Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has marked her birthday in 2021 by recognising the commitment and dedication of the many public servants who have served the people of Australia over and above the call of duty in the past year and beyond.
Her Majesty’s awards, presented by the Order of Australia, were unveiled for the public in Canberra earlier this week by the Governor-General, General David Hurley on her behalf.
Staff members of the Victorian Public Service recognised and honoured by the Queen on her birthday included:
OFFICER OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA (AO)
Kenneth John SMITH AO
ANZSOG
For distinguished service to public administration, and to public sector leadership and education.
Professor Smith has been Dean and Chief Executive Officer of the Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) since 2017.
MEMBER OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA (AM)
John Christopher DALEY AM
Grattan Institute
For significant service to public policy development, and to the community.
Dr Daley was Chief Executive Officer of the Grattan Institute from 2009 to 2020
Shelley Jane PENN AM
University of Melbourne
For significant service to architecture and design in the public realm, and to professional institutes.
Associate Professor Penn is Principal Fellow in Architecture at the University of Melbourne’s Melbourne School of Design.
Gillian Ann SPARKES AM
Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability
For significant service to environmental sustainability, and to public administration.
Dr Sparkes has been Victoria’s Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability since 2014.
PUBLIC SERVICE MEDAL (PSM)
Rebecca (Beck) ANGEL PSM
Victoria Police
For outstanding public service to Victoria Police.
Ms Angel has demonstrated significant leadership at the forefront of the communications effort at Victoria Police.
She is recognised for her ability to provide strategic counsel across a range of stakeholders, while driving the communications element of the emergency response.
Her leadership was instrumental in the successful delivery of complex communication plans that provided reassurance to the community on a number of incidences, including the 2017 Flinders Street and 2018 Bourke Street tragedies, the 2019-2020 Victorian Bushfires and more recently when four Victoria Police officers died in the line of duty in April 2020. She was a pivotal influence in how the events were managed in the days and weeks that followed.
Ms Angel’s dedication and commitment to Victoria Police and its officer has been exemplary.
Jenny ATTA PSM
Department of Education and Training
For outstanding public service to strategic social policy reform and delivery in Victoria.
Ms Atta has dedicated her career to improving public policy and service delivery in Victoria.
She is one of the most influential public sector leaders, with a reputation for driving strategic social policy reform – with major achievements across education, human services and budget and financial policy.
In her current role as Secretary to the Department of Education and Training, she leads a workforce comprising 4,000 corporate and 80,000 government school staff to deliver and improve early childhood, school education and vocational and higher education services across Victoria.
Her efforts in creating a culture of enthusiasm and integrity in the public service are well known among her peers and the many people she has worked with and inspired.
Ms Atta’s dedication and commitment to the Department of Education and Training, and to the community of Victoria, has been exemplary.
Denis William FLETT PSM
Goulburn Valley Water
For outstanding public service to water management in Victoria.
Mr Flett has, during a long and distinguished public service career, led significant reform in water management, both in relation to establishing a financially sustainable, customer focussed rural water sector and, more recently, in developing an environmentally sustainable water industry through creation of environmental water management programs.
He has shown extraordinary leadership with his extensive knowledge of water management, and his unique ability to bring disparate stakeholder groups together and address tough issues in an open, transparent and respectful manner.
Mr Flett has helped build shared visions for the future, which have led to real, enduring change in water management in Victoria and his dedication and commitment has been exemplary.
Fernando IANNI PSM
Roxburgh College
For outstanding public service to secondary education in Victoria.
Mr Ianni has shown outstanding dedication to improving student outcomes at Roxburgh Secondary College in his role as Principal and respected community leader.
He demonstrates an unswerving commitment to equity, excellence and inclusion. He supports and challenges staff to see the best in, and to achieve the best for, all students in the culturally and linguistically diverse community of Roxburgh.
He has been at the forefront of ground-breaking initiatives to reduce the impact of disadvantage on potential achievement. This includes the development of an alternative setting, the Gateway, which re-engages students, including many known to the youth justice system, into education.
