Speeches
Saturday, 21 March 2026
Morning Tea for Down Syndrome Australia in the grounds
I am pleased to join you for the World Down Syndrome Day Celebrations here in the grounds of Government House.
To every person with Down syndrome, to your families, your carers and your friends: welcome!
World Down Syndrome Day, observed internationally each 21 March, carries the theme this year of “Together Against Loneliness” - a recognition that loneliness disproportionately affects people with Down syndrome and their families.
Today is about connection, and I am pleased that Government House can play a role in helping you to make friends, share your experiences and also have some fun.
As Governor, I am deeply encouraged by the many ways South Australians with Down syndrome contribute to their communities.
I see this through sport, through the arts, through friendship and through the daily demonstration that difference is a strength, not a limitation.
I thank Down Syndrome Australia, with significant support from Cassandra Hughes and Down Syndrome Western Australia, for establishing two part-time staff members in South Australia, Louise Taheny and Jennifer McCullough, who are providing employment support and family coordination services that our local community has long needed.
Today we also celebrate the launch of Down Syndrome Community South Australia.
This milestone speaks to the growing ties within this community and to your collective determination to be heard, to be connected and to be supported.
I am heartened to learn that membership has tripled in the past twelve months, and that engagement with social functions has grown enormously.
This is a clear sign of what is possible when a community comes together with purpose.
As Governor, I am aware of the important contribution made by organisations such as the South Australian Council on Intellectual Disability, Children and Young People with Disability Australia, and the Department for Education in working alongside families to help community members with Down syndrome feel connected, included and supported within their communities.
I hope you enjoy this morning - the food, the sunshine, the faces you know and the new friends you are yet to make.
May today be a reminder of what you mean to each other - and of what is possible when South Australia stands with you.