Priest and professor to speak at Concannon Oration

A Jesuit priest, Aboriginal land rights activist, Officer of the Order of Australia and professor of law, human rights and social justice will be guest speaker at the 25th Concannon Oration next Tuesday, September 7.

Professor Father Frank Brennan, SJ AO, will deliver an address on Human Rights, Religion and the Law at the USQ Allison Dickson Lecture Theatre at 7.30pm.

Father Brennan is an adjunct fellow of the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University, professor of law at the Public Policy Institute and professor of human rights and social justice at the University of Notre Dame Australia.

He has written extensively on Aboriginal Land Rights and is the author of a number of books, including The Wik Debate, One Land One Nation, Sharing the Country, and Land Rights Queensland Style.

In 1994, Father Brennan chaired the committee to review the journalists’ Code of Ethics for the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance and in 1995, was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for services to Aboriginal Australians.

In 2002 he was awarded the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal for his work in East Timor.

His current interests include and commitments include Aboriginal rights, refugee rights, the bill of rights and constitutional reform, intercultural and inter-religious perspectives on human rights in East Asia.

Concannon College Council Chair Pat Nunan said the Brennan family had a strong relationship to Toowoomba and the Darling Downs region which spanned more than 100 years.

'We are so pleased that Father Brennan, with his family ties to the region, will be guest speaker at the Oration,' Mr Nunan said.

'His contribution to the Australian religious cultural arena is so important that he was appointed a living national treasure, and he is internationally-recognised for his work in academia.'

The Concannon Oration is held at USQ annually for eminent orators from the professions, the sciences, the arts, the Catholic church and members of the public to address topics relevant to today’s world.

An academic procession will be held during the Oration and the presentation will be followed by a cocktail reception hosted by USQ’s Residential Colleges.

For more information and to RSVP, please contact Ms Ros Smith on 4631 2451 or email: Residential.Collegesevents@usq.edu.au