2019 ACT Young Australian of the Year Hannah Wandel OAM, Raiders coach Ricky Stuart AM, and outgoing ACT Cultural Facilities Corporation CEO Harriet Elvin AM are among the host of renowned and lesser-known Canberrans acknowledged in the Queen’s Birthday 2021 Honours List.
For the first time, this year’s list includes a COVID-19 Honour roll and the highest ever percentage of women (44%) recognised through the General Division of the Order of Australia.
A total of 1,190 Australians have been recognised in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours, including: 947 recipients of awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia (five AC, 50 AO, 252 AM and 640 OAM); 33 recipients of awards in the Military Division of the Order of Australia (one AO, 14 AM and 18 OAM); 139 Meritorious awards; and 71 Gallantry, Distinguished and Conspicuous awards.
Australian Governor-General David Hurley congratulated the recipients, saying each of them “are unique and their story deserves to be shared widely and celebrated”.
“Collectively, they speak to who we are as a nation. There are countless examples of selflessness, commitment and dedication. There is diversity and there are examples of exceptional achievement in almost every field imaginable,” Governor-General Hurley said.
“I am pleased that this list includes the highest ever percentage of women (44%) recognised through the General Division of the Order of Australia. It is important that the Order of Australia represents the diversity and strength of Australia – for this to happen we need to ensure outstanding women, members of our multicultural community and First Nations people are nominated by their peers in the community. I am prioritising increasing awareness of and engagement with the Order of Australia amongst groups that have been historically underrepresented. We are seeing positive progress and I am determined that it continues,” he said.
The Governor-General encouraged all Australians to consider nominating someone outstanding from their community for recognition. “The great strength of our system is that it is ‘bottom-up’ – everyone recognised through the Order of Australia has been nominated by someone else, considered through an independent process and, today, celebrated by our nation,” he said.
This list also includes 63 Australians recognised for their contribution in support of Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These individuals, recipients of awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia and of Meritorious Awards, will also be included in an ongoing and permanent COVID-19 Honour roll.
More information about the Order of Australia is available at www.gg.gov.au
Recipients from the ACT are listed below:
ORDER OF AUSTRALIA HONOURS LIST (GENERAL DIVISION)
Companion of the Order (AC)
Emeritus Professor Kurt Lambeck – for eminent service to science, particularly to geophysics and geodesy, through research roles at the national and international level, to professional scientific organisations, and to education.
Officer of the Order (AO)
Dr Evans Lagudah – for distinguished service to agriculture and food science as a researcher in the area of wheat genetics.
Dr Suzanne Mary Packer – for distinguished service to children through roles in health, welfare and rotation initiatives.
Emeritus Professor James Stanislaus Williams– for distinguished service to the physical sciences, to tertiary education and to professional scientific organisations.
Member of the Order (AM)
Dr Brian Keith Babington – for significant service to children through safety and wellbeing initiatives.
Mr Michael Ronald Brenna – for significant service to tertiary education, and to community organisations.
Ms Stephanie Copus Campbell – for significant service to aid and development initiatives in PNG.
Professor Lawrence Edward Cram – for significant service to tertiary education, and to astronomy and astrophysics.
Mr Julian Hillary Cribb – for significant service to science communication.
Ms Harriet Claire Elvin – for significant service to arts administration in the ACT and to the community.
Dr Sarah Anne Ryan – for significant service to the environment, to education, and to the community.
Mr Ricky Stuart – for significant service to rugby league, and to the community.
Dr George Wilson – for significant service to wildlife conservation, to veterinary science, and to the community.
Mr Robert David Yallop – for significant service to international humanitarian aid organisations.
Professor Peter Shane Yu – for significant service to the community, particularly to Indigenous cultural and political organisations.
Medal of the Order (OAM)
Mr Roger Blair Allan – for service to primary education, and to disability sports.
Mr Les Barclay – for service to swimming.
Mrs Ethel Emily Baxter – for service to the Indigenous community of Queanbeyan.
Emeritus Professor Diane Robin Bell – for service to literature.
Mrs Jean Isabel Bennett – for service to the community of Canberra.
