Martin Daubney, Papal Award
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Acknowledging text and photos, Catholic Leader
Martin Daubney studied at Downlands, and spent two years at Croydon as a member of the pre-novitiate group, 1979-1980. He was appointed a judge in the Supreme Court of Queensland. Chancellor of Australian Catholic University. He is a Member of the Order of Australia.
Recently Archbishop Shane Mackinlay conferred an award from Pope Leo XIV on Australian Catholic University chancellor Martin Daubney at a Mass at St Stephen’s Chapel last night.
Emeritus Archbishop Mark Coleridge presented the award to Mr Daubney at the ceremony, which included his wife Rosie and daughter Hannah as well as leaders from ACU, including vice-chancellor and president Prof Zlatko Skrbis and pro-chancellor Virginia Bourke.
Presentation: Archbishop Coleridge pins the award to Mr Daubney.
Archbishop Mackinlay gave thanks during his homily to Mr Daubney’s “generous service” to the Church in Brisbane and Australia.
Like all service to the Church, he said it came with its share of complexity and challenge.
He said it was good to have models like Mr Daubney to remind others of the importance of discipleship and the wide range of ways that Christians serve the Church.
Pope Leo’s award makes Mr Daubney a member of the Order of the Knights of St Gregory the Great.
Ms Bourke read out the citation, saying Mr Daubney was awarded for “exemplary service to the Church, the law and the wider community over many decades, marked by integrity, intellectual distinction, personal faith and a deep commitment to justice and good governance”.
Service to Church: Emeritus Archbishop Mark Coleridge, wife Rosie, ACU chancellor Martin Daubney, Archbishop Mackinlay and daughter Hannah.
“Mr Daubney’s many years of faithful service, exercised with discretion, wisdom, and a strong sense of vocation and commitment to the common good, provide abundant grounds for acknowledging his conspicuous contribution to the Catholic Church and to public life in Australia.”
A former judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland, Mr Daubney served from 2007 until his retirement in 2021.
His judicial service included four years as president of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, during which he provided principled leadership and oversight of a complex and important jurisdiction within the Queensland justice system.
