Hugs and tears as Voice architect receives honour after ‘tumultuous’ year

Professor Megan Davis was at her mother’s housing commission home in south-east Queensland when she got the call that she would receive the highest Order of Australia award, more than a year on from the devastation of falling short on giving Indigenous Australians a voice in the Constitution.

As lead architect of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which called for an Indigenous Voice to parliament, Davis has had a tumultuous 15 months since the referendum failed in October 2023. But being recognised with a Companion of the Order of Australia was a moment of joyful hugs and tears with her mother.

Professor Megan Davis receives an AC award on Australia Day.Credit: Louie Douvis

“There was some symbolism to it because she lives in the housing commission home that we all grew up in … and it was just me and mum at home,” Davis said.

“All of my success is because of her and, you know, the really important role of mother. It was a very difficult time post-referendum, and so it was a really special thing to share [receiving an AC] with mum, given my huge absences from my family.”

Amid calls for Australia Day to be moved from January 26, an anniversary of colonisation, the Australia Day honoree said she did not support the “change the date” movement.

“The discontent about Australia Day comes from Aboriginal people, it comes from Aboriginal protest, it comes from the failure of the state to grapple with the original grievance, the unfinished business,” Davis said in comments published by this masthead last week.

“So moving the date doesn’t change that. It just moves the same – in my view – concerns and disgruntlement to another day.”

The Uluru Statement is only a fraction of Davis’ contribution to Indigenous affairs. She worked for the United Nations for more than two decades as a human rights lawyer, chairing its forum on Indigenous issues.

She is currently a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and a pro vice-chancellor at Sydney’s UNSW. Outside her legal work, Davis is a commissioner for the Australian Rugby League Commission.

“I’d actually forgotten in the kind of post-referendum slump or depression … I’d forgotten about all this other work that I’d done in my career,” she said.

Megan Davis addresses the National Press Club in November 2022.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“I guess it was because I was feeling so bad about what happened. So it was nice … [It’s] quite a high-level recognition. And so it’s very humbling.”

Having spent years applying her constitutional and human rights expertise to the proposed structure of a constitutional Voice to parliament, she was devastated by the referendum’s failure.

After the referendum, a survey conducted by the Australian National University found 87 per cent of voters believed First Nations Australians should have a voice regarding matters that affect them, despite the overwhelming rejection.

The survey further found 66 per cent of “no” voters said the most important factor influencing their decision was concern about dividing the country.

Davis said the research highlighted how the campaign failed to effectively communicate what a Voice to parliament would involve.

“The campaign became a political campaign and it was just like a blur. We couldn’t control anything in it and you just have to sit back and watch it all disappear before your eyes,” Davis said.

“They think it’s a politician’s model when, in fact, it came from our people.”

Nearly 16 million people, representing 90 per cent of eligible voters, defeated the referendum question by a national margin of 60-40, with every state and territory except the ACT voting against.

Despite the failure, Davis remained optimistic that advocates such as herself could continue explaining to Australians the necessity for a voice.

“Nothing has happened that has diminished the urgency of having a voice structure, and nothing has diminished the argument that the status quo isn’t working,” she said.

The late Indigenous activist Galarrwuy Yunupingu, a co-designer of the Voice, has also been recognised with an AC.

Other recipients of the prestigious awards include Melbourne playwright and screenwriter Joanna Murray-Smith, whose highly rated play Julia depicts former prime minister Julia Gillard’s leadership.

Murray-Smith will become a Member of the Order of Australia in the General Division (AM) for her significant service to the performing arts as a writer.

Playwright Joanna Murray-Smith.Credit: Simon Schluter

Murray-Smith has written 27 plays in her career, including Berlin, The Female of the Species, Honour and Bombshells.

First-time Olympic gold medallists have also been awarded Australia Day honours, including canoeist Noemie Fox, who after joining her elder sister Jess Fox in winning a gold medal also becomes a recipient of a Medal of the Order (OAM).

Fox is one of 15 gold medal-winning Olympians receiving the OAM, alongside 14-year-old skateboarder Arisa Trew, cyclist Grace Brown and swimmer Shayna Jack.

Eleven Paralympians who won gold in Paris were also recognised, including swimmer Alexa Leary, rower Jed Altschwager and cyclist Korey Boddington.

Olympians Noemie Fox (right) and her sister Jess Fox. Credit: AAP

The late Kevin Andrews, the Victorian Liberal MP for more than 30 years, who also served as defence, immigration and health minister, was recognised with an AM. He died last month.

Former president of the Australian Human Rights Commission Gillian Triggs, who became renowned for clashing with then-prime minister Tony Abbott during her tenure, will receive an AC.

Triggs also served as an assistant secretary-general to the United Nations from 2019 to 2024, and holds multiple fellowships with the University of Melbourne and University of Sydney.

She is being recognised for her service to humanitarian and human rights law, to international relations, to social justice advocacy, and to tertiary legal education and research.

Concord Hospital’s Professor Thomas Gottlieb is another recipient of the AO, for his service to medicine as an infectious-disease and microbiology specialist, author and researcher, and to professional organisations.

Other notable recipients include High Court Justice James Edelman, receiving an AC, MacKillop Family Services chief executive Dr Robyn Miller, an AM, and disability advocate James Simpson, an AO.

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