Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are many unsung heroes who work behind the scenes to better the lives of fellow Australians. I rise today to pay tribute to one of those people, Dr Celeste Lawson from my electorate of Capricornia. Dr Lawson died suddenly on 2 September aged 52, but she left a legacy that involved helping to improve the lives of others.

Dr Lawson was an associate professor and lecturer at CQ University in Rockhampton. She held the high-profile position of president of CQU's academic board and was a member of the university council. In her early career, Dr Lawson was a journalist. She also served for 14 years with the Queensland Police Service, where she held the rank of acting senior sergeant. She had also worked for Western Australia's Crime and Corruption Commission.

Dr Lawson is survived by her husband, Christopher, an award-winning former ABC Radio broadcaster. Mr Lawson told mourners at her funeral that 'Celeste was a rainbow who coloured the lives of many people'. Mr Lawson said:

Celeste's was a life of service. She served the news industry as a young reporter. When she filed a feature story about being out on the beat with the police one night she was inspired to apply to the Queensland police academy, rising to the rank of acting senior sergeant while in Rockhampton.

She was one of the first cops in Queensland to be appointed as a school-based police officer to help teenagers in crisis.

Here, she dedicated her days to advocating for teenagers with behavioural issues.

She always maintained that there is no such thing as a "bad kid". It was merely the circumstances in which they were placed by adults, that influenced their need to act up.

Dr Lawson was known for her community service and carried the Olympic torch in the lead-up to the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, and the Queen's Baton for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. An associate professor, she was also an advocate for the education of young people, mature-aged students and people from disadvantaged backgrounds. CQU vice-chancellor, Nick Klomp, described her as 'a light within the university who touched the lives of so many people in our community'.

Aside from her life in academia, Celeste was also known for her creative side. She was a prolific writer, a painter, a drawer and a needleworker. They were traits which she inherited from her Danish grandmother, Celeste Petersen. As a federal member, I will advocate for Dr Lawson to be recognised posthumously for an honour under the Order of Australia awards system. Vale, Dr Celeste Rae Lawson.