Frank Brennan

Fr Frank Brennan, "is a Jesuit priest, an adjunct fellow in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the ANU, professor of law in the Institute of Legal Studies at the Australian Catholic University, and professor of human rights and social justice at the University of Notre Dame Australia. He was founding director of Uniya, the Australian Jesuit Social Justice Centre. In 2005, he returned from a fellowship at Boston College.

"His books on Aboriginal issues include The Wik Debate, One Land One Nation, Sharing the Country and Land Rights Queensland Style. His books on civil liberties are Too Much Order with Too Little Law and Legislating Liberty. His book Tampering with Asylum compares Australia’s asylum policies with other first world countries. He wrote the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council’s paper The Timor Sea’s Oil and Gas: What’s Fair? A new book, When Conscience Votes, will discuss the place of religion in Australian politics and law.

"He is an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for services to Aboriginal Australians, particularly as an advocate in the areas of law, social justice and reconciliation. He and Pat Dodson shared the inaugural ACFOA Human Rights Award.

"For his work as Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in East Timor and adviser to the East Timorese Church Working Group on the Constitution, he was awarded the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal. He also received the Australian Centenary Medal for refugee and human rights work in the Asia Pacific. During the 1998 Wik debate, Paul Keating dubbed him the meddling priest. The National Trust has classified him as a Living National Treasure."


 * Council, Asialink Centre
 * Patron, Frontline Film Foundation
 * Patron, Taronga Zoo Foundation