A number of Catholics were honoured in this year’s Australia Day awards including former long-serving Liberal minister the late Kevin Andrews, who was posthumously made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). Source: The Catholic Weekly.
Mr Andrews, who died last month following a cancer battle, was honoured for significant service to the Australian Parliament, the Catholic Church and the community.
He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1991 until his retirement prior to the 2022 federal election. In 1997, he was responsible for the private member’s bill which led to the overturning of Northern Territory’s euthanasia legislation.
His service to the Church included decades of leadership in Catholic marriage education along with his wife Margaret, and seven years as a consulter to the Pontifical Council for the Family from 2007.
Former Justice of the Federal Court of Australia Duncan Kerr was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).
Mr Kerr serves as chair of the National Appeals and Reviews Panel with Australian Catholic Safeguarding Ltd, the body responsible for overseeing a national framework for the protection of children and adults who engage with the Church.
As a young lawyer, he established the Tenants Union of Tasmania saying it was his first experience of applying his “philosophy of social activism to establish a lasting community service”.
He later worked for the Tasmanian Solicitor-General and taught at the University of Papua New Guinea before returning to Australia and practicing as a barrister.
Mr Kerr was elected as the member for the House of Representatives for Denison, where he stayed for 23 years until his retirement in 2010. Mr Kerr was a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia from 2012 to February 2022.
The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart expressed their “delight” at the awarding of a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) to MacKillop Family Services chief executive officer Robyn Miller, for “significant service to children, young people and families”.
A former consultant to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Dr Miller said in a statement she was “deeply humbled” at the recognition, “although the people who really deserve an award are the brave children and families I am privileged to work with every day”.
“They are the real heroes.”
For a full list of Australia Day 2025 honours, visit the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia website.
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Catholics among those receiving Australia’s highest honours (By Tara Kennedy, The Catholic Weekly)
