Frank Brennan
Encyclopedia
Father
Frank Tennison Brennan, AO
, SJ
(born 6 March 1954), an Australia
n Jesuit priest, human rights
lawyer
, and Professor of Law in the Public Policy Institute, at the Australian Catholic University
. Brennan serves as the Director of the Uniya
Jesuit Social Justice Centre in Sydney
. He is also the chairman of the Australian National Human Rights Consultation Committee since 2008.
He is the son of Sir Gerard Brennan
, a former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia
.
Brennan is an Officer of the Order of Australia
(AO) for services to Aboriginal Australians (1995). With Pat Dodson he shared the inaugural ACFOA Human Rights Award (1996). His contact and ivolvement with Aboriginal Australians began early in his priestly ministry. In 1975 he worked in the inner Sydney parish of Redfern
with priest activist Fr Ted Kennedy
, where he also met and worked with Mum (Shirl) Smith
among others who were founding Indigenous Australian legal, health and political initiatives.
In 1997, he was Rapporteur at the Australian Reconciliation Convention. In 1998 he was named a Living National Treasure
during his involvement in the Wik
debate and was appointed an Ambassador for Reconciliation by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.
In 2001-02 he spent 18 months in East Timor
as Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service
and was awarded the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal for that work.
On 10 December 2008 he was appointed as the Chairperson to the Australian Government's National Human Rights Consultation Committee. In 2009 this independent Committee consulted with the Australian community about the protection and promotion of human rights. On 30 September 2009, it reported its recommendations to the Attorney General, the Honourable Robert McClelland MP.
and on Civil liberties
and Human rights
, including:
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
Frank Tennison Brennan, AO
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, SJ
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
(born 6 March 1954), an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Jesuit priest, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, and Professor of Law in the Public Policy Institute, at the Australian Catholic University
Australian Catholic University
Australian Catholic University is a national public university. It has six campuses and offers programs in five faculties throughout Australia.-History:...
. Brennan serves as the Director of the Uniya
Uniya
Uniya Jesuit Social Justice Centre was a small, Sydney-based centre for social justice and human rights research, advocacy, education and networking. The centre operated from 1989 until May 2007....
Jesuit Social Justice Centre in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. He is also the chairman of the Australian National Human Rights Consultation Committee since 2008.
He is the son of Sir Gerard Brennan
Gerard Brennan
Sir Francis Gerard Brennan, AC, KBE, QC , is an Australian lawyer, judge and 10th Chief Justice of Australia. He is father to Jesuit priest and lawyer Frank Brennan....
, a former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
.
Brennan is an Officer of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(AO) for services to Aboriginal Australians (1995). With Pat Dodson he shared the inaugural ACFOA Human Rights Award (1996). His contact and ivolvement with Aboriginal Australians began early in his priestly ministry. In 1975 he worked in the inner Sydney parish of Redfern
Redfern, New South Wales
Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney. Redfern is 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney...
with priest activist Fr Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy (priest)
-Early life and ordination:Ted Kennedy was known throughout Australia as the priest of St Vincent’s Roman Catholic church in the Sydney inner-city suburb of Redfern. He arrived there in 1971, appointed to head a team ministry by the then Archbishop of Sydney James Freeman . He served also as...
, where he also met and worked with Mum (Shirl) Smith
Mum (Shirl) Smith
Shirley Smith , better known as Mum Shirl, was a prominent Aboriginal Australian and activist committed to justice and welfare of Aboriginal Australians...
among others who were founding Indigenous Australian legal, health and political initiatives.
In 1997, he was Rapporteur at the Australian Reconciliation Convention. In 1998 he was named a Living National Treasure
Australian Living Treasures
Australian Living Treasures are people who have been nominated by the National Trust of Australia. The first list of 100 Living Treasures was published in 1997....
during his involvement in the Wik
Wik
Wik may refer to:* Wik peoples, several Australian Aboriginal groups of Cape York Peninsula* Wik languages...
debate and was appointed an Ambassador for Reconciliation by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.
In 2001-02 he spent 18 months in East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
as Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service
Jesuit Refugee Service
The Jesuit Refugee Service is an international Catholic organization that aids refugees, forcibly displaced peoples, and asylum seekers. JRS operates at national and regional levels. Founded in November, 1980 as a work of the Society of Jesus, JRS was officially registered on March 19, 2000 in...
and was awarded the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal for that work.
On 10 December 2008 he was appointed as the Chairperson to the Australian Government's National Human Rights Consultation Committee. In 2009 this independent Committee consulted with the Australian community about the protection and promotion of human rights. On 30 September 2009, it reported its recommendations to the Attorney General, the Honourable Robert McClelland MP.
Books
He has written extensively on Aboriginal Land Rights, including:- The Wik Debate
- One Land One Nation
- Sharing the Country
- Land Rights Queensland
- Finding Common Ground (co-authored)
- Reconciling Our Differences (co-authored)
and on Civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
and Human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, including:
- Acting on Conscience
- Too Much Order With Too Little Law
- Legislating Liberty
- Tampering with AsylumTampering with AsylumTampering with Asylum is a 2003 book by Father Frank Brennan.The Australia Government denied the MV Tampa ship, and asylum seekers it had rescued, permission to dock at the nearest landfall of Christmas Island...
- The Timor Sea's Oil
- Gas; What's Fair?
External links
- Profile of Frank Brennan at Asia Pacific on the ABC website
- Profile on the Uniya website
- Frank Brennan's selected talks and transcripts
- Citation for D.Ll. honoris causa at University of New South Wales
- 5 R's for the Enlargers: Race, Religion, Respect, Rights and the Republic, The Seventh Manning ClarkManning ClarkCharles Manning Hope Clark, AC , an Australian historian, was the author of the best-known general history of Australia, his six-volume A History of Australia, published between 1962 and 1987...
Lecture, Presented at the National Library of AustraliaNational Library of AustraliaThe National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
, 2 March 2006 - Australian Government National Human Rights Consultation website