Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has marked her 2020 Birthday by bestowing official honours on a range of dedicated and committed public service professionals serving the Australian community over and above the requirements of their positions in the public sector.
Her Majesty’s awards, presented under the Order of Australia, were released in Canberra by the Governor-General, General David Hurley earlier this week.
The Australian 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)
William McFadyen CAMPBELL AO
Attorney-General’s Department
For distinguished service to public administration, and to international legal practice, through senior counsel and advisory roles.
Mr Campbell was the Attorney-General Department’s General Counsel (International Law) from 2003-2018.
Sean Christopher DORNEY AO
Australian Broadcasting Commission
For distinguished service to Australia-Papua New Guinea relations, to the broadcast media as a journalist, and as an author.
Mr Dorney was the ABC’s Foreign Correspondent for Papua New Guinea from 1975 to 2014.
Michael PEZZULLO AO
Department of Home Affairs
For distinguished service to public administration through leadership roles in the areas of national security, border control and immigration.
Mr Pezzullo has been Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs since 2014.
MEMBER IN THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA (AM)
Justice Susan Coralie KENNY AM
Federal Court of Australia
For significant service to the law, and to the judiciary, particularly to the Federal Court of Australia.
Justice Kenny has been a Judge of the Federal Court since 1998
David Peter WATSON AM
Federal Court of Australia
For service to public administration, particularly to courts of law.
Mr Watson has been National Director of Security at the Commonwealth Law Courts and Marshal, Sheriff or Deputy Sheriff of the Courts since 2003.
PUBLIC SERVICE MEDAL (PSM)
Jennifer Patricia CARLSON PSM
Prime Minister and Cabinet
For outstanding public service in supporting the Cabinet.
Ms Carlson has provided ongoing and outstanding service and administrative support to Cabinet. As a Cabinet Attendant she has been instrumental in supporting government decision making in her role as coordinator of Cabinet meetings.
She has had responsibility for the smooth operation of Cabinet meetings, demonstrating professionalism, commitment and high level logistics skills in the delivery of over 500 meetings.
Her attention to detail has been vital to the smooth running of the Cabinet meeting system, working closely with the offices of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, senior ministers and officials.
She exemplifies professionalism through her discretion and judgement, while often working with complicated logistical and security issues.
Ms Carlson’s in-depth knowledge and understanding of the importance of the Cabinet business process being conducted in a secure environment has been key to delivering a core function of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Mark Anthony COFFEY PSM
Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
For outstanding public service to complex policy development and delivery of significant reforms, improving program outcomes for people in northern Australia.
Mr Coffey has worked to build economic opportunities in northern Australia and has delivered Indigenous Affairs and social policy in various public service roles over an extensive career spanning 34 years.
He led the Office of Northern Australia, and was responsible for the implementation of the Our North, Our Future: White Paper on Developing Northern Australia. The White Paper prioritises long-term investment to develop a stronger northern Australian economy.
As Executive Director for the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory and the Alice Springs Transformation Plan he delivered a significant agenda of initiatives to address the high levels of social disadvantage experienced by the residents of town camps in Alice Springs.
In consultation with key Indigenous organisations, the Plan provided investment in housing and infrastructure works, community and family services and improved policing, employment and training for members of local Indigenous communities.
Through his willingness to engage in often highly sensitive issues he was able to ensure that the Federal Government’s substantial investment was appropriately targeted to meet local needs.
Mr Coffey’s approach is always balanced by his strong policy analysis of rural and regional stakeholder positions on nationally significant issues, including biosecurity, agriculture and aquaculture, tourism, mining, the resource sector and infrastructure.
Alan Paul DAVIDSON PSM
Services Australia
For outstanding public service through innovative program digitisation and development for Welfare Payment Infrastructure.
Mr Davidson has an extensive background as a regional Service Centre Manager for Services Australia, and has brought this experience to his work with the Welfare Payment Infrastructure Transformation Program.
He has driven the Single Touch Welfare project, a unique innovation that will result in a more effective processing of welfare support while delivering a potential $2.1 billion in administered savings on roll out.
He has been integral in changing the way income information is collected and assessed for Centrelink welfare payments. By automating the collection, application and reporting of income data for over 1.2 million recipients, the risk of employees incorrectly self-reporting has been greatly reduced.
His work has also enabled improved data exchange between the Australian Taxation Office and Services Australia and his efforts will have a long-lasting and positive impact for Services Australia customers and the Government.
Mr Davidson is highly respected for his judgement and well considered advice on complex policy areas, regularly working with counterparts in other portfolios to assist them in identifying effective approaches to delivering the Australian Government’s policy and service delivery agendas.
Leo James HARDIMAN PSM
Attorney-General’s Department
For outstanding public service through the provision of legal services to the Commonwealth.
Mr Hardiman has been deeply committed to providing excellent legal services to the Commonwealth for over 30 years. His measured advice has guided the Commonwealth through many complex issues.
His legal expertise extends to the most complex constitutional and statutory interpretation matters. These matters relating to the machinery of government, taxation law, information law, communications law, the interaction between the parliamentary and executive arms of government, and the Australian Government’s public governance and accountability framework.
He has been key in engaging stakeholders, ensuring that legal issues across the Commonwealth are dealt with consistently from a whole of Government perspective, providing advice with full consideration of both legal and constitutional challenges.
