Australia Day Honours list revealed
Big celebrity names such as Keith Urban, Johanna Griggs and Ian Healy line up with quiet community achievers and military leaders in the Australia Day honours list for 2020.
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Quiet achievers, including a community leader from a bushfire-ravaged town have lined up with celebrities in the world of entertainment, science, business and politics in the Australia Day honours list for 2020.
Cricketer Ian Healy, singer Keith Urban, actor Hugo Weaving and Kath Day-Knight herself, Jane Turner, are just a few of the 1099 Australians honoured in this year’s list, down from a record 1127 in 2019.
The musicians recognised by this year’s Australia Day Honours roll include Glenn Shorrock, INXS’s Andrew Farriss, Keith Urban, Deborah Conway, John St Peeters, Painters and Dockers singer and activist Paul Stewart, children’s entertainer Peter Combe and Sydney Festival director Wesley Enoch.
“Where do I begin? An Aussie boy from Caboolture – to be recognised with this honour – is deeply humbling,” Urban said about his Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).
“I feel like one of the lucky ones, to have found my passion for music so early on and experience first-hand the importance of giving back. I thank everyone that made this possible. I am truly moved …”
Women received 348 awards in the General Division – again down on last year’s total of 422, but an increase in percentage terms from 37 to 41.2 per cent.
Governor-General His Excellency General David Hurley congratulated the honorees, saying they “exemplify the best of Australia”.
“It’s a diverse list – with the percentage of women recipients in the Order of Australia above 41 per cent – but could be even more so. Over the course of my term as Governor-General I want to ensure that as many outstanding Australians as possible, from all backgrounds, are nominated,” he said.
Gen Hurley said similar examples of community service had been evident during the current bushfire crisis.
“These outstanding Australians represent the best of who we are as a nation,” he said.
The number of people appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) was slashed from 18 last year to just five in 2020. They were NSW Governor Margaret Beazley, the Chief Justice of Queensland’s Supreme Court Catherine Holmes and professors Margaret Gardner, Bruce Robinson and Anthony Thomas.
Four Liberal ex-politicians were among the 59 people appointed as Officers of the Order of Australia (AO) – Ted Baillieu, Campbell Newman, Barry O’Farrell and Amanda Vanstone – while Labor figures Meredith Burgmann and Anne McEwen were among the 224 people appointed as ordinary Members (AM).
(The Australian Government’s “It’s an Honour” website stresses that the honours system is “free of patronage or political influence”.)
COMMUNITY SPIRIT
Exemplifying the quiet dedication and spirit of personal sacrifice of the honorees was 54-year-old Anthony (Tony) Thompson, who was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to the community of Marysville, the small Victoria town ravaged by the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires.
When asked what his advice to people in towns affected by recent and current bushfires would be, Mr Thompson said: “Don’t rush.”
“Take your time. Look after yourselves. Look after your family, they’re the most important things. Don’t be pressured into things.”
Politicians and agencies were sometimes motivated to be seen to be taking action in the aftermath of big disasters, but this could put pressure on the people who had been most affected, Mr Thompson said.
“It’s something we say to politicians and to agencies; don’t pressure the community,” he said. “And my advice to the community is to stand up for yourselves and don’t be pressured.”
Eleven years on from Black Saturday, Mr Thompson said Marysville’s community was “travelling OK” but was “nowhere near finished rebuilding”.
Watching the current bushfire crisis was also tough for survivors, he said.
“We advise the community to keep updated but to limit their exposure. It’s too easy to get caught up in front of the TV watching it hour after hour, and it’s not good for mental health.”
He described his medal as a “huge honour” but said he’d still be involved with bushfire-affected communities “for a few years yet”.
SCREEN STARS HONOURED
For a high school dropout with an honorary doctorate and now an Order of Australia medal to her name, TV presenter and charity queen Joh Griggs thinks she “might just be doing okay.”
The former Olympic swimmer, sportscaster and Better Homes & Gardens host was among TV and media personalities recognised for their outstanding contribution to the Australian community and way of life.
Upright actor and activist, Tim Minchin, his co-star Heather Mitchell, actors Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffith and Jane Turner, along with rugby league commentator Darryl Brohman, racing icon Ken Callander, and veteran entertainers, Carlotta and Noelene Brown were among today’s first-time honorees.
For Griggs, the OAM is the icing on a career cake that has allowed her to use her national profile to highlight important issues like brain cancer, children’s health and more recently in the area of mental health, as a director for Beyond Blue and chair of the National Advisory Council for Be You (a schools program targeting children from six to 16).
The mother of two began working in the charity space when her sons, Jesse and Joe were babies, raising money for children’s hospitals and has been committed to various causes ever since.
Her Beyond Blue role has kept the star busy over summer, rolling out resources and on-ground staff to communities affected by the bushfire crisis.
“I think we’ve learned a lot through the Tasmanian bushfires and Black Saturday, in using evidence-based research when it comes to know what to look out for when it comes to trauma and its lasting effects.”
