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GPs recognised with Australia Day Honours
Fifteen current and former GPs have been celebrated for their contributions to medicine and other areas.
General practice has once again been well represented on the Australia Day Honour Roll.
This year’s group of GP Australia Day honourees reflect the diverse talents present within general practice, with recipients recognised for a variety of contributions, encompassing community medicine, medical research, academia, politics, music, charity and sport.
Discover more about the awardees below.
Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the General Division
Professor Hugh Heggie, NT
For distinguished service to medicine and medical research organisations, and as Administrator of the Northern Territory.
Professor Heggie was the only GP awarded an AO, after a long and distinguished career as a senior health official, Chief Health Officer, and rural generalist. He is currently the Northern Territory Administrator, akin to state governor, a role which he held since January 2023.
Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the General Division
Professor Charlotte Hespe, NSW
For significant service to general medicine as a practitioner, academic and mentor.
One of the most prominent and influential members in recent RACGP history, Professor Hespe has held numerous positions at the college, including Vice-President, Chair of the Board, NSW&ACT State Faculty Chair, National OSCE Facilitator, expert committee member and examiner.
Outside of the RACGP, she is a practice owner and academic; Deputy Director of the Professional Services Review; Australian Digital Health Agency advisor; Asthma Foundation Director; NSW Health Primary Care Clinical Co-Lead; and former PHN Director.
In addition to receiving an AM, Professor Hespe was recognised on this year’s COVID-19 Honour Roll.
Dr Judith Edwards, WA
For significant service to the people and Parliament of Western Australia, and to the community.
GP-turned-politician Dr Edwards held numerous senior positions within the WA Government, including portfolios covering environment, science, heritage and water resources.
She is also a board member on numerous organisations and was once National President of the Doctors Reform Society.
Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the General Division
Dr Starlette Beaumont (Isaacs), NSW
For service to medicine, and to community health.
Dr Isaacs was the principal GP and owner of Balmain Medical Practice for 50 years (1971–2021) and is a current benefactor to Healthy Communities Foundation Australia.
Dr Ian Cameron, Qld
For service to medicine, and to community music.
In addition to his more than 50-year general practice career, Dr Cameron also served as a Medical Officer in the Australian Army Reserve and assists in orthopaedic surgery at St George Private Hospital.
Outside of his medical works, Dr Cameron is a keen bagpiper and active member of multiple community music groups.
Dr Suzanne Harrison, Vic
For service to rural medicine.
Dr Harrison is a GP and supervisor, who was also Visiting Medical Officer at Echuca Regional Health.
She has a close association to the Rural Doctors Association of Australia, where she is a previous Board member and current Chair of the Female Doctors Group, among other state responsibilities.
Other roles include Board positions with the Remote Vocational Training Scheme, Rural Doctors Foundation, and Australian General Practice Accreditation.
Dr Ian Hosegood
For service to aerospace medicine.
As Qantas Airways’ Chief Health Officer since 2021, Dr Hosegood played a critical role in ensuring passenger safety as commercial air COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions eased.
However, his contribution to aerospace medicine extends beyond the past few years, having served as Director of Medical Services and Aviation Health, General Manager of Health Service in the Queensland Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), and Principal Medical Officer at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
Other positions once held by Dr Hosegood include Vice-President of Clinical Medical Services at Emirates Airlines and Various clinical and leadership roles with the Australian Defence Force.
Dr Virginia Longley, WA
For service to medicine as a General Practitioner.
A GP and emergency doctor in the rural town of Denmark since 2003, Dr Longley has enjoyed a long career in medicine, beginning at the East Perth Aboriginal Medical Service and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in 1975.
Outside of medicine, she is a dressage judge and para-equestrian classifier in Western Australia.
Dr Christine Longman, Vic
For service to medicine through a range of roles.
Apart from her near 40-year contribution to community medicine via her work as a GP and medical educator, Dr Longman has also been involved in Doctor on Call and previously worked as a Sessional Medical Officer at Western Hospital’s Drug and Alcohol Service, as well as at the Dame Phyllis Frost Correctional Centre, and Antenatal/Gestational Diabetes Clinic.
She is also an Honorary Senior Fellow in the University of Melbourne’s Department of General Practice and Primary Care Academic Centre, and has volunteered at Amnesty International since 1985.
Dr Christine McConnell, Qld
For service to medicine through a range of roles.
A Fellow of both the RACGP and Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, Dr McConnell held roles with the RFDS for nearly 30 years, including 24 as Senior Medical Officer.
Prior to her time with the RFDS, she worked as a medical officer in Antarctica at Mawson State and on Macquarie Island.
Dr Jeffrey Robinson, Vic
For service to medicine.
Since 2010, Dr Robinson has held a position as Director of Medical Services at Alpine Health, where he also served a three-year term as Senior Vice President of the Board.
He is also a medical advisor at Albury Wodonga Health, Senior Medical Officer at Albury Base Hospital Emergency Department, and a member of the Victorian Snakebite Expert Working Group.
Dr Robinson he also been involved in numerous other medical groups and networks, often as a director or committee member, while outside of medicine he is a Lieutenant in the Gundowring Rural Fire Brigade.
Dr Arne Rubinstein, NSW
For service to youth.
Dr Rubinstein left a career in general practice to found the ‘Making of Men’ Camps and later camps for teenage girls. This youth work eventually led him to establish the Rites of Passage Institute, which has expanded to 25 countries and reached more than 400,000 people.
Dr Adrian Sheen, NSW
For service to medicine through a range of roles.
Dr Sheen has been a GP at The Village Medical Centre since 1981, and also held prominent positions with the NSW AMA and Nepean Division of General Practice.
Aside from clinical work, he is also a general practice lecturer at the University of Sydney and heavily involved in charity work.
Dr David Squirrell, SA
For service to people with disability, and to the community.
Already the recipient of multiple awards, Dr Squirrell was recognised for his extensive work aimed at people with disability, which spanned multiple areas and roles over a more than 20-year period.
Dr Matthew Young, Qld
For service to community health.
Best known as a co-founder of the Kombi Clinic, Dr Young is also the owner of an RACGP Award-winning practice and senior lecturer at the University of Queensland’s School of Medicine.
Interests outside of general practice include media work, guiding the Jon Baines Medical Tours, and community sport, specifically cricket and rugby union.
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