Recently Mr Hardiman’s legal advice was integral to marriage reform in Australia, both in relation to the plebiscite on same-sex marriage and amendments to the Marriage Act 1961.
Cheryl Anne JENKINS PSM
Services Australia
For outstanding public service through the delivery of social work programs and services to people affected by disasters.
Mrs Jenkins has been deeply committed to providing meaningful support to Australians as a social worker with Services Australia for over 35 years.
She has a deep understanding of the challenges associated with providing support to those in difficult situations, specifically to young people facing homelessness and people suffering from domestic violence and abuse.
As lead Social Worker for the Department’s Emergency Portfolio, she makes an important difference to the lives of ordinary Australians profoundly affected by natural disasters, terrorist incidents and other events that have occurred in Australia and internationally.
She was integral to the establishment of the Family Liaison Service, managing frontline staff, and liaising with other government agencies working with the impacts of terrorism, disasters and drought.
Ms Jenkins’ skill and dedication to support people in times of trauma means families can access guidance and support, based on their own needs, and driven by the pace of an individual’s recovery, and she has managed these complexities with integrity and compassion.
Deborah Lee McGUIRE PSM
Attorney-General’s Department
For outstanding public service to high level delivery of whole-of-government security risk management for special events.
Ms McGuire has personally driven the coordination of the security risk planning process for high profile major Australian events for over a decade.
She has also overseen whole-of-government, cross-jurisdictional security collaboration as Director of the Major Event Security and Risk team for Emergency Management Australia.
Her direct collaboration and leadership has ensured state and territory governments have confidence in the Australian Government’s ability to work collaboratively in operational environments with high security and reputational risks.
With her understanding of strategic security risk assessment she has successfully delivered risk mitigation for major sporting events, and multilateral forums, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in 2007, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2011, the Asian Football Cup in 2015, the Cricket World Cup in 2015, the Rugby League World Cup in 2017, the Invictus Games and the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018, and the ANZAC commemorations in France and Turkey since 2016.
To ensure the success of these events she has successfully handled a multiplicity of issues. She also had an integral role in resolving regulatory roadblocks to the import and operation of classified drone technology in a highly complex inter-jurisdictional environment during the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Ms McGuire has provided committed and dedicated service to the Australian Public Service, and to the national community, throughout her career.
James Douglas PASSMORE PSM
Foreign Affairs & Trade
For outstanding public service in complex policy development and facilitation of Australia’s engagement in infrastructure development in the Pacific region.
Mr Passmore has played a key role in ensuring the successful delivery of critical infrastructure program support to Papua New Guinea and Australia’s Pacific neighbours.
His commitment and expertise has helped to ensure the implementation of major transformational projects.
He was critical to the establishment of the Papua New Guinea Electrification partnership (PNGEP), which includes investment in new energy capacity, connecting households and service providers to the electricity grid. His leadership was vital in ensuring the integration of climate change resilient infrastructure such as off-grid energy solutions.
Complementing Australia’s Foreign Policy White Paper and Pacific Step-Up, he spearheaded the liaison and consultative effort for the PNGEP initiative between PNG, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States.
He effectively identified creative funding pathways across complex government systems, strengthening Australia’s position as a bilateral partner of choice with Papua New Guinea.
Mr Passmore’s visionary work and strategic input also underpinned the establishment of the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) and will have far reaching impacts on Australia’s support for infrastructure development throughout the Pacific region into the future.
Lisa STRELEIN PSM
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
For outstanding public service to improving awareness across the Australian Public Service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, and to the debate on native title.
Dr Strelein has made an outstanding contribution to native title law and practice and is one of Australia’s foremost experts in this area.
She has provided exemplary strategic leadership within the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and is deeply committed to honouring Australia’s First Peoples.
Through her significant contribution to academic debate, she has authored publications on the recognition of Indigenous peoples’ rights, including native title and treaty making in Australia. Her publication, ‘Compromising Jurisprudence: Native Title Cases since Mabo’ was heralded by the judiciary and Indigenous communities alike.
Most importantly she has played a key role in the development of the nationally significant ‘Guidelines for Ethical Research in Australian Indigenous Studies’, now used by the majority of Australian universities and APS agencies when conducting research in this area.
Dr Strelein has also been instrumental in the development of an APS-wide cultural competency training program, promoting cultural understanding as a core capability of Australian public service.
Norman Leslie WOTHERSPOON PSM
Services Australia
For outstanding public service in leading the provision of Centrelink services to the Western Downs region of Queensland.
Mr Wotherspoon has contributed substantially to the positive presence of Services Australia, (and its predecessors), in the community of the Western Downs region of Queensland for over 18 years.
As a result of his commitment to achieving quality outcomes for those seeking assistance, the Dalby Service Centre has consistently achieved strong results for staff productivity, customer service, and a reduction in wait times.
The Centre has built a solid reputation in the community for quality service, steered by his strong focus on staff engagement and leadership.
He has a deep understanding of his customer base, stemming from his drive and knowledge of rural and community issues. This understanding enables him to effectively deliver support to customers accessing Government services in a way that works best for them. His personal approach is highly regarded by the community, ensuring local families are aware of changes to entitlements and the assistance programs available, particularly during times of natural disaster and distress.
An example of the service that sets Mr Wotherspoon’s service and dedication apart is his leadership in supporting Community Agents from Services Australia in outlying regions to service their communities.