The Channel 7 favourite faced her own bushfire emergency at her family’s farm, in the Hunter Valley, which came under threat in the days before Christmas.
“It was particularly hairy then and this week we’ve had a couple of flare-ups close by. But to be honest, the RFS have done such an extraordinary job and kept us so well informed and done so much backburning, we would now have to be particularly unlucky.”
She will celebrate her Australia Day honours with her family, counting her blessings.
“It doesn’t change your life as such, but I see the reaction of my mum and my siblings and it was just so lovely that it means so much to them as well. It’s just a really feel-good thing to experience.”
Noeline Brown, who built her legend on appearances in The Mavis Bramston Show, said her honour for services to the performing arts as an actor and entertainer was “a lovely surprise and a real honour.”
The 81-year-old actor’s last play was three years ago, but speaking from her Mount Murray home, the energetic star said “if you’ve got a job, I’ll take it.”
2GB Continuous Call favourite, Darryl Brohmann was not sure how he was nominated for services to rugby league but said he was “quietly chuffed and will take it.”
“I’m calling myself ‘Sir Big Man’ from now on, but it won’t change me.”
The former Queensland, Australian and Cantebury Bulldogs legend will celebrate with a quiet beer and barbecue at home, while race caller Ken Callander will raise a toast in memory of his son Matt – who inspired much of his father’s charitable works recognised today.
Callander spent years raising money for cancer research before his Channel 9 sports executive son was diagnosed.
“After doing so much charity work, raising money for cancer research, when it affected my family, I thought ‘well at least I’ve done some good.”
The gentleman of the turf said “considering all the doctors and nurses, and as we’ve seen with the bushfires, some real heroes out there, to receive this award is very humbling.”
RECOGNITION FOR THE MILITARY
From covert missions fighting Islamic State in Iraq and uncovering vital intelligence for the ongoing war on terror to frighteningly piloting a crippled C-130 aircraft full of troops in a war zone are among those recognised for distinguished military duty to their nation.
Each year several Australian Defence Force men and women are honoured for their exemplary work, but this year there are a significant amount of extraordinary military deeds from the theatre of conflict.
Well known leaders like Royal Australian Navy’s Rear Admiral Jaimie Hatcher received a Distinguished Service Cross for critical leadership in Iraq and Afghanistan to ensure the effectiveness of our Middle East forces and the Army’s Brigadier John William Shanahan who received a bar to his previously received DSC for his selection to command US Forces in Afghanistan that according to his citation reaffirmed Australia’s military reputation with NATO allies.
But there is a long running sheet of unknown names with incredible stories that make up this year’s military gongs.
Like Victorian RAAF Flight Lieutenant Brendon Carraro, the pilot of C130 Hercules transporter call sign MAMBO 21 who received a commendation for distinguished service for duties “in warlike operations”.
Little is known about his mission but according to his citation, on August 7, 2017 Flt Lt Carraro demonstrated superior flying skill during a major emergency consisting of “cascading failures of avionics, electrical and control systems” to successfully perform a night landing of his stricken aircraft, at an Iraqi airfield, and his crew and 29 passengers deployed to Operation Okra.
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There’s also Lt Colonel R, a commander of a Special Operations Task Force deployed to Iraq in 2018, his mission brief and identity remaining classified, but he too awarded a DSC for establishing a new standard in Special Forces operations in the war zone including leading his team to being the highest contributor to “the number of disruption and capture missions conducted and the exploitation of captured enemy material … that assured the increasing pressure on Daesh (ISIS) remnants and reduce the risk of a growing insurgency”.
Task Group Taji VII’s commander Colonel Michael Say from NSW was recognised for co-ordination of the Taji Military Complex and protecting Iraqi locals by interrupting an ISIS “surge” operation while the “technical mastery” of South Australian Bombadier Michael Cobb in integrating aerial drone systems at the Al Asad Airbase and HMAS Warramunga showed distinguished leadership.
The Army’s Colonel B’s strategic planning was deemed to have a “lasting impact” against ISIS as he received a distinguished service commendation while Captain D showed exemplary leadership for Operation Okra in Iraq during a “complex period” in the embattled country as the enemy began “evolving”.
Other officers recognised included Army’s Colonel Michael Ahern from the ACT for outstanding devotion as commander of Australia’s contingent in South Sudan and Lt Col Darryl Bridgeman from Tasmania for exceptional leadership during his deployment to the UN’s Truce Supervision Organisation in Syria and Israel.
Among the most junior recipients was Corporal Lachlan Thomas Mitchell from NSW who as a section commander in Afghanistan distinguished himself through his leadership and performance from February to August 2018 “at a time of perceived danger” placed his own safety at risk to protect his troops and enhance the reputation of Task Group Afghanistan’s Operation Highroad.
Anyone can nominate any Australian for an award in the Order of Australia via www.gg.gov.au
Originally published as Australia Day Honours list revealed
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