MEDIA RELEASE
18 October 2006
For immediate release
HEAD OF AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE IN PNG HONOURED
The head of the Australian Defence Staff in Papua New Guinea, Colonel Dougall McMillan, has been awarded the Order of Australia for outstanding service.
The Order of Australia is the pre-eminent way Australians recognise the achievements and service of their fellow citizens.
Australia’s High Commissioner to PNG, His Excellency Mr Michael Potts, presented the honour to Colonel McMillan during an official ceremony last Friday.
Mr Potts said: “On behalf of the Governor-General of Australia and at his request it is my privilege and pleasure to present with this insignia one who Australia has been pleased to honour.
“It is also a personal pleasure for me to present this to Colonel McMillan. It is an honour that is not easily achieved but it is an honour that has been richly deserved.
“The defence relationship with Papua New Guinea has improved greatly while Colonel McMillan has been here and I have been very pleased with the close working relationship we have had with the Papua New Guinea Defence Force over that time.”
Australia shares close defence links with PNG, particularly through the Defence Cooperation Program, which is designed to assist the PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) develop and implement its own initiatives.
Colonel McMillan said: “I am proud and very humbled by this honour. This is not a purely personal achievement - you don’t achieve recognition without the support of a great number of good people around you.”
Colonel McMillan was appointed a member in the military division of the Order of Australia for exceptional service to the Australian Defence Force in the area of international policy, particularly as head of the Australian Defence Staff in PNG.
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