Quentin Bryce
Quentin Bryce
Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce AD, CVOwas the 25th Governor-General of Australia, holding office from September 2008 until March 2014. She was the first woman to hold the position, and was previously the Governor of Queensland from 2003 to 2008...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth23 December 1942
CountryAustralia
acid attitude human mud people rally throughout
Livelihoods and whole communities throughout the Murray-Darling Basin have been imperilled by the workings of drought, fire, flood, acid mud and human action over many decades. In the rescues and the cleanups and the long hauls, I see the same attitude over and again. People just rally and get on with it.
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I think that young Australians ought to be taking language education much more seriously. I mean, you know, every day I'm meeting people with expertise, ability and talent in fields where I want to learn so much more; science, for example.
across country great honour meet privilege share
It's a great privilege and an honour to have the experiences and opportunities that I do to meet extraordinary Australians right across our country who share a great generosity of spirit.
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I didn't have any Indigenous friends until I was in my 30s, and I'll always remember and be inspired by the remarkable friendship I had with Connie Bush, an outstanding Indigenous leader from Groot Eylandt on who was on the National Women's Advisory Council with me.
absolutely issue maternity men parental vital women
Maternity leave and parental leave is absolutely vital for strengthening families. It's an issue for men and women.
support-you needs admire
Seek out a person whom you admire and respect for the support you need - that we all need from time to time.
education learning journey
Graduation day was a milestone in the most important journey of all - to the centre of oneself.
loyalty hurt honesty
Again and again, I learn how much friendship enriches my life, bringing warmth, assurance, humour, inspiration, a sense of security. It depends on honesty, trust, loyalty. It's about giving. It's for sharing the good times, but also the tough times, hurt, grief, sadness.
children government doors
One of the most enjoyable things I do at Government House and when I travel around Australia is to talk with children. I tell them about our parliamentary democracy - and I often do that as I'm walking into an Executive Council meeting next door!
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The aboriginal women leaders of Papunya - the Papunya Artists - performed a dance for me: the Honey Ant dance. They'd never done it for anyone else. They honoured me with a ceremonial stick that signifies the story of the land.
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All women need support when they're having their babies and their little families are in formation. I have to say I have a lot of concern about the numbers of women - and men, now - who are not getting the support that they need. There are not the families and the communities around that there used to be.
country children heart
I think we have to keep working enormously hard to see that every single Indigenous child - every Australian child - has true equality of opportunity. Weve got to work harder at it. I think, you know, the heartland issue for us is the gap; the gap in life expectancy in this country.
opportunity talking goal
The Australian way of affirmative action is setting goals and recognising discrimination and lack of opportunity and deciding to take action and setting some goals and targets. I guess I prefer that language to talking about quotas.
mother teacher father
We all go back to our roots. My father went to the central west, went to Ilfracombe in 1919. He was the manager of the wool scour there. And, Ilfracombe was right at the heart of Australia's great wool industry, and my mother was a teacher at Winton.