Radio’s Nick Cody puts Jimmy Barnes on blast over Father of the Year honour

Radio host Nick Cody has let rip on Jimmy Barnes after he was named Australia’s Father of the Year.

Nick Cody has slammed the decision to award Jimmy Barnes Australian Father of the Year.

It was revealed yesterday that Today Extra host David Campbell and his dad, Jimmy Barnes, jointly won the 2024 Australian Father of the Year award.

Campbell gave an emotional acceptance speech that saw him fighting back tears, but Fox 109’s Nick Cody has taken issue with Barnes being handed the award.

Nick Cody has expressed his outrage at Jimmy Barnes being named Father of the Year. Picture: Supplied.

“I’m not saying I’m Father of the Year, I’m not even in the top 10,000 … but I’m better than Jimmy Barnes!” he exclaimed on The Fox’s Fifi, Fev & Nick. “I have to be better than Jimmy Barnes at being a dad! My ears are ringing with rage!”

“I love that Jimmy and David found each other,” said Fifi Box.

The Australian rock legend has been married twice and has seven children. He reconnected with his son, Campbell, in the late 1990s after being estranged for over 20 years.

“You know when I found my son? When he was born!” interjected Cody.

“I get that Jimmy had a brutal childhood and he’s worked so hard on turning his life around. Full credit to Jimmy Barnes – he’s an incredible muso, incredible talent, great bloke, but not Father of the Year.”

He continued: “There’s a dad out there whose wife has passed away, who’s working morning and night, picking his kids up, taking them to sport …. he’s not Father of the Year.”

“He wouldn’t win Australian of the Year for turning his life around,” muttered Brendan Fevola before the room fell silent for a moment.

“He has turned it around, it’s incredible!” disagreed Cody before insisting: “But … not Father of the Year.”

Barnes, who recently underwent surgery, sadly couldn’t be there to accept the award with his son on Wednesday, but during his acceptance speech, the Extra host gave nothing but praise for him.

“He takes fatherhood really, really personally, he had a very traumatic childhood growing up and it was really, really difficult for him,” Campbell explained.

David Campbell wept as he accepted the award on behalf of himself and his father on Thursday. Picture: Channel 9.

“He had a lot of trauma, a lot of abuse, which he’s written about and he’s had to overcome all of that, and of course, he had a lot of problems in his life.

“But the fact that he then became a parent with Jane, to my brothers and sisters and to me, has been the thing that he’s been able to improve his past and change the future by raising us and giving us the tools that we needed to be better.”

The Aussie presenter went on to say his father has been his very own “North Star” in his life.

“And for me, no matter what, he’s been my North Star, even with his mistakes, because I watch him improve on that all the time and he’s an incredible grandfather to not only my kids, but the 127 grandkids he has. “But also, I watch him as a father and as I’m ageing as well and how to improve my parenting as they get taller and they mature and how I have to change the way I parent and communicate with them,” he added.