Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to congratulate three very successful women from my electorate of Brisbane who were winners in this year's Queensland Telstra Business Women's Awards. Dr Catherine Ball was the major winner, being named the 2015 Telstra Queensland Business Woman of the Year, for her innovative approach to using drones to undertake marine fauna surveys. Dr Ball is based in Brisbane, where she works at an international engineering and environmental consultancy firm. Her work with drones has led to a number of world firsts in environmental and infrastructure surveying, including the creation of high-resolution, 3-D walkthroughs of remote islands that enable scientists to assess turtle rookeries, for example, without even leaving their desks. Her willingness to do things differently has put her at the forefront of her industry and helped position Australia as a leader in unmanned aerial systems. In addition to the Queensland title, Dr Ball also won the Corporate and Private Award. She was joined on the night by fellow Brisbane electorate winner Belinda Brosnan of HR Junction in Newstead. Belinda took out the Start-Up Award for her demonstration of exceptional leadership values and strong social and community mindedness. And I want to congratulate Katarina Carroll, from the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, whose award was in recognition of both her current position and her previous role leading the Queensland Police Service's G20 security operation.