Dr Craig Cormick – for service to science, and to the community.
Mr Peter John Cox – for service to rugby league.
Lieutenant Commander Leo Francis Farrelly (Retd) – for service to youth, and to the community.
The Reverend Gayl Katrina Mills – for service to chaplaincy, and to the Anglican Church of Australia.
Ms Roxanne Marsha Missingham – for service to the library and information sciences.
Mrs Mary Anne Neilsen – for service to the community as a church organist.
Dr David Peter O’Rourke – for service to medicine, and to the international community of West Timor.
Mrs Catherine Parsons – for service to choral music.
Ms Robyn Lee Porter – for service to science, and the community.
Mr James Archibald Rice – for service to the community through social welfare organisations.
Ms Jennifer Dingena Tarrant – for service to the hair industry, and to humanitarian initiatives.
Ms Rosslyn Joy Williams – for service to community health.
Mr Brett Yeats – for service to the community of the ACT.
2019 ACT Young Australian of the Year and founder of national not-for-profit, Country To Canberra, Ms Hannah Louise Wandel of Queanbeyan was recognised for service to women’s affairs, and the community.
Public Service Medal (PSM) Federal
Mr Shane Andrew Bennett – for outstanding public service to the development of social security policies, particularly to the design of the Government’s economic support payments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr Sarah Jane Benson – for outstanding public service through driving innovation and forensic science capability for the Australian Federal Police.
Ms Elisabeth Mae Bowes – for outstanding public service to international trade policy, particularly as Head of the Tobacco Plain Packaging Taskforce.
Mr James Buttigieg – for outstanding public service to consular and crisis management, and enabling complex arrangements for the repatriation of Australians abroad during COVID-19.
Mr Shane Patrick Carmody – for outstanding public service to modernising air safety regulations and drone pilot licencing.
Mrs Belinda Jane Fraser – for outstanding public service to fostering collaborative arrangements for securing ventilators for the Australian Government National Medical Stockpile in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Paul John Grigson – for outstanding public service through driving resolutions to complex issues and the Government’s response and recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms Anastasia (Anna) Harmer – for outstanding public service to law reform, and through leading the Office of the Royal Commission into Natural Disaster Arrangements.
Ms Rachel Jasmine Jolly – for outstanding public service through innovative policy development and implementation supporting Pacific Islander workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms Debbie Mitchell – for outstanding public service to the implementation of Government policy and the delivery of streamlined Job Seeker service to support Australians.
Ms Ann Elizabeth Redmond – for outstanding public service in program design, particularly through the support of the regional aviation industry as part of the COVID Aviation Response Task Force.
Mr Michael RYAN – for outstanding public service to policy and program development to ensure a supply of an agricultural workforce during COVID-19.
Ms Rebecca Lee Skinner – for outstanding public service in the areas of national security policy, intelligence, business transformation and service delivery.
Ms Celia Street – for outstanding public service through driving the Government’s national health response priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian Police Medal (APM) Federal
Sergeant Gregory James Corin has served the AFP, locally in the ACT, nationally and internationally with distinction for over 34 years. He is currently the Team Leader of the Governor-General’s Protection Team.
Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM)
Mr Paul Robert Flynn commenced with the then ACT Fire Brigade in 1997. He has provided exceptional dedication and commitment to ACTF&R, and to the community of the Canberra region throughout his distinguished career.
Ambulance Service Medal (ASM) ACT
Mr Joel Edwin Powell commenced employment with the ACT Ambulance Service (ACTAS) in March 2008 as a frontline paramedic. Mr Powell maintains high professional standards and his dedication and commitment to the ACTAS and to the community of Canberra are of the highest order.
Emergency Services Medal (ESM) ACT
Mr James George Montgomery has been an active volunteer with the ACT State Emergency Service (ACTSES) for more than 23 years. He is highly regarded across the ACTSES and has served the community of the ACT with distinction.
Australian Corrections Medal (ACM) ACT
Mr Steven AllenMorey has provided distinguished and committed service to the ACTCS, and to its detainees and staff, over his almost 20-year career.
