Canberra's finest honoured on Australia Day

The Director of the National Museum of Australia, an award-winning architect, and an advocate for social services and young women have joined ACT academics, scientists and community stalwarts in being named in this year’s Australia Day Honours.

NMA Director since 2014, Dr Mathew Trinca was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for significant service to the museums and galleries sector.

He is also Chair of the International Council of Museums Australia, and former Secretary, National Council Executive, of the Australian Museums and Galleries Association, and Co-Chair of the Australia Singapore Arts Festival.

Dr Trinca is a former founding director of the Canberra Writers Festival.

The late Dr Enrico Taglietti was appointed an Officer (AO) for distinguished service to architecture, education and professional organisations.

Dr Taglietti was one of Canberra’s most enduring modernist architects with more than 30 built projects in the nation’s capital including Dickson Library, Antill Street, the Italian Embassy, Giralang Primary School, the Apostolic Nunciature in Red Hill, the Australian War Memorial Annex in Mitchell and the Dickson Health Centre.

He was Adjunct Professor of Architectural Design and Planning at the University of Canberra from 2009 to 2019 and a life fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.

Cathi Moore was also appointed a Member (AM) for significant service to young women and the community. Ms Moore has enjoyed a long career as a social justice advocate and in 2018 was the Senior Woman of the Year at the 2018 ACT Women’s Day Awards.

A former president of the ACT Council of Social Service and the YWCA, and former director of Marymead, Ms Moore is Chair of Parentline and a member of ACT Shelter.

Canberra’s homeless have been finding shelter in church halls from the city’s freezing winters for years and Safe Shelter’s co-ordinator since 2012, Richard Griffiths, has been awarded a Medal in the Order of Australia for service to the community through social welfare organisations.

Karen Binnekamp was awarded the Public Service Medal for outstanding public service to health, particularly through improvements to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and subsidies for breakthrough medical treatments.

Ms Binnekamp has been instrumental in having the latest innovative therapies subsidised by the PBS; in particular, the public listing of a key HIV prevention drug, and the public subsidy of a new therapy to fight blood-related cancers.

The ACT recipients:

Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia

• Mr Damian John de MARCO
  For significant service to the community as a child safety advocate.
• Professor Raelene FRANCES
  For significant service to history studies as a teacher, researcher and author.
  
• Mr Geoffrey Ian HUSTON
  For significant service to science, and through pioneering roles with the internet.
• Dr Miles Gareth JAKEMAN
  For significant service to business, to national security, and to the community.
• Professor Margaret Anne JOLLY
  For significant service to education, particularly to gender and Pacific studies.
• Mr Duncan Antony MARSHALL
  For significant service to heritage conservation.
• Ms Cathi MOORE
  For significant service to young women, and to the community.
• Emeritus Professor John Frederick O’CALLAGHAN
  For significant service to information technology, and to education.
• Dr Peter Andreas PEDERSEN
  For significant service to military history as an author and researcher.
• Dr Mathew Ansel TRINCA
  For significant service to the museums and galleries sector.
• Dr Graeme Leonard WORBOYS
  For significant service to conservation and the environment, and to the community.

Officer (OA) in General Division of the Order of Australia

• Distinguished Professor Genevieve BELL
  For distinguished service to education, particularly to the social sciences and cultural anthropology.
• Professor Hal Christopher HILL
  For distinguished service to education in the field of economic policy development, and to Australia-Indonesia relations.
• The late Dr Enrico TAGLIETTI
  For distinguished service to architecture, particularly in the Australian Capital Territory, to education, and to professional organisations.
• Dr Brian Harrison WALKER
  For distinguished service to science, particularly to ecosystem ecology and research, and to professional scientific bodies.

Medal (OAM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia

• Dr Adele CHYNOWETH
  For service to public history.
• Mr Simun FRANJIC
  For service to the Croatian community of the Australian Capital Territory.
• Mr Richard David GRIFFITHS
  For service to the community through social welfare organisations.
• Dr Joseph Vaughan JOHNSON CSC AAM RFD ED
  For service to veterans, and to the community.
• Mr Matthew Alan LUTHER
  For service to nursing.
• Ms Elizabeth NIELD
  For service to the performing and visual arts.
• Mrs Meryl Joy PACKER
  For service to the Lutheran Church of Australia.
• Mr Rex William PACKER
  For service to the Lutheran Church of Australia.
• Mr Craig Robert PURDAM
  For service to sports administration, and to physiotherapy.
• Mr Edward Peter RALSTON
  For service to sport for people who are blind or have low vision.
• Mr Adrian John RUMORE
  For service to homeless youth, and to physiotherapy.
• Ms Wendy Anne SACLIER
  For service to the creative arts, and to women.
• Dr Andrew James TRIDGELL
  For service to information technology.
• The late Mrs Jacqueline WARNER
  For service to youth through Scouts.
• Mr Edmund John WHEELER
  For service to the community through road safety initiatives.
• Dr Peter George WILLIAMS
• For service to community health, and to medical education.

Public Service Medal

• Ms Karen Jacqueline BINNEKAMP
  For outstanding public service to health, particularly through improvements to listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and subsidy of breakthrough medical treatments.