BUSHkids Annual Report 21 | 22

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Underpinning this positive impact is the almost century of service to BUSHkids shared by Council members and their individual contribution of many more years’ experience in their respective fields of expertise. All my colleagues have, like our other volunteers and supporters – whether in our magnificent Friends of BUSHkids (FoBk) groups or in other ways – gone ‘above and beyond the call’ but I pay special tribute to three members here. Honorary Treasurer Allison McLean has been safeguarding BUSHkids’ financial security for more than 17 years and, in 2022, both Gail Huggins and Carolyn Searle have notched up a decade of service each on our Council. No-one will ever replace the late Gloria Ryan in our esteem and memories but, in stepping up as Deputy Chair this year, Carolyn has also contributed immensely to the actualisation of our vision for a teleBUSHkids Centre and its fit-out and completion, ready for its operational debut. For my part, and on behalf of my ever- patient spouse Annette and my family, the pandemic-postponed reception at Government House to acknowledge my own years of service was appreciation indeed, but more gratifying to me is the day-to-day engagement and support of the truly talented people of our Council. I give my thanks to each and every one of my colleagues for their steadfast focus on ensuring BUSHkids remains well-equipped to continue to deliver for the children, families and communities of regional, rural and remote Queensland. Such collaborative goodwill has been a hallmark of the BUSHkids journey and, as thoughts begin to turn to our 90th anniversary in 2025, we have another example of this in our new teleBUSHkids Centre, an asset aided in its realisation by many people, industries and levels of government ‘for the good of kids in the Bush’ – a telling and tangible reminder of the founding premise and ethos of our organisation.

As we continue to look to the future, working to stay not only in front of current requirements but also ahead of identified trends and emerging community needs, our governance structure continues to be reviewed to ensure organisational alignment with BUSHkids’ Strategic Plan. This is not some ‘set-and-forget’ document but rather a continually-monitored set of progress, performance and course-adjustment measures to ensure we can continue to be there for the kids and families of Queensland well into the future. In this, we are always mindful of, and ever grateful for, the foresight and gifts of all who, over many, many years, have given or bequeathed their valued funds to BUSHkids expressly for the delivery of our services and programs to help the children who are the future of our State to realise and reach their full potential. That visionary mission remains as true in 2022 as it did when it crystallised in that first public meeting in Brisbane in December 1935. We continue to instigate and develop new collaborations and partnerships – such as with the Cherbourg Gundoo Early Years Strategic Planning round table, and the Western Queensland Primary Health Network in Cunnamulla – and, as we emerge from the pandemic in a world where ‘face-to-face’ is now equally effective therapy onscreen as across a table, we are now also able to spread our wings with the support of Angel Flight to bring our specialist services to the people who need them the most. For more news, our CEO Carlton Meyn has quite a lively yarn to tell, woven through the following pages. Thank you.

BUSHkids Council Chair

Thank you. Two words with which I have often closed my reports over the past decade or so but which merit opening my remarks as calendar year 2022 draws towards its close. Thanks, most importantly, on behalf of my Council colleagues, to all of our remarkable BUSHkids frontline and support staff across Queensland. As we navigated our way through the often uncharted landscapes of the pandemic over the past three years, your patience, perseverance and commitment to deliver top-class services in the face of upheaval and challenge has been exemplary. Across our organisation, from the ongoing behind-the-scenes evolution of our own, bespoke BUSHbase ICT systems to the continuing professional development of our teams – learning, adapting and applying, or developing new skills and programs – we are increasingly setting the standard in quality service delivery. Outside BUSHkids, our experience in delivering and developing programs, most innovatively in the growing scope of telepractice, is becoming widely noted and benchmarked, and our evidence- based expertise is sought to inform and help shape policy at very high levels. Perhaps nowhere was this more clearly illuminated than in the visit by NDIA Board members to the new teleBUSHkids Centre in our Toowong precinct to hear first-hand from some of the families which we support using a range of modalities. The Board’s meeting with BUSHkids Council members and leadership team during that visit also clearly showcased the skills, strength, and active involvement of our governance in ensuring continuing reinforcement and support of our professional provision of this wide range of services across Queensland.

Dr Neil J Bartels oam MBBS LL.M Grad.Cert.Leg.Med. FACRRM

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