Australia Day Awards

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J-Wire publishes the Australia Day Awards and apologises in advance for any errors or omissions. Congratulations to each and every one of you.

AO Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia

The Honourable David Daniel LEVINE RFD QC

Paddington NSW 2021

Justice David Levine

For service to the judiciary and to the law through the Supreme Court of New South Wales and leadership of state and national boards of review.

Judge, Supreme Court of New South Wales, 1992-2005.

Judge in charge of defamation cases, 1995-2005.

Judge, District Court of New South Wales, 1987-1992.

Appointed Queen’s Counsel, 1984.

Chair, Serious Offenders Review Council of New South Wales, since 2006.

President, Board of Inquiry, Black Hawk 221, Australian Defence Force, 2007-2008.

Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Technology, Sydney, since 2005.

President, Arts Law Centre of Australia, 1993-2004.

Foundation Member, Communications and Media Law Association, 1983.

Chair, Friends of State Library of New South Wales, 2002-2005; Chair, Library Society Committee, 2002; Member, since 2001.

Council Member, Art Gallery Society of New South Wales, since 2005.

Chairman, State Records Authority (formerly Archives Authority), New South Wales, 
1995-2000; Board Member, 1993-1996.

Awards/recognition include:

Reserve Force Decoration, long service award presented to officers in the Reserve elements of the Australian Defence Force.

Ms Naomi MILGROM

Vic

For service to business as a leader and mentor in the fashion industry, and to the community through advisory and management roles of a wide range of arts, health and philanthropic bodies.

Owner, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Sussan Group, since 2003; Managing Director, since 1990.

Chair, Melbourne Fashion Festival, 2001-2008; Deputy Chair,1997-2001.

Chair, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, since 2005.

Trustee, National Gallery of Victoria, 2003.

Board Member, Kaldor Public Art Projects, since 2003.

Trustee, Jewish Museum of Victoria, since 2002.

Originating Member and Lifelong Director, Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine, 1999-2008.

Awards/recognition include:

First female to receive the John Batman Oration, Australia Day 2006.

Woman of Achievement, National Jewish Council of Women Australia, 2003.

Retailer of the Year, Lend Lease Corporation Ltd, 2002.

First female recipient of the Ernst and Young Southern Region Champion of Entrepreneurship Award, 2009.

Sir Osborn McCutcheon Award for commercial architecture, 2009; for the new Sportsgirl/Sussan Headquarters.

Dr Ronald SILBERBERG

Wamboin NSW 2620

Ron Silberberg

For service to the building and construction industries through the promotion of housing affordability, contributions to improved public and social housing and the development of youth training programs.

Managing Director, Housing Industry Association, since 1996; Deputy Director, 1981; Research Director.

Involved in the development, design and establishment of the First Home Owners’ Scheme.

Involved in the establishment of YouthBuild, 2006; HIA initiative to create pathways into the residential construction industry for teenagers who wanted to complete Year 12 studies but who may not have been able to achieve the academic results required for entry to post secondary building and construction courses.

Involved in the establishment of the Group Apprentice Scheme; another HIA initiative to manage the provision of trained and skilled employees, now employing 1,300 apprentices.

Member (and involved in its establishment), Affordable Housing Summit Group, since 2003; the Group includes a range of interest groups forming the National Housing Agreement and the National Rental Assistance Scheme.

Assistant Secretary, Department of Housing and Construction, late 1970s.

Awards/recognition include:

Sir Phillip Lynch Award, Housing Industry Association, 2001; one of the Association’s highest individual honours.

Mr Steven Michael SKALA

Toorak Vic 3142

Steven Skala

For service to the visual and performing arts through roles supporting wider community access, to business and commerce, and to the community through the promotion of educational opportunities for young Australians.

Director, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, since 2005.

Chairman, Film Australia Ltd, 2004-2008.

Director, The Australian Ballet, since 2000.

Membership, International Council of the Museum of Modern Art, New York USA, since 2003.

Immediate Past Chairman, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, 2000-2005; Director, 1999-2005.

Director, various Channel 10 Group of Companies, 1993-1998.

Director, Australian Exhibitions Touring Agency Ltd, 1993-1997; provides regional Australians the opportunity to access the creative arts.

Member, Advisory Board of the Australian Innovation Research Centre, since 2005; researches key issues in innovation performance and economic development.

Trustee, The Sir Zelman Cowen Cancer Foundation, since 2004.

Vice-Chairman, Australia and New Zealand, Deutsche Bank AG, since 2004.

