Order of Australia for president of arts group

Arts Margaret River president Fred Affleck has been appointed to the Order of Australia for his work in transport, logistics, and the arts.

Dr Affleck was made an Officer in the General Division “for distinguished service to the transport and logistics industries through leadership roles, to policy development and planning, and as a supporter of the performing arts”.

The Margaret River resident said he was honoured by news of the award and thanked his wife Margaret, an artist and musician.

“She’s been an incredible support to me because I’ve travelled a huge amount and she’s always been the one who’s picked me up at the airport,” he said.

“I’ve always had a great deal of support from all quarters, from the people I’ve worked with, and family.”

Dr Affleck started work in his native Canada in the 1960s and moved to Australia in 1972, working across WA, South Australia, Queensland, and Victoria, managing railways and working in transport leadership roles.

“I was sort of the public face of the railway systems in Australia for a while,” he said.

Dr Affleck was a senior executive at the National Rail Corporation and the National Railways Commission, chairman of the Midland Redevelopment Authority from 2004-12, deputy chairman of the Fremantle Port Authority from 2011-14, commissioner of the National Transport Commission from 2006-08, and advisor to the Commonwealth Grants Commission on railways and public transport from 1979-82.

He said he worked with organisations “in transition or in trouble”, and new organisations which needed to be “reshaped and sent on a path to effectiveness”.

“It’s been about working out how to make an organisation work better and then telling the story back to the people who work there about what we all have to do to get this to happen,” he said.

“That’s been my forte throughout life, to tell that story.”

Dr Affleck is an adjunct professor at the University of WA, Curtin University, and Edith Cowan University, and a past president of the Patrons and Friends of the WA Symphony Orchestra.

Shire of Augusta-Margaret River president Ian Earl said Mr Affleck was a “terrific bloke”.

“It’s great to see him down here supporting Arts Margaret River and using his experience for the advantage of the community,” he said.