Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has marked Australia Day 2020 by bestowing official honours on a wide range of dedicated and committed public service professionals serving the Australian Capital Territory community over and above the requirements of their jobs in the public sector.
Her Majesty’s awards, presented under the Order of Australia, were released at Yarralumla by the Governor-General, General David Hurley on Australia Day.
The ACT Public Service employees honoured by the Queen this year, including those receiving the Public Service Medal (PSM), were:
OFFICER IN THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA (AO)
Professor Genevieve BELL AO
Australian National University
For distinguished service to education, particularly to the social sciences and cultural anthropology.
Professor Bell has been a Distinguished Professor at the ANU since 2017.
Professor Hal Christopher HILL AO
Australian National University
For distinguished service to education in the field of economic policy development, and to Australia-Indonesia relations.
Professor Hill is HW Arndt Professor Emeritus, Southeast Asian Economies in the Arndt Corden Department of Economics at the ANU Crawford School.
MEMBER OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA (AM)
Professor Joan Errington BEAUMONT AM
Australian National University
For significant service to education, particularly to the study of war history.
Professor Errington has been Emeritus Professor at the ANU since 2017.
Professor Raelene FRANCES AM
Australian National University
For significant service to history studies as a teacher, researcher and author.
Professor Frances has been Dean of the College of the Arts and Social Sciences at the ANU since 2017.
Professor Margaret Anne JOLLY AM
Australian National University
For significant service to education, particularly to gender and Pacific studies.
Professor Jolly has been professor in the School of Culture, History and Language at the ANU since 1999.
PUBLIC SERVICE MEDAL (PSM)
George Abram CILLIERS PSM
Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development
For outstanding public service to planning and development in the Australian Capital Territory.
Mr Cilliers is a planning professional with more than 30 years experience who has led modernisation reform to the way development assessments are undertaken in the ACT.
He has played a major role introducing the module approach to assessment which has been commended by both industry and community stakeholders.
He is also well respected by his staff, the development community, and the people of Canberra.
John Desmond PURCELL PSM
Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development
For outstanding public service to federal financial relations, and to the development of self-government in the Australian Capital Territory.
Mr Purcell was involved in realising self-government for the Australian Capital Territory in 1988 and has dedicated his career to ensuring the continued success of self-government since.
Since 1997 he has led the Federal Financial Relations team within his Directorate, proactively pursuing the ACT’s interest in intergovernmental fora. He has been a strong advocate for Australia’s system of horizontal fiscal equalisation, which ensures each State and Territory government has the fiscal capacity to provide the same standard of services and infrastructure to its citizens.
Mr Purcell has applied his federal financial relations expertise over many years to advance the interests of the ACT community and, more generally, of all Australians.
AUSTRALIAN FIRE SERVICE MEDAL (AFSM)
Stephen James ANGUS AFSM
Mr Angus has been a firefighter for the ACT Rural Fire Service (ACTRFS) since 1986. He has held a range of operational and administrative positions during his 33 year career, including as Brigade Captain and in 2016 took on the position of Brigade President which he has held since.
As a landowner he is always willing to educate fellow landholders on fire prevention and preparation.
One of his notable achievements was his tireless work lobbying the ACT Government to supply ‘slip-on’ firefighting units to allow farmers to respond to fires on their properties and surrounding areas.
He was heavily involved in the major fire events that impacted on the ACT in 2001 and 2003.
Mr Angus is always seeking the best outcome for his fellow firefighters, local landholders and the wider community of the Australian Capital Territory.
Russell Edward GOODALL AFSM
Mr Goodall joined the then ACT Fire Brigade in 1976 and served at various fire stations across Canberra as a front-line firefighter.
During his career he has attained a number of specialist qualifications, including
operator in the ACT Emergency Services Agency’s Communications Centre (ComCen), and dispatch Fire & Rescue, Rural Fire Service and State Emergency Service resources to emergency incidents across the ACT.
He maintains his skills as a firefighter and assists other staff in coaching and mentoring roles. He is an excellent role model in terms of his ongoing support to current and retired firefighters who are suffering illness, injury or who are experiencing life difficulties. He is well respected by his peers.
Mr Goodall has demonstrated a high level of commitment throughout his 42-year career with ACT Fire & Rescue, where he has worked tirelessly to protect the ACT community.
EMERGENCY SERVICES MEDAL (ESM)
Mubin Shareef KHOKHAR ESM
Mr Khokhar has been an active member of the ACT State Emergency Service (SES) since 2014. During this time he has held a number of senior positions including Team Leader and Deputy Commander of the Rivers Unit.
He is an integral driving force in the welfare of ACT SES volunteers through his tireless work in the development of an on-line tool to streamline hazard identification and risk management. This tool has made the identification of hazards, and the implementation of mitigation measures, simpler and has automated the reporting of these risks back to SES headquarters, ensuring all members involved in the risk management process have visibility of the hazards faced by members.
Mr Khokhar is a highly respected individual and his efforts have contributed significantly to the operation of the ACT SES, and to the safety of the Canberra community.
AUSTRALIAN CORRECTIONS MEDAL (ACM)
Jason Paul STOCKHEIM ACM
Mr Stockheim has served with ACT Corrective Services (ACTCS) as a Correctional Officer for over 20 years.
He is currently Admissions Supervisor dealings with new receptions to the facility, with detainees being transferred to and returning from court.
He also works in other parts of the Alexander Maconochie Centre where he has promoted a positive workplace culture by making fair decisions in his day to day duties and during the management of incidents.
He has developed himself and others by formally training, mentoring and supporting new and existing officers.
Mr Stockheim demonstrates sound supervision and effective management of detainees of all classifications, including those with mental health issues and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander detainees and through his commitment has provided distinguished service to ACTCS and to the community.