Vice-President, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, since 2003; Member, Board of Directors, since 1999.

Chairman, Hexima Ltd since 2002; an ASX listed agribusiness company involved in research and technology for the enhancement of commercial crops.

Director, Wilson HTM Investment Group Ltd, since 2002; an ASX-listed financial services group.

Director, Max Capital Group Ltd, since 2000; a NASDAQ-listed insurance company.

Director, Centre for Independent Studies, since 1995; promoting debate and recommendations for shaping public policy.

Member, The Global Foundation, since 2005, a citizen’s organisation committed to enhancing Australia’s future in a global context.

Chairman, Media and Gaming Pty Ltd, since 2003.

Director, The King Island Co Ltd, 1992-2002.

Partner, Arnold Bloch Leibler Lawyers and Advisers, 1985-2004; current consultant.

Partner, Morris Fletcher and Cross, Solicitors, 1982-1985.

Member, Grievance Tribunal of Cricket Australia, since 2005.

Associate Governor, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1993-2005.

President, Victorian Chapter Australian Friends of the Hebrew University, 1993-1999, promoting academic and cutural ties between Australia and Israel.

Dick Gross

For service to local government, particularly through the Municipal Association of Victoria, as a contributor to environmental reform initiatives in the area of waste management, and to the community of Port Phillip.

Mr Steven Mark LOWY, NSW

For service to business, particularly in the retail sector, and through fundraising and philanthropic support for the arts and cultural, medical research and social policy organisations.Current Group Managing Director, Westfield Group; Director, since 1989.

Steven Lowy

Earlier roles include various senior roles in the Westfield Group, since 1987.

Investment Banker, Credit Suisse First Boston, New York office (formerly First Boston Corporation); analyst for their Real Estate Group and Mergers and Acquisitions Group, 
1985-1986.

Inaugural Member, Prime Minister’s Business-Government Advisory Group on National Security, since 2004.

Founding Director, Shopping Centre Council of Australia, 1998-2001; played a key role in establishing the Council.

Member, Australian Graduate School of Management Advisory Council, 2002-2005.

Benefactor through major corporate fundraising efforts and large personal/family donations to a number of organisations including:

– Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.

– Art Gallery of New South Wales.

– The Lowy Cancer Research Centre.

– United Israel Appeal.

– Jewish Communal Appeal.

– Moriah College.

– Maccabi.

– a range of other community organisations.

President, Art Gallery of New South Wales Trust, since 2007; Trustee, since 2006.

Director, Lowy Medical Institute Ltd, since 2004.

Chairman, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, since 2008; Director, since 1994.

Cabinet Member, United Israel Appeal, since 1989.

Director, Lowy Institute for International Policy, since 2003.

Presiding Officer (Chairman), Board of Management, Associate Degree of Policing Practice, NSW Police/Charles Sturt University, since 2008.

Mr Ezekiel (Zeke) SOLOMON, NSW

For service to the law, the development of international trade and relations, and to the arts.

Dr Geoffrey Stephen COHN,

Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000

For service to ophthalmology, and to overseas aid programs fostering improved 
eye-health services.

Visiting Ophthalmologist, Prince of Wales Hospital, 1984-2006.

Ophthalmologist, Eye Associates; has performed pro bono eye surgery in developing countries, since 1982.

Chief consultant to Rotary Bali Eye Project, since 1989.

Co-Founder, Myanmar Eye Care Project, 2002.

Co-Chair, special interest group for overseas aid, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists, since 2004.

Fellow Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

Mrs Shula ENDREY-WALDER

Sydney NSW 2000

For service to the community through raising awareness of Tay-Sachs Disease and as the Co-Founder of Gift of Life Australia.

Volunteer, Tay-Sachs Disease Community Genetics Screening Program, since 1998; the program screens children and young adults’ carrier status for the Tay-Sachs Disease, an hereditary disorder of lipid metabolism which occurs most frequently in individuals of Eastern European Jewish ancestry and those with French-Canadian ancestry.

Co-Founder, Gift of Life Australia, 2006.

The Gift of Life Australia’s mission is to raise awareness about the lifesaving potential of Stem Cell, Bone Marrow and Cord Blood transplants and to recruit potential donors, particularly those from ethnic minorities, to the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

Shula Endrey-Walder

In 1994, Mrs Endrey-Walder set up a clinic on Sunday mornings at the Wolper Jewish Hospital to take blood samples from people willing to join the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry, raising awareness about the issue and facilitating the enrolment of over 5,000 Jewish donors.