Mr Ianni passion for education and to the development of personal growth of students he is responsible for is exemplary.
Merrin MASON PSM
Victorian Law Reform Commission,
For outstanding public service to law reform in Victoria.
Ms Mason has, over a career of more than 20 years, shown outstanding leadership, excellence and innovation in law reform in Victoria.
She has demonstrated a remarkable ability to master completely different areas of the law, and steer the production of reform recommendations across the board.
In her current role as Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Law Reform Commission, she has increased engagement by members of the public in the process of law reform, including harder to reach communities, such as children and people with cognitive disabilities.
Ms Mason’s work has been instrumental in updating laws to better serve the Victorian community in areas including adoption, guardianship, medicinal cannabis and victims of crime.
Mark NORMAN PSM
Parks Victoria
For outstanding public service to conservation and biodiversity management in Victoria.
Dr Norman has had an outstanding career in conservation, devoting over 30 years to leading scientific research, conservation programs and communication campaigns across state, national and international levels.
He has dedicated his professional and personal life to further the conservation of Victoria’s biodiversity. This includes significant work cataloguing and protecting the state’s marine species, and encouraging and assisting with the emergency extraction of the Eastern Bristlebirds ahead of the fire front during the 2019-2020 Victorian Bushfires.
Dr Norman has made an extensive and lasting contribution to conservation in Victoria, and his commitment has been exemplary.
Christopher David REIDY PSM
Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
For outstanding public service to community celebrations in Victoria.
Mr Reidy has shown excellence in service, innovation and leadership as Festival Manager of the Victorian Seniors Festival.
Since 2008, he has increased the Festival’s recognition, and grown what was once a city-based week of events to a month-long umbrella festival that includes events in all 79 Victorian local government associations.
He has dedicated himself to providing diverse, inclusive and engaging events that showcase older performers, producers and creatives to millions of seniors across the state.
Mr Reidy’s dedication to Victorian seniors saw him pivot the Festival in 2020 to a reimagined online six-month long extravaganza. For the first time the Festival was able to reach into aged care facilities, at a time when residents were most isolated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Linda Joan WEATHERSON PSM
City of Melbourne
For outstanding public service to social welfare initiatives in Victoria.
Ms Weatherson has been a passionate advocate and champion for the provision of higher quality services in support of the community’s most vulnerable members.
She has been instrumental in shaping and delivering better policy platforms and service delivery models in the City of Melbourne for homelessness and rough sleeping, disability and child and family services.
Following the tragic January 2017 Bourke Street incident, her work in emergency management and prevention has delivered lasting improvements to the City of Melbourne.
Ms Weatherson has demonstrated exemplary dedication and commitment to the community through her public service roles.
AUSTRALIAN FIRE SERVICE MEDAL (AFSM)
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Peter Baker AFSM
Mr Baker has provided 49 years of dedicated and exceptional service to Country Fire Authority (CFA) of Victoria, since joining the Belmont Fire Brigade as a volunteer in 1971, before becoming a staff member in 1983.
Senior Station Officer Simon Scharf AFSM
Mr Scharf has been an outstanding and diligent contributor to the Country Fire Authority (CFA) of Victoria for over 36 years. He has served in operational roles as a firefighter and Senior Station Officer.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Stephen Walls AFSM
Mr Walls has provided distinguished service to the fire and emergency management sector for 42 years as a volunteer and career firefighter throughout Victoria with the Country Fire Authority (CFA), including five years at the Korumburra Brigade.
Commander Steve Watts AFSM
Mr Watts has demonstrated prolonged and exceptional service within the Emergency Services sector over more than 35 years. He had distinguished service as an operational firefighter with the (former) Metropolitan Fire Brigade Victoria from 1985 to 2020 before transitioning to the role as a Commander within Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV). He was also deployed as part of an Australian contingent to provide assistance during the Canadian bushfires in British Columbia.
