Speeches
Monday, 23 June 2025
Sinclairs High School Assembly
It is a great pleasure to be here today at Sinclairs High School, and to be with students, teachers, and a school community that values not just learning, but purpose.
Across my career, especially during my time as Governor of South Australia, I have had the privilege to travel to many countries and visit many schools.
And Sinclairs High School is a particularly special one.
The first part of your motto - “Educating to Empower” - speaks directly to something I believe to be deeply true: that education is one of the most powerful tools we have to transform lives.
Not just our own, but the lives of others.
There is something incredibly important about learning in a school where values are taken seriously. Where you are encouraged not just to do well, but to do good.
Where education is not simply about exams or university entry scores - though those matter - but about becoming the kind of person who sees beyond themselves and looks for ways to contribute.
Because at its best, education does not just prepare us for the workforce, it prepares us to live wisely, to make principled decisions, and to lead lives that make a difference.
In South Australia, we also place a high value on this kind of education, one that builds character alongside capability.
We are proud to be a State that encourages young people to use their learning not only for achievement, but for service. We believe that how we learn is just as important as what we learn.
And we recognise, just as your school does, that opportunity should go hand in hand with responsibility to uplift, to include, and to lead with integrity.
Helping others does not always require grand gestures or global platforms.
Often, it begins right where you are, in the way you treat your peers, in how you show up for your community, and in the choices you make each day.
I am confident that many of you will go on to do remarkable things, including in science, in business, in the arts, in public service. But the true test of any success is whether it can help to uplift others.
So, I encourage you to keep learning, to keep asking questions, and to stay curious not just about the world, but about your role in it. And above all, use your education not only to build a future for yourself, but to help shape a better future for others.
I hope some of you will consider South Australia in the future to either visit, undertake further studies, or live and work.
It is always wonderful to welcome to the State, bright, committed young people who value the importance of service to others.
I know I speak for all in South Australia who support your school through Bright Futures in saying how proud we are of you.
Thank you for having me today, and I wish each of you every success as you step forward in learning and in life.