Speeches
Monday, 29 May 2023
StudyAdelaide Parents event, Hong Kong
It is my great pleasure to be with you today.
This is my first visit as Governor of South Australia to Hong Kong, a place of great significance to me personally and to my State.
My first posting as a young diplomat with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was in Hong Kong, in the late 1980s, and I have many special memories from this time.
A significant focus of this visit is to strengthen connections between Hong Kong and South Australia through education, and to support the education and career aspirations of Hong Kong students.
As parents, you entrust our high-quality schools with the education of your children at a formative time in their lives.
As Governor, I know the education and the extra-curricular activities that your children will experience while in Adelaide will lay the foundation for lifelong friendships and opportunities.
By choosing Adelaide for your child's education, you are now a welcome member of our community.
South Australia is strongly committed to ensuring our international students have a safe, rewarding and successful time in Adelaide.
This includes experiences provided by StudyAdelaide and also by other organisations, working to connect students with the local community.
Adelaide is a vibrant, multicultural and progressive city that is undergoing a remarkable transformation.
We offer significant opportunities for young people in terms of education, lifestyle and career.
Our economy is transforming, gaining momentum in health, renewable energy, space, agriculture and critical technologies, as well as the professional services which support these sectors.
As you consider the next stage of your child’s education journey, I encourage you to explore South Australia’s world class universities and vocational education providers.
The combination of academic excellence and linkages to industry is creates exceptional opportunities for young people to ready themselves for future employment.
As Governor, I am also StudyAdelaide’s patron.
Each year I am pleased to meet a large number of international students, welcoming many to Government House for events.
A highlight is the Homestay Families Picnic where international school students and their homestay families spend the afternoon on the grounds of Government House.
The warmth and care of the homestay families that my husband and I met in March this year, was testament to the welcoming and multicultural community that we are so proud of in Adelaide.
If we have learned anything from the disruption of the pandemic, it is how much we need strong personal relationships.
Adelaide’s sense of community, and welcome to newcomers, is what I think sets our city apart.
It’s at the heart of why Adelaide is consistently voted one of the world’s most liveable cities.
I believe it is also part of the reason why South Australia welcomed Australia’s largest number of newly enrolled Hong Kong school students in 2022.
I invite you to visit South Australia while your child is studying with us and get to know our unique wildlife, wine regions and beaches.
Thank you for your attendance, and for trusting our schools and the wider community with your child's education.
I can assure you they will be well looked after.