Patrons of Epilepsy Action Australia
Janet Holmes à Court AC
Janet Holmes à Court AC, (born Janet Lee Ranford on 29 November 1943 in Perth, Western Australia is Chairman of the John Holland Group, one of Australia's leading construction and engineering companies; the West Australian Symphony Orchestra; the Australian Children’s Television Foundation and the Urban Design Centre of WA. She is a Board Director of Vision 2020 Australia, Board Member of the Rio Tinto WA Future Fund, the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO), the Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG) and Chamber of Arts and Culture WA. She is a science graduate from the University of Western Australia and taught science for a number of years before working more closely with family business matters. She has won numerous awards recognising her contribution to the community and to business, including a Companion of the Order of Australia.
Major General Michael Jeffery, AC, AO(Mil), CVO, MC (Retd)
Major General Michael Jeffery, AC, AO(Mil), CVO, MC was born in Wiluna, Western Australia in 1937 and educated at Kent Street High School and the Royal Military College, Duntroon.
He graduated into Infantry and served operationally in Malaya, Borneo, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam, where he was awarded the Military Cross and the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. After command of all combat elements of the Army from platoon to division – including the Special Air Service Regiment – he retired in 1993 to assume the appointment of Governor of Western Australia, which he held for almost seven years. His major interests during his tenure were in youth affairs, education, environment and the family.
For his services to the State he was appointed a Companion in the Order of Australia, a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order and a Citizen of Western Australia.
On his retirement as Governor in 2000 he established in Perth, a not for profit strategic research institute – Future Directions International (FDI) – whose objective is to examine longer term issues facing Australia.
On 20 December 2000 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Technology by Curtin University.
On 11 August 2003 he was sworn in as the twenty-fourth Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, serving in that capacity until 5 September 2008.
Upon his retirement as Governor-General, he has accepted Chairmanship of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, FDI, The Global Foundation and Outcomes Australia, along with patronages of a number of other not-for-profit organisations.
Major General Jeffery is a Companion of the Order of Logohu (PNG), a Knight of St John, a Citizen of Western Australia, a Paul Harris Fellow and an honorary life member of the Returned and Services League.
He and his wife Marlena have four children and nine grandchildren. General Jeffery enjoys golf, cricket, fishing, reading and music.
Peter FitzSimons AM
Former Wallaby Peter FitzSimons is a well respected columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and Sun-Herald, television presenter on Fox Sports, co-hosted radio shows with Mike Carlton and Doug Mulray, interviewed famous people around the globe from George Bush to Diego Maradona and written eighteen best-selling books.
He is the biographer not only of World Cup winning Wallaby captains, Nick Farr-Jones and John Eales, but also former Opposition Leader Kim Beazley, war heroine Nancy Wake and magazine Queen, Nene King. In 2001 he was Australia’s biggest selling non-fiction author, and duplicated that feat in 2004, with his book on Kokoda. He is married to Today Show co-host Lisa Wilkinson and they have three children.
Peter FitzSimons has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia ''for service to literature as a biographer, sports journalist and commentator, and to the community through contributions to conservation, disability care, social welfare and sporting organisations".