Thursday, 4 April 2024
Government House
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC

Bujari gamarruwa

Diyn Babana Gamarada Gadigal Ngura

In greeting you in the language of the Gadigal, Traditional Owners of this land, I pay my respects to Elders, past, present and emerging.

There is a saying in the language of the Gadigal which is “Eora bujari”, which means “Good people”. Tonight, as Patron of the Sir David Martin Foundation, I am honoured to welcome each of you - “Eora bujari” - to Government House.

Lady Martin, Will - this House needs no introduction to you as it was your home and the home of Sir David, in his time as the 34^th Governor of New South Wales.

Many of you will know that his term as the Governor of New South Wales (from 1989-1990) followed a long and distinguished career at sea. An officer in the Royal Australian Navy for over 40 years, seeing action in the Korean War and rising to become Rear Admiral, he was the first Royal Australian Navy officer to hold the position as Governor. I imagine the very first Governor of New South Wales, Captain Arthur Phillip, as a Royal Navy officer, would have been pleased!

Every Governor brings to the position a wealth of experience and a philosophy of life honed from their professional background and its traditions.  In Sir David’s case, his was from the distinguished naval career of which I have just spoken.  The duty to render assistance to others at sea is a long-standing maritime rule, regulated in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and in two International Maritime Organization treaties.  Sir David took that duty, by which he had lived throughout his naval career, and made it the ethos of his governorship. 

Witnessing young people caught up in the destructive world of drugs, alcohol, homelessness and abuse was something that Sir David could not leave untouched.  He hit the road to see things for himself, hitching a number of midnight rides with Mission Beat.   The evidence of disadvantage was irrefutable. 

To do something about this disadvantage became part of his mission, announced in one of his final speeches as Governor. It is not surprising that his values were shared by his close-knit family and not at all surprising that Lady Susan Martin would take his untimely death after just over 18 months as Governor as a catalyst to continue to help young people at risk.

This year, the Sir David Martin Foundation celebrates 34 years of helping young people in crisis, raising more than $70 million to fund withdrawal, rehabilitation and treatment programs.

Today, the work of the Foundation is led by Sir David’s son - Will.  Youth homelessness and disadvantage is a neighbour to each and every one of us, which is why each of you is here tonight – to help - because that’s what neighbours do.  Through your generosity and support this year the Foundation is:

• Celebrating the 5-year anniversary of NSW’s first and only dedicated withdrawal centre for young people, David Martin Place, at Mission Australia’s Triple Care Farm.
• Launching the Youth Network, an expansion of the Aftercare program, helping young people in the community after rehabilitation. Aftercare is now delivered to five youth residential rehabilitation sites, including 4 in NSW - Coffs Harbour, Dubbo, Robertson and Batemans Bay.

The significance of these achievements is demonstrated by the expanding reach of the programs:

• Youth Network has doubled the number of young people receiving Aftercare from 80 to 161 across all locations;
• It has broadened the intake age range from 16-24 to 12-24;

and it has seen a:

• Higher representation of LGBTQI+ and Indigenous young people (now 28% of young people reached).

Importantly:

• 68% are engaged in education and employment pathways; and
• 89% are in now safe and stable housing.

Next week is NSW Youth Week and, as a national youth charity, the Foundation is launching a Digital Awareness Campaign to reduce the stigma surrounding youth addiction.  Thanks to the valuable contributions of the Foundation’s Youth Advisory Committee, a downloadable ‘Conversation Starter Toolkit’ will be available for any young person concerned about their friends’ drug and alcohol use.

We are honoured to have two members of the Youth Advisory Group here tonight. Thank you to Harry and Jessica. Your voices, your perspectives, are so important to the work of the Foundation and to its ultimate success.

Thank you to those I have called ‘neighbours’ - the donors, partners and supporters. As more than one graduate of Triple Care Farm has remarked, your contributions have been – quite literally – life-saving.”  

Tonight is a celebration of a legacy in which each of you has played a role, not only honouring but implementing what Sir David knew was needed – giving “safety, hope and opportunity.”

To 34 years of the work of the Foundation! And to all - thank you for continuing to support its work.