I rise to pay tribute to a wonderful Queenslander and a wonderful Australian, Senior Police Liaison Officer Roneece Cupitt, based in the Ipswich Springfield area, where my office is located. I had the honour of attending a NAIDOC Queensland Police Service flag-raising ceremony in the Ipswich region organised by Roneece. I was so impressed by the event, and I was deeply moved by the speech given by Roneece, a Warumungu woman. Roneece joined the Queensland Police Service in 2018. She served in Cunnamulla, Mount Isa and the Murgon-Cherbourg area before coming to the Ipswich-Springfield area. Roneece has earned the honour of QPS liaison officer of the year. Roneece is an avid hockey player, umpire and coach and has used hockey as a vehicle to connect with people in need. Roneece has also won the famous Eddie Gilbert award for her sporting prowess. To you, Roneece, I say thank you. Thank you for all the work you do for our community, thank you for all the people who you’ve helped and thank you for your service.
I’m pleased to pay tribute to the Federation of Sri Lankan Organisations of Queensland for holding another extremely successful Sri Lanka Day Food and Multicultural Festival. This is a wonderful annual celebration which has become a much-loved event on Queensland’s multicultural calendar. Thank you to the president, Dr Jay Weerawardena, and to all of your committee members, volunteers and sponsors.
A highlight of the day—in fact, a highlight of the year—was the felicitation of three community service champions from our wonderful Sri Lankan Australian community. Mr Rahubadde Sarath-Chandra has a remarkable record of 65 years of service. He is the founder of the Sri Lanka Buddhist Monastery in Ellen Grove, Brisbane. The monastery is a hub for religious, cultural and educational activities. He has also authored an extraordinary 13 educational books for students graduating from dhamma schools and has contributed to the community in so many other ways.
Mrs Rena Henderling has engaged in tireless fundraising activities for those in need in both Australia and Sri Lanka. It is truly inspiring to see the list of her fundraising activities for cancer treatment, for housing and sanitation, for the seriously ill, to support newborn babies and to house the underprivileged—just extraordinary!
Mr Davenal Flanderka has provided outstanding leadership and service to the Sri Lankan Australian community in Queensland. This included serving as president of the Silver Fawn Club for 12 years and playing a key role in a number of other organisations. Following the 2004 tsunami, Davenal played a vital role in managing a $2 million grant from the Queensland government that was used to construct 225 homes in two fishing villages in Sri Lanka that were devastated by the tsunami.
To each of you I say thank you, thank you, thank you. Your service is emblematic of the contribution made to our beautiful country by our wonderful Sri Lankan Australian community.
I congratulate the Tanzanian Association of Queensland for a very successful fundraising dinner on 4 October 2025 to raise funds for camps, leadership development courses and resilience workshops for young people. I acknowledge the wonderful speeches given at the event by two outstanding Australians, Amani Meela and Malaika Stone. I acknowledge the TAQ members who received life memberships: Mrs Margaret Elrone Atieno, Dr Sababu Kaitilla, Dr Rashid Omar Mnette and Mr Morerd Mwakajumba. I also acknowledge the award which was given to Mr Mwakajumba recognising the contribution of his beloved late wife, Mrs Gemma Maria Bellege. It was a very, very moving part of the evening.
It was also wonderful to see Rotary there in support, and the Romanian Queensland community were also at the event in support. Where else in the world would you see those two diaspora communities—the Tanzanian diaspora and the Romanian diaspora in Queensland—coming together at a fundraising event for a good cause? It’s just extraordinary. It’s fantastic. Well done to President Meab Mdimi and your whole team for such a wonderful event.
I was truly delighted to have the opportunity to attend the 42nd AGM of the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association on 22 October 2025. What an amazing organisation it is. In the words of founder and president, Mrs Bich Cam Nguyen:
In January 1983, I gathered 15 Vietnamese women with a simple yet powerful vision: to create a charitable organisation that would support the most disadvantaged in our community – regardless of age, gender or background. With nothing but goodwill, courage and determination, we spent months shaping our mission, drafting our constitution and defining the core values that would guide us.
Those values – integrity, respect, inclusion, compassion and excellence – remain the foundation of everything we do. A few years later, we added innovation, recognizing the importance of evolving to meet changing needs in our community.
Reflect on this. Fast forward 42 years and this organisation now has a turnover of over $52.9 million. It employs over 450 people, supported by dozens and dozens of volunteers. It provides homecare support, social support and planned activity groups, dementia support, NDIS services, training and vocational services, playgroups, counselling and much more—it goes on and on. It’s just outstanding.
A highlight of the AGM was the recognition of long-serving staff who had been employees for 20 years or more. I want to put their names on the record: Minh Quang Bui, Thu Thuy Nguyen and Xuan Dung Huynh. Congratulations to each and every one of you. Congratulations to your CEO, the wonderful Nicky Chung, and all of the other staff and volunteers. In this, the 50th anniversary of settlement of Vietnamese in Australia, the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association is an inspiring example of the contribution made to our beautiful country by this wonderful community.
I’d like to give my heartfelt congratulations to Rugby League Samoa Queensland for hosting another wonderful rugby league carnival in my home state of Queensland. The tournament has been running for 14 years now and has grown from just 40 players in its first year to nearly 700 participants—extraordinary. It’s a testament to the strength and spirit of our wonderful Samoan Australian community. The event beautifully celebrated both Australian and Samoan culture, with powerful cultural presentations that added depth and meaning to the sporting festivities. It was especially moving to see so many young children involved. Events like this are so important for inspiring and empowering our young people and connecting them with their culture.
One of the pastors said of the event that it brings families together and uses sport as a vehicle to inspire the youth. That message truly resonated. A big thankyou to the wonderful president of Rugby League Samoa Queensland and my good friend, Matt TuiSamoa, and for his team—his committee team and his wonderful team of volunteers—for their leadership and dedication in bringing this great event together. Thanks also to all the sponsors—especially QLegal, who supports our wonderful Queensland Samoan community in so many ways—who continue to provide outstanding support year after year to the community. Heartfelt congratulations to Rugby League Samoa Queensland.