Member, Board of Management, Wolper Jewish Hospital, since 1996.

Coordinator, Scarba Volunteer Family Fund, since 1999, under the umbrella of 
The Benevolent Society; assists underprivileged children, mothers-at-risk and families-in-crisis.

Volunteer at Our Big Kitchen project; a Sydney Yeshiva program.

Shula Andrey-Walder was in San Francisco attending her nephew’s Barmitzvah when she heard the news. She told J-Wire this morning: “I just got back yesterday. It was a really strange experience not being able to share this wonderful moment with my family and friends in the U.S. but like all other honorees, I had to remain silent until the appropriate time. I love Australia and I feel deeply honored.”

Mr Benjamin Newman FINK, deceased

Late of Kew Vic 3101

Ben Fink

For service to engineering and to the development of professional standards.

Federal President, Association of Consulting Engineers, 1978-1980; Vice-President, 
1976-1979; Councillor, 1970-1982; Life Member, 1986.

Chairman, Standards Australia, 1981-1982; served the organisation for over 12 years.

Represented engineering profession on Architects Registration Board, 1968-1991; Chairman, for many years.

Chairman (at various times), Victorian Chapters of Australian Water Association and Wastewater Association.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Gutteridge, Haskins & Davey, 1978-1989.

Chairman, Committee of Management, Kew Hebrew Congregation; Trustee; Chairman, Building Committee, for over 40 years.

Awards/recognition include:

Advancement Society Medal, Association of Consulting Engineers, 1982.

Mr Fink died on 2 June 2009.

His daughter, Helen Bear told J-Wire: “This is a bitter sweet time for us. I feel sad and very excited at the same time. My father truly deserved this award.”

Dr Vicki GORDON

St Kilda East Vic 3183

Dr Vicky Gordon

For service to the community of Victoria through roles with a range of Jewish organisations.

Executive Member, Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV); ca1999-2003.

Member, Advisory Group for Jewishcare, 2002-2003.

Committee Member, ‘Always Moving Forward’, since 2003; an employment program operated by Jewishcare.

Executive Member, Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

Committee Member, Drug Symposium (Jewishcare and JCCV), 2001-2006.

Member of committee involved in demographic study of Jewish community, 2002-2004.

Co-Founding Member, Support Group for parents of children with Asperger’s Syndrome, 2002-2004.

Peer Group Member looking at issues of Holocaust Trauma, since 2004.

Steering Committee Member, Adult March of the Living, Holocaust Museum, Melbourne, 2006-2008; Facilitator, Adult March of the Living, in Poland, 2005.

Participant in Mentor Group for people with eating disorders, 2009.

Committee Member, Australian Jewish Psychologists, since 2003.

Has given presentations at several international conferences.

Articles in journals include:

– Growing up: Asperger’s in a Religious World, Jewish Press, 2006; and

– A Social Skills Group for Boys with Asperger’s Syndrome, Australian and New Zealand

Journal of Psychiatry, 1995.

Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, Children’s Court Clinic of Victoria, since 1992.

Private Practice, including consultations to Jewish schools, since 1994.

Vicky is the mother of six children….a wellbalnaced family of three boys and three girls. She told J-Wire: “The man responsible is no longer with us. The late Rabbi Groner was an enormous inspiration to me. He was my mentor and he fuelled my driving force. This has been a wonderful but very humbling experience for me. I can still hear Rabbi Groner’s voice on the phone….’Vicky, where are you?’ his guidance and advice have undoubtedly generated this day.”

Dr Karin Ann MARGOLIUS

Noranda WA 6062

For service to clinical forensic medicine, to education, and through support for people with cancer.

Karen Margolius

Clinical Forensic Pathologist, WA Centre for Pathology and Medical Research, Department of Forensic Pathology, PathWest Laboratory, Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, since 1990.

Author and co-author of a range of medical articles and publications since 1970.

Medical Practitioner, since 1975.

Current Clinical Associate Professor, Pathology and Legal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Australia; initiated the first course in Australia for the teaching of medical law to medical students, since 2003.

Fellow, Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia; Member since 1989; Member, Forensic Advisory Committee, since 2002.

Member, Australian College of Legal Medicine; since 1998; Councillor, 2001-2007.

Member, Australian College of Biomedical Scientists, since 1990.

Member, Law Reform Commission, WA, since 2007.

Member, Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine, Royal College of Physicians UK, 2009.

Current Member, Ovarian Cancer Australia.

