs in action during our visits to the Adelaide Hills centre.
We have seen these amazing animals respond appropriately to a range of different domestic sounds and alarms, react to emotional triggers from the trainer or identify different chemicals associated with elevated or depressed blood sugars.
We loved watching them, not least seeing how much they enjoy their work – being attentive, responsive and close to the person they are supporting.
It is because of those interactions with Lions Assistance Dogs that we wanted to host this reception today.
Just three months ago, we took part in the ground-breaking ceremony for the National Training Centre in Verdun, a significant milestone in the organisation’s 46-year history.
The ceremony was both symbolic and practical, marking the beginning of construction and at the same time recognising the leadership, generosity and community support that had brought the project to that point.
The decade-long planning and significant fund raising to-date has come from myriad individual and private sources: a testament to both the energy and dedication of the board, CEO and staff, but also to how deeply and how widely these wonderful dogs are loved and supported in the community.
It is a standout example of what can happen when people believe in an idea and bring their time, expertise, generosity and commitment to realising it.
The $16 million project will provide state of the art breeding, training and placement facilities and demonstrate without question that Lions Assistance Dogs is an organisation with momentum, ambition and national significance.
Most importantly, It will massively increase the number of dogs that can be trained, enabling Lions assistance dogs to respond to more of the pent up demand.
Once operational, the Centre is expected to support the training and placement of up to 120 assistance dogs each year and generate an estimated $6 million in annual social value through improved independence, health, community participation and wellbeing.
I am sure there is a sense of pride that an organisation based in the Adelaide Hills will provide an important national service and that vision, perseverance and collaboration have brought a project from aspiration to reality.
Once completed, the Centre will represent an enduring contribution to Australia’s disability, health and community infrastructure.
And that’s why this next chapter matters. By committing to this major construction project, the Board and its CEO have made a great act of faith: Faith in the vision that they have of the future of the organisation; Faith in the importance of the work that they do and the abilities of the staff and volunteers at the Verdun Centre; and faith in the commitment of their supporters both in South Australia and more widely (Many of whom here today).
Friends.
Thank you for sharing that faith and for being part of the Lions Assistance Dogs community.