Danny Lester

I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we gather here today in the Great Hall, the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, and pay respects to the Elders past and present, fellow brothers and sisters, here today. The ancestors and descendants – indeed, for all Aboriginal people who nurtured this great land for tens of thousands of years, more than 40,000 in the southern area of this continent. 

To my family, thank you. I will commence by acknowledging the presiding Deputy Chancellor, Mr Wilson; presiding Vice Chancellor, Professor Brungs; presiding Dean Associate, Professor Burton; presiding Director, Miss Wise; representative Academic Board, Professor Grey; staff; distinguished guests; the graduate family and friends; and importantly, the graduates. What an honour to be here today, to be given this opportunity to share some of my perspectives with you, and more importantly, to recognise the incredible achievement of the graduates. 

As Professor Brungs indicated, I graduated here in 2001, some 17 years ago. I know how hard it is in terms of that process. I worked full-time, I studied, I played semi-professional rugby league, and during that process, I had many challenges. Those challenges brought about establishing resilient levers. Resilience is critical for the here and how, but importantly, those resilient levers are part of my everyday life. Something that you may have already gone through, but you may still go through in years to come. Graduates, your family, friends and other influential people in your lives acknowledge and celebrate today’s milestone of your hard work, your dedication and commitment to accomplish this prestigious honour. 

As I mentioned, I graduated here in 2001, some 17 years, and since then, I’ve had some, many significant challenges and highlights. To name a few, I married my childhood sweetheart, I became a dad with three kids, I bought and sold more than five homes, I attended my boys’ first day at school, my beautiful sister passed away, I attended – I assisted in significant service transformation for government services, both at the state and Commonwealth level. I led a business that saw more than 12,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people placed into careers. I worked for one of Australia’s wealthiest men, I have influenced corporate Australia to understand the importance of careers for Aboriginal people. I have informed both Commonwealth and state government in terms of Aboriginal affairs policy, and also infrastructure, and I have become Australia’s first Aboriginal Deputy Ombudsman. On reflection, I can say that timing was critical. My resilience was tested, my passion and commitment was never questioned, my belief in others was essential, and the importance of a strong, wise mentor was a must. Having a strong, wise mentor to seek guidance and advice, in my view, is an essential part of your professional career. 

As I have just briefly outlined, my professional career has varied. So too have my mentors. Each mentor was dependent upon the circumstance and the situation. But the common purpose for me was to provide a third perspective – an independent opinion that wasn’t biased nor judgemental. Influential individuals like you, the graduates, do not always need to have the answers all the time. It is my belief that the most effective and efficient leaders, either within the public or the private sector, seek others for counsel, advice, to determine a considered action and or a considered decision. By surrounding yourself with other people who may be more intelligent, have more charisma, have more experience, or have achieved more than you, in my experience, this can be a great benefit. 

As you gear up in relation to your next challenge, today in our own society and indeed, around the world, I urge you to consider those less fortunate, who are challenged daily by the despair and anger which can arise from a lack of opportunity, from constant disadvantage, deprivation of educational opportunities, from an inadequate access to health and other services, and whose consequence may include broken families, broken individuals, broken dreams. Remember that all people are given the best opportunity to reach their full potential. This may mean that your approach towards influencing through your capability and intellect may commence today, tomorrow, later this week, later next year, or the year after. But what we must all accept is that whilst each of us here today may not be individually or personally responsible for the past, we are individually and personally responsible for the future. So, from today, I ask that you consider what legacies are you striving towards that will make a positive difference to our society, now and into the future. For instance, what actions could you progress that will enable individuals to reach their full potential in their life journey? In both my private and personal life, I’ve always conducted my thoughts and actions from a very simple theory: inform to be informed. Some of those inequities in society comes from individuals not given the information that others have. Holding back information disempowers people by reducing choice and options. This may be prevented by influential individuals, the graduates, like yourselves here today, ensuring that all people you connect with and to are provided with the same level or standard of information. 

As the once Albert Einstein said, ‘If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.’ In all, how you impart your wisdom and knowledge to others should reflect the needs of others in the exchange of information. And I have no doubt that the talent here today will see this importance. Like the grand old movie, Any Given Sunday and the famous speech from Al Pacino, life is a game of inches. I can assure you, in my experience, so too is your professional career. You experience awards and disappointments. Graduates, as you strive to wars your professional goals, at times you’ll feel that your back is against the wall. You may feel alone, you may have self-doubt, or you may think that you just cannot achieve that specific goal. This is part of the journey. The highs and lows give perspective to the character as the person, you, the graduates. However, as they say, tough times never last long, but tough people do. Imagine a society that gives its citizens the best chance to achieve their full potential, where choice and options lead to greater financial return to society as a whole, and Australia continues to be what you and I know as it is today – a land of opportunity. 

You now have this opportunity to influence, to make appositive difference for all, and by making a difference, you may leave a legacy for others to be proud of. A legacy that represents the very people that you serve and those people become your legacy. To the 2018 graduates, congratulations. Your time at UTS has equipped you with the capabilities to make a difference, regardless of what career path that you embark on. If you do things in life that make you proud, leave a legacy that makes a positive difference for others, and this happens to pay a wage, then you are living. Congratulations again, and thank you.