Member, Rotary Club of Heirisson, WA; current Honorary Member; Vocational Director, 1992; developed the Principal of the Year Award; involved in the re-creation and restoration of the Jewish Cemetery in East Perth.

Member, SIDS and KIDS Scientific Advisory Committee, since 2003.

Awards/recognition include:

Awarded Excellence in Forensic Pathology, Celebrating Excellence Awards, 2004.

Awarded Woman Achiever Western Australia, 1998.

Finalist, WA Citizen of the Year for Community Service, 2008 and 2009.

South African-born Karin Margolius told J-Wire: “I have lived in Australia for twenty-one years but today I feel so proud to be an Australian and I feel totally accepted.”

Mrs Shirley Anne POLITZER

Liverpool Street, Dover Heights NSW 2030

Shirley Politzer

For service to the community, particularly through the Sydney Jewish community and the Scouting movement.

Guest Accompanist and Musical Director, Sydney Jewish Choral Society Inc; also serving as: Conductor, accompanist, soloist, guest artist, music director and chorister, since 1990.

Volunteer Entertainer, Sir Moses Montefiore Jewish Home, since 1984.

Volunteer Entertainer, Jewish Centre on Ageing, since 1992.

Volunteer, Jewish National Fund of Australia Inc, since 1984.

Group Secretary, 3rd Rose Bay (Judean) Scout Group, Scouts Australia, 2002-2009; Member, Group Parent Committee, since 1997.

Member, Reunion Committee, 80th Anniversary Sydney Judean Scouting; assisted with fundraising activities and annual family camps; examiner for music achievement and challenge badges.

Awards/recognition include:

Australia Day Scroll of Honour, Waverley Council, 2008.

Silver Arrowhead, Annual World Scout Day, 2008.

J-Wire spoke to Shirley. She told us: “I am one of the few performers who go to the Jewish old age homes and sing songs from times gone by in Yiddish. When members of the audience come up to me after the performance to thank me…well, that’s an award in itself. I feel very proud and the feeling is quite amazing.”

Mr Joseph Pawel SHNEIDER

St Kilda Road, Melbourne Vic 3004

Joe Shneider

For service to the automotive industry, particularly in the areas of training and education.

Founding Director, National Automotive Industry Training Board (Automotive Training Australia), 1990-2002; Chairman, 1995-1999.

Chairman, Victorian Automotive Industry Training Board (Automotive Training Victoria), since 2002; Founding Chair, 1990; Chairman from 1993-1994, 1997-1998 and 2000-2001.

Founding Member, National Repair, Services and Retail Advisory Committee, 1990; Chairman, over a number of years.

Current Chairman, Victorian Repair, Services and Retail Advisory Committee.

Founding Trustee and Director, The Motor Trades Association of Australia Superannuation Fund, 1990-2002.

Member, Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC), since early 1980s; Life Member, 2000; President, 1989-1991.

Founding Member, VACC College of Automotive Business Management.

Awards/recognition include:

Chairman’s Award, National Automotive Industry Training Board, 2002.

Honorary Member and recognition award, Institute of Automotive Mechanical Engineers, 2003.

He told J-Wire that he was “absolutely delighted…and so was his family”.

Mr John Anthony SILK

John Silk

Delaware Avenue, St Ives NSW 2075

For service to people living with Parkinson’s disease through administrative and support roles.

Honorary Secretary, Parkinson’s Australia, since 2007; Treasurer, concurrently; Council Member, since 2006.

President, Parkinson’s NSW, since 2006; Honorary Secretary, 2005.

Board Member, North Shore Temple Emanuel; served on Education Committee; Member, since 1970.

Board Member, Monash Country Club, 1993-1997; Chairman, House Committee, 1994-1996; Member, since 1980.

Former President and Secretary, St Ives Rugby Club.

He told J-Wire: “As well as the Parkinsons community, the Jewish community has stood solidly behind me and they have absolutely everything I have requested. It is great news.”

John Silk suffers from Parkinsons himself.

Mr Alfred STEIN

Benelong Crescent, Bellevue Hill NSW 2023

Fred Stein

For service to the arts, particularly through the Australian Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Honorary Life Chairman, Australian Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, since 2002; Chairman, 1987-2002; Committee Member, 1964-1987.

Honorary Life Member, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, since 2008; participated in performances in Australia in 1966, 1978, 1984, 1989, 2000 and 2008.

He told J-Wire: “I could not have done what I did in promoting concerts since 1964 without the support of my wife May. I feel very honored, proud and privileged.”