Bettina Arndt Australia Day honour to be reviewed

Calls for social commentator Bettina Arndt's Order of Australia to be revoked will be considered by the Australia Day Council, following weeks of outcry over the decision to grant her the honour.

The Governor-General's office confirmed it had received correspondence from the public calling for Ms Arndt to be stripped of her award and had referred it to the council for "advice and action".

Bettina Arndt. Credit: Joshua Morris

Ms Arndt, 70, was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2020 Australia Day honours "for significant service to the community as a social commentator, and to gender equity through advocacy for men".

The appointment sparked criticism from many who viewed Ms Arndt as an inappropriate candidate for the award because of her anti-feminist views that often provoke outrage.

Days after the appointment, Victoria's Attorney-General, Jill Hennessy, wrote to the Governor-General, David Hurley, urging him to rescind Ms Arndt's appointment because of her "well-documented opinions … which include sympathising with a convicted paedophile and blaming and shaming victims".

Last week, following the murder of Queensland mum Hannah Clarke and her three children at the hands of estranged husband Rowan Baxter, Ms Arndt spoke in support of comments made by a detective who has since been removed from the case.

She praised the Queensland police for "keeping an open mind and awaiting proper evidence, including the possibility that Rowan Baxter might have been 'driven too far'."

She went on to say: "But note the misplaced outrage. How dare police deviate from the feminist script of seeking excuses ... and explanations when women stab their partners to death, or drive their children into dams but immediately judging a man in these circumstances as simply representing the evil violence that is in all men."

Following her comments, federal Liberal MPs including Victorian Sarah Henderson and NSW Senator Hollie Hughes stated Ms Arndt should have her honour removed, while prominent state Liberal MP Tim Smith wrote to the Governor-General requesting her honour be stripped.

"The Council of the Order of Australia has an important role protecting the Vice-Regal office and the Crown in Australia from associating itself with views that seek to make excuses for extreme violence," Mr Smith said.

"In this instance, a multiple murder has been committed in the most heinous fashion, with three children under the age of ten and their mother having been incinerated in a vehicle on their way to school."

He said the award should be cancelled on the grounds that her comments constitute behaving in a manner that has brought the Order into disrepute.

On Saturday, Ms Arndt defended her comments.

"I supported a policeman who did his job," she told this masthead.

"I felt we should support a public official who obviously made a statement in the course of an inquiry. He was a man doing his job. I think we should support someone in his position rather than attacking him for ideological reasons."

The Governor-General's office issued a statement on Monday morning saying: "In all matters relating to the Order of Australia, the Governor-General acts on advice from and recommendations made by the Council for the Order of Australia.

"When the Governor-General receives correspondence – including requests to terminate or cancel an award - it is referred to the Council for the Order of Australia for advice and action.

"Following this standard process, the Governor-General has referred correspondence in relation to the appointment of Ms Arndt to the Council."