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Public health tsars rewarded with honours

Cate Swannell
Med J Aust
Published online: 13 June 2022

Dr Brendan Murphy and Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young have been awarded the nation’s highest honour

HIGH-ranking public health tsars have been rewarded for their efforts to keep the community safe during the COVID-19 pandemic with the highest award available in the Queen’s Birthday Honours announced today.

Dr Brendan Murphy, the country’s Chief Medical Officer from 2016 to July 2020, and now the Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Health was given the Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AC) for “eminent service to medical administration and community health, particularly as Chief Medical Officer, and to nephrology, to research and innovation, and to professional organisations”.

Dr Murphy was CEO of Austin Health in Melbourne from 2004 until his appointment as CMO. His other government appointments have included Chair of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (2016-2020), member of the Australian Government National Crisis Committee, the Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee, and the Independent Health Assessment Panel (Home Affairs).

He was also Director of the Australian Sports Commission and the Australian Digital Health Agency.

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer from 2005 until November 2021, Dr Jeanette Young also received an AC “for eminent service to public health administration, to medicine and medical research, and to the tertiary education sector”.

Dr Young is currently serving as the 27th Governor of Queensland. She was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2015 for her service to Queensland Health. During her time as CHO she was also the Deputy Director-General of Queensland’s Prevention Division, State Health Incident Coordinator, and former Chair of the Disaster Management Committee.

Dr Kerry Chant PSM, the current long-serving CHO of Health NSW was awarded the Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO) medal for her “distinguished service to the people of New South Wales through public health administration and governance, and to medicine”.

Before becoming the CHO in 2008, Dr Chant was the Director of Health Protection and Deputy CHO from 2005 to 2008. She was named the 2021 NSW Premier’s Woman of the Year and Woman of Excellence.

Former President of the federal Australian Medical Association, Dr Steve Hambleton was made a Member (AM) of the General Division of the Order of Australia, for “significant service to medical governance, to professional associations, and to the community”.

Also awarded an AM was Dr Ewen McPhee, former President of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and former President of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia.

The full list of medical honorees:

COMPANION (AC) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA

Dr Brendan Murphy: For eminent service to medical administration and community health, particularly as Chief Medical Officer, and to nephrology, to research and innovation, and to professional organisations.

Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young PSM: For eminent service to public health administration, to medicine and medical research, to the tertiary education sector, and as the 27th Governor appointed in Queensland.

 

OFFICER (AO) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA

Dr Kerry Chant PSM: For distinguished service to the people of New South Wales through public health administration and governance, and to medicine.

Professor Peter Choong: For distinguished service to orthopaedic medicine, to research and tertiary medical education, and to professional associations.

Professor Basil Donovan: For distinguished service to medicine in the field of sexual health through tertiary education, research and advisory roles.

Professor Mary-Louise McLaws: For distinguished service to medical research, particularly to epidemiology and infection prevention, to tertiary education, and to health administration.

Professor Guy Marks: For distinguished service to respiratory medicine and research, and to tertiary education.

Clinical Associate Professor Catharyn Stern: For distinguished service to gynaecology, to reproductive medicine and fertility research, and to the community.

 

MEMBER (AM) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA

Dr Susan Arbuckle: For significant service to perinatal medicine, and to professional associations.

Emeritus Professor Marcus Atlas: For significant service to tertiary medical education, and to otolaryngology.

Professor Graham Barrett: For significant service to ophthalmology, and to professional organisations.

Dr Meredith Borland: For significant service to emergency medicine, particularly paediatrics, and to medical research.

The late Dr James Cameron: For significant service to cardiology, and to professional societies.

Dr Patricia Davidson: For significant service to medical administration, and to professional associations.

Emeritus Professor Leigh Delbridge: For significant service to endocrinology, and to medical education.

Professor Anne Dissanayake: For significant service to medical research, to tertiary education, and to professional societies.

Professor Angela Dulhunty: For significant service to medical research, and to professional organisations.

Dr Harold Fabrikant: For significant service to the performing arts, and to medicine.

Professor David Garner: For significant service to reproductive medicine, and to education.

Dr Steven Hambleton: For significant service to medical governance, to professional associations, and to the community.

Dr Peter Heysen: For significant service to general medicine, and to the community.

Dr Sarah Hilmer: For significant service to clinical and geriatric pharmacology.

Dr Michelle Kiley: For significant service to neurology, and to professional associations.

Dr Robyn Langham: For significant service to renal health research, and to tertiary medical education.

Dr Louis McGuigan: For significant service to rheumatology, and to community health.

Dr Ewen McPhee: For significant service to general medicine, to health administration, and to tertiary education.

Professor Rebecca Mason: For significant service to tertiary education, and to professional associations.

Professor Imogen Mitchell: For significant service to intensive care medicine, and to tertiary education.

Professor Jeremy Oats: For significant service to women's health as a clinician and academic.

Professor Phoebe Phillips: For significant service to pancreatic cancer research.

Dr Meron Pitcher: For significant service to medicine, and to women's health.

Professor Peter Revill: For significant service to microbiology and immunology research.

Professor Clare Scott: For significant service to gynaecological oncology.

Dr John Stewart: For significant service to medicine as a nephrologist.

Dr Tarun Weeramanthri: For significant service to public health administration.

 

HONORARY MEMBER (AM) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA

Dr Richard Cohn: For significant service to paediatric cancer medicine, and to professional organisations.

Professor Maria Fiatarone Singh: For significant service to geriatric medicine, to research, and to education.

 

MEDAL (OAM) OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA IN THE GENERAL DIVISION

Dr Sunday Adebiyi: For service to general practice medicine.

Dr Michael Asher: For service to the Indigenous community, and to medicine.

Dr Peter Bevan: For service to general practice medicine.

Dr Frances Dark: For service to psychiatry.

The late Dr Richard Dunstan: For service to medicine as a paediatrician.

Dr Hugh Fairfull-Smith: For service to geriatric medicine.

Dr John Griffiths: For service to orthopaedic medicine.

Dr David Hammill: For service to medicine, and to the community.

Dr Stephanos Herodotou: For service to medicine, and to the Cypriot community of Victoria.

Clinical Associate Professor Christopher Hogan: For service to medicine.

Clinical Associate Professor Lilian Kow: For service to bariatric and obesity medicine.

Mr Andrew Lawrence: For service to microbiology.

Dr Peter McGeogh: For service to sports medicine.

Dr David Moore: For service to ophthalmology.

Dr Christopher Moten: For service to general medicine, and to the community.

Dr Michelle Mulligan: For service to medicine, particularly to anaesthesia.

Dr Sathya Rao: For service to psychiatry.

Dr Smita Shah: For service to community health.

Dr David Speakman: For service to medicine, particularly cancer treatment.

Dr Jennifer Stedmon: For service to medicine in the field of anaesthesia.

Mr Christian Sutherland: For service to medicine as a general surgeon.

Professor David Watkins: For service to medical tertiary education.

Professor Stephanie Watson: For service to ophthalmology.

  • Cate Swannell



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