Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Assistant Minister for the Public Service, Assistant Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Acknowledgements omitted
These awards tell our national story.
But unlike most of what we do in politics, we don't do it through reports and statistics.
We tell that story through our people.
And in a world where things can feel very divided, these awards truly bring people together.
I believe that every Western Australian is a great Australian, but if I can particularly pay respect to Brother Olly for his outstanding service as Senior Australian of the Year this year.
And what we've seen tonight are some of the very best of Australia.
We have seen role models, people who truly believe in others, and we are going to give them a huge megaphone for their message.
And let's look at those messages.
Frank Mitchell talking about the power of an apprenticeship to give him the belief to believe in himself, and thanked the apprenticeship for taking him places, now wanting to make sure that that was passed on to others.
Haseeb Riaz and Gareth Shanthikumar, who talked about the ability that some blokes do have to both kick a footy and show emotion, and the amazing power of positive male role models - having changed the lives of some 22,000 people in this state.
We have Kingsley Dixon, who spoke of love; love of Western Australia, love of the bush, and challenged us all to become makers of future nature.
And Daniela Vecchio, that was an incredible presentation.
A very worthy recipient, because despite seeing young people struggling with awful addiction, she starts out her comments by saying "I am hopeful".
And then she talks about these invisible children that she sees, and she's made sure that all of us see and we recognise that they don't have to be in the grip of an addiction.
That's the power of these Awards.
That's the power of celebrating the absolute best of Australia, and it's what we do through the Australian of the Year.
I look forward to welcoming these outstanding Western Australians to Canberra alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in January next year.
We will do Western Australia proud on the national stage, as we do each and every year.
Congratulations once again to all of the recipients.
