Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP has praised the contribution of the retiring head of the National Catholic Education Commission, Jacinta Collins.
Collins, who served as a Labor Senator from Victoria for a “remarkable” 21 years, was appointed executive director of the NCEC in 2019.
“At the time of leaving Parliament,” said the archbishop in a statement together with Nicholas Moore AO, the NCEC chair, “she was one of the longest-ever serving Labor women politicians and was unquestionably a trailblazer for women in politics.”
In her leadership role at the NCEC, Collins steered Catholic education to “a place of stability and relative security”, said the archbishop.
“As a direct result of her advocacy, Catholic education secured the current funding agreement which ensures parents have the right to choose a quality Catholic education for their children.”
She has also become a “leading expert on school funding and resource allocation”.
In the Labor Party and in Parliament, Collins had a reputation as an unapologetic Catholic. She opposed assisted reproductive technology for lesbians and single women, the use of human embryos in medical research, and same-sex marriage.
But those campaigns were a small part of her public service. She was an effective and respected politician.
“She is a no-nonsense, get-down-to-work, focused-on-getting-the-outcome kind of person to work with,” Senator Penny Wong, who is openly gay, told The Australian in 2013.
“It is very easy for politicians to be stereotyped and sometimes caricatured. My experience of Jacinta is she has a much broader, human approach to dealing with people than those stereotypes.”
In 2023 Collins was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Notre Dame Australia recognising her commitment to Catholic education.
“Jacinta’s relationships with state and territory educational authorities, including those governed by religious institute and ministerial public juridic person colleagues, government and shadow ministers and ministries, and tertiary organisations has ensured that Catholic education is a respected and valued voice at any policy working group or round table,” the archbishop declared.
“We wish her every blessing as she enjoys this next phase of her life with more time for leisure, relaxation and the time with family she so richly deserves after faithfully serving our system, our church and our nation.”
