New Australian National Council President for Australia

Anthony Thornton, a Shanghai-born Canberran, was elected over the weekend as the new President of the St Vincent de Paul Society’s Australian National Council, said a media release.

Mr Thornton was awarded an MBE for his service in the RAAF and has been a member of the St Vincent de Paul Society for 17 years. He was formerly the President of the Society’s Canberra-Goulburn Central Council and, more recently, the Society’s National Secretary.

Mr Thornton said: “We are ordinary people lending a hand to anyone in need. We’ve never done this with any fanfare and we’re not about to start.

“We will, however, continue to be a strong voice for the people who have been pushed to the edges of Australian society: people doing it tough on pensions and benefits, people in low-paid work, people who are homeless, people who live with a mental illness, asylum seekers and members of the First Peoples who have been dispossessed and excluded.”

Mr Thornton will be leading the St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia for the next four years.

For pictures of the rest of the leadership visit their site.