THE founder of a project that gives coats to the homeless and a mother who has advocated for greater parent engagement in schools are among the Queensland Catholics named in the Queen’s Birthday honours list.
Supreme Court Justice Martin Daubney was named a Member of the Order of Australia for his service to law, education and to the community.
Justice Daubney has been a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland since 2007 and was appointed president of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal in October 2017.
He was chair and vice-president of the Queensland branch of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 2009 to 2014.
Justice Daubney is also the co-founder of the order’s Queensland Coats for the Homeless program.
Since the late 2000s the project has offered thousands of free coats to people sleeping rough on Queensland streets.
His contribution to education has included service for two terms as a member of the University of Queensland Senate.
He has also chaired the Brisbane archdiocesan finance council since January.
Justice Daubney said he was humbled by the award and the many messages of congratulations he had received.
“My life has been very blessed and from those blessings have come the opportunities for me to offer something by way of service,” he said.
Justice Daubney also said the award was equally a tribute to the support he had received from his family and friends over many years.
Carmel Nash is a Catholic mother-of-three and executive director of Catholic School Parents Queensland, formerly Parents and Friends Queensland.
She received a medal of the Order of Australia for her contribution to education in Queensland.
Mrs Nash has spent 30 years advocating for greater partnerships between schools and parents and has served as the leader of the Parents and Friends Queensland for six years.
She said being recognised in the Queen’s Birthday honours list was a shining moment for Catholic education.
“I think it says something about the work we do, that people appreciate the work we do,” Mrs Nash said.
“There’s great work happening within Catholic education.”
She was a driving force behind the establishment of Catholic School Parents Australia, receiving full support from the Australian bishops.
Catholic School Parents Australia is the peak body representing the state and territory-based associations of Catholic school parents of more than 750,000 children in Australian Catholic schools.
Mrs Nash said it was a privilege to be named on the honours list with former Townsville Catholic Education executive director Dr Cathy Day.
Dr Day recently retired from Townsville Catholic Education after 12 years of service as the organisation’s executive director.
Other Queenslanders working in the Catholic community and named in the Queen’s Birthday honours include Australian Catholic University business school head Professor Susan Dann, who is also on the board for St Rita’s College, Clayfield; and the late John O’Brien for his service to the St Vincent de Paul Society Stafford conference; former MacKillop Catholic College, Palmerston, board member Lance Johnson; St Peter’s Catholic Parish, Caboolture, parishioner Desley Matthews; St Mary’s Catholic College, Cairns, board member and lawyer Terry Newman; Cherbourg community elder and St Joseph’s Catholic School, Murgon, casual teacher, school officer and indigenous liaison officer Eric Law; and The Cathedral Catholic College teacher from 1977 to 2015 Stephen Parle.
