Patrick Carlyon: Neale Daniher, not Daniel Andrews, should have got a Companion of the Order of Australia

He didn’t lock down playgrounds based on “the science” or spend $600m not to host the Commonwealth Games but here’s a radical thought — the Companion of the Order of Australia should have gone to Neale Daniher, not Daniel Andrews.

Someone suggested Neale Daniher as the next Australian of the Year the other day.

Or at least an AC honour, the next best thing.

It’s a worthy idea, given Daniher’s many obvious virtues in his approach to life and the wider community.

Here are some less obvious reasons why Daniher might be considered for a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).

He did not plunge the state into record days of hard lockdowns, and tell us that it was because of the “science”.

He did not leave the state with record debt.

He did not burn billions of dollars on projects that did not happen, such as the East-West Link and the Commonwealth Games.

Bec and Neale Daniher at the MCG on Monday. Picture: Dylan Burns

True, that criteria qualifies millions of Victorians who have not received official recognition.

But there is a pecking order to official awards.

Daniher has been rightly recognised as an Officer of the order of Australia.

His honour is without controversy, of itself, but it does put him below ex-Premier Dan Andrews, who now has an AC after his name.

Andrews accepted the award on Monday, even though a few (but certainly not all) politicians have eschewed them, arguing that honours for doing your job (well or otherwise) detract from those recipients who soar above and beyond.

Daniher galvanises the community. There is no “but...” to follow.

If he has any secrets left, and chatting with him suggests this is unlikely, he would probably share them if asked to.

Like Andrews, he likes a red wine and a quip.

Yet, unlike Andrews, his homespun take on resilience raises the spirit.

He bows to old-fashioned ideals, such as authenticity and sincerity, which no politician, good or bad, could dare to claim.

The awarding of an AC to Daniel Andrews has sparked outrage. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Ex-prime minister Paul Keating knocked back an official honour.

Ex-premiers who have received them have typically waited until the sharper edges of their tenure have been buffed by time.

Andrews’ award was “triggering”, as a Herald Sun reader put it, largely because it explicitly celebrated decisions which tangibly hurt Victorians.

It was also triggering because it elevates him above Daniher, and others, who have given so much of themselves.

They have inspired, improved and amazed, almost always without any expectation of official credit.

His “wicked glint” someone called it on Monday, referring to Daniher’s playful smile despite the ravages of motor neurone disease.

The kind of “wicked glint” which deserves the highest accolade — because it squeezes the best out of everyone else.