The couple who own Queensland civil contractor QH&M Birt made their donation after being inspired by the work of AFL great Neale Daniher
Earlier this week it was announced that Quentin and Kylie Birt, the owners of Queensland civil construction business QH&M Birt, have donated $40 million to motor neurone disease (MND) research.
Inspired by the advocacy work undertaken by Neale Daniher, who suffered from MND and passed in May, the Birts say that Daniher “had the guts” to stand up for an important cause and they would like to do the same.
“He’s one extraordinary Australian; it’s a true story,” they said to Channel 7 at the AFL Big Freeze match that took place on Monday.
“He just did his thing better than all of us put together, that’s all.”
They said that they hoped that their massive donation will help aid FightMND’s efforts to find a cure for the disease.
Big Freeze
The Big Freeze match is held each year to raise funds and awareness of MND, organised by charity FightMND. It was inspired by the Ice Bucket Challenge that went viral on social media.
FightMND was co-founded in 2014 by Neale Daniher, who played for AFL team Essendon between 1979 and 1990 before moving into coaching. He was diagnosed with MND in 2013 and appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2016 for his efforts in raising awareness of MND. He was then promoted to Officer of the Order of Australia in 2021 and named Australian of the Year in 2025.
QH&M Birt
Quentin Birt started his civil construction business QH&M Birt in 1973 with “a station wagon, a wheelbarrow and a shovel” and a contract for a carpark in Moorooka for Australia Post. Now the business operates across Australia on large Tier 1 projects in civil construction and mining.
Earthmovers & Excavators spoke with Quentin in 2021 as the business celebrated the arrival of its 100th scraper, which was delivered by Hastings Deering with a bespoke wrap.
The Herald Sun reported that the couple initially were planning on donating $10 million to FightMND but decided to increase their donation to $40 million after attending the Big Freeze event.
This follows a $57 million donation to the Redtails Pinktails Right Tracks Foundation in Central Australia, which uses football to help support young people with leadership skills and employment pathways.
For more information on FightMND, visit: https://fightmnd.org.au
For more information on the Redtails Pinktails Right Tracks Foundation visit: https://redtailspinktailsfoundation.org/
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