Australia Day Awards

2020 Australian of the Year, AMA(SA) member and Adelaide ophthalmologist Dr James Muecke

The AMA(SA) commended the work of South Australian ophthalmologist Dr James Muecke who was announced as Australian of the Year 2020 for his work in preventing blindness in low-income countries. 

President Dr Chris Moy pledged the association’s support for Dr Muecke’s work in highlighting the role of diabetes, which affects more than one million Australians, in blindness.

Other AMA(SA) members who were honoured on Australia Day include Dr Edward (Ted) Tuckseng Mah and Dr Walter John (John) Russell.

Dr Mah received the Public Service Medal (PSM) for outstanding public service to public health in South Australia for more than 25 years. Dr Mah was a faculty member in Flinders University’s College of Medicine and Public Health and in 2019 he received the AMA(SA) Award for Outstanding Service in Medicine for his tireless work in teaching research in and the practice of orthopaedic surgery.

Dr Russell is a life member of the AMA(SA). He was a long-serving member of the anaesthetics department at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, and recognised for his research into the causes and prevention of hypersensitivity reactions to anaesthetics.