Tuesday, 20 January 2026
Liverpool Powerhouse, Casula
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC

Thank you, Megan, and Thomas, for your warm Welcome and Acknowledgement of Country. I acknowledge the Darug, Dharawal and Gandangara people,  the Traditional Custodians of this land and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

As Governor of New South Wales and Patron of St George Community Housing, I am delighted to join you for this year’s Strive Scholarship Presentation Ceremony, a program which this year celebrates its 20th year. To all the recipients here today, congratulations.

I am often asked what the Governor does?  When I was at school I would have asked the same question - indeed, it’s probably the question that my teacher would have slipped to me or one of the other students to ask, assuming we would have had the opportunity to meet the Governor.  

In brief, as Governor of New South Wales, I represent His Majesty King Charles III in NSW, hence the reference to my Vice-Regal role.  

It is customary to explain what the Governor does by using ‘3 C’s’ - Constitutional, Ceremonial and Community. In my constitutional role, I give Royal assent to the Bills that are passed by the NSW Parliament.  I also meet with the Ministers in Executive Council to discuss and approve regulations, proclamations, appointments and the like.

Ceremonially, I am present at major events of which Anzac Day is a good example. 

The third C is community – and that means you - as I support organisations, first responder and volunteers, helping our community of NSW to be a better place for everyone. 

As Patron of an organisation - as I am of St George Community Housing - I am able to support the organisation by giving recognition, as Head of State, to their work. It’s a public acknowledgement of the importance of their work and the recognition that every person in our community is valued. This acknowledgement and recognition can happen in a variety of ways, including such as this afternoon, celebrating the achievements of the young recipients of this year’s Strive Scholarships.  

As its name tells us, St George Community Housing provides housing, and has done so for 40-plus years, to those whose economic circumstances make it difficult to afford housing in the commercial market. SGCH’s long experience in housing also tells them that their clients often have other needs that go hand-in-hand with housing needs.    The Scholarship program grew out of this understanding – an understanding that to feel included and accepted in the school environment, to achieve, and to fulfil a student’s potential, means that that there are needs that many families struggle to meet. 

The aim of the Strive Scholarship program is to help families meet those needs. It is a commitment to making a tangible difference in young people’s lives because, as we know, talent doesn’t reside in a postcode. It resides in the child.

Education is the single most important factor in enabling our young people to fulfil their potential. It is so important that it is one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.  It is the key to breaking cycles of inequality.  

The joy of your school days is making friends, playing lots of sport, getting involved in music, getting those positive marks that make you and your parents so proud. The challenge is to understand – and I’m not sure the students will want to hear this, but as we adults know - school is just the beginning of your education. The world will change, jobs will change and you will have to change as well. But it is your days at school that will provide you with the foundation that will enable you to do so.  

I went to school in this area – Mount St Joseph College, Milperra. Back then, as now, safe and affordable housing was a struggle for many families. In a family of five children, every penny counted. But it was Education, for me and my brothers and sisters, like the key to a house, that unlocked pathways to opportunities. It meant that when I finished school, I could choose to get a job or go to TAFE or university and be free to follow the direction I wished my life to take. For me, that direction was further study at university to become a lawyer. That course may not be for everyone. We need builders and electricians, nurses and paramedics, computer operators and research scientists.  You can choose whatever you want to be. Work hard and you will succeed. 

So, as you start your new school year, I encourage you to work hard, read widely, listen to your teachers, try new things and keep exploring what interests you. Have fun, make friends and most of all, think about what your goals are and believe that you can achieve them.

One primary school student here wants to get extra swimming lessons so she can be safe and confident and enjoy the beach or pool just like her school friends. Another high school student is determined to complete year 12, just like her brothers and sisters, and some extra tutoring will help her reach that goal. Yet another has a brilliant mind for technology, and enjoys solving complex problems, and dreams of being a software engineer, but needs a new laptop to help power his dreams. 

As we will soon hear, over the past 20 years of this Scholarship program, over 3000 students have been helped in their education to achieve the things they want to achieve in life. Today is about helping our young students do that. Today is a day of great pride for you, your parents/carers, families and St George Community Housing.

I thank St George Community Housing and generous donors for these awards. I know that their best “reward” is that you keep going and keep striving.