28 February 2025
At the 5th National HREC Conference, hosted by Health Translation Queensland, Karl McKenzie was honoured as the inaugural recipient of the Rob Loblay Prize for his presentation about Cultural Safety.
Karl is an Aboriginal man, a descendant of the Parundji people of northwestern New South Wales, and a proud Koori man. He is the Townsville Community Justice Group Chair and is on the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, the Queensland Parole Board, the Queensland Law Reform Commission and the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Expert Reference Committee.
Karl aimed this presentation at helping human research and ethics professionals and researchers achieve better outcomes when working with First Nations peoples. In his talk, Karl mentioned the National Statement is technical and clinical and tells the research community little about working with Aboriginal people.
To illustrate Aboriginal people’s living history of and the defining emotion of shame felt by many, Karl shared several deeply personal stories. He also explained how these stories continue to influence the balance of power experienced by Aboriginal people when they meet researchers.
Karl reminded the audience that Aboriginal people are constantly consulted and gave 3 tips on how to improve engagement with Aboriginal communities.
Karl said you’ll know the consultation is going well if the Aboriginal people laugh and joke with you. If they are quiet or disengaged, it signals a need for reflection and improvement.
The Rob Loblay Prize
Sponsored by The Sydney Local Health District, the Rob Loblay Prize honours Dr Rob Loblay MBBS PhD FRACP, who made significant contributions in the world of research ethics. Dr Loblay passed away in October 2024.
Dr Loblay was Director of the Allergy Unit at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) in Sydney and Chair of the RPAH Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) for 30 years, showing remarkable dedication and leadership to the committee and the endeavour of ethical standards, research integrity and excellence in clinical practice and medical research across NSW Health and Australia. Rob’s leadership was characterised by a deep commitment to safeguarding the welfare of research participants, promoting transparency and ensuring that ethical considerations are integral to the design and conduct of research and practice.
The Rob Loblay Prize for the best talk at the 5th HREC Conference was decided based on the following criteria: concise, impactful, informative, and containing a Rob Loblay element.
Karl Mackenzie was humbled to learn he had won the inaugural prize. He is using the prize money to help fund a TAFE Certificate 4 for one of the Townsville Justice Group’s young people.
“I was surprised to be invited to speak as I didn’t think I had anything to offer in a space of esteemed and qualified professionals,” he said. “The only thing I could think of was to help people understand who we are as Aboriginal people and how to get the best outcomes for various research projects.”
The Cultural Safety session attracted a lot of interest, and the appreciative comments from participants during Karl’s presentation reinforced the judge’s decision that it was an impactful, informative and thought-provoking talk.
The National HREC Conference is aimed at human research ethics chairs, committee members, administrators and researchers. It provides up-to-date information about the National Statement and the challenges and opportunities faced in HREC work.
Please visit the 2024 National HREC Conference webpage for more details about the conference and to watch the publicly available presentations.
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Health Translation Queensland acknowledges the Traditional Owners and their custodianship of the lands on which we live, work, and play. We pay our respects to their Ancestors and their Descendants, who continue cultural and spiritual connections to Country. We recognise their valuable contributions to Australian and global society.
