ABC’s Kerry O’Brien rejects AO over Margaret Court award

Kerry O’Brien refuses his award, saying the decision to give Margaret Court the highest honour was ‘deeply insensitive’ and ‘divisive’.

Kerry O'Brien being inducted into the Logie's Hall of Fame in 2019. He has rejected his AO.

ABC journalist Kerry O’Brien has rejected his Order of Australia in a protest at tennis great Margaret Court being made a Companion of the Order of Australia.

Mrs Court and fellow sporting hero Tim Cahill were among almost 850 people recognised for outstanding contributions to the nation

But O’Brien said the decision to give Mrs Court, who has made controversial comments on homosexuality, same-sex marriage and transgender people the country’s highest honour was “deeply insensitive” and “divisive”.

The former host of the ABC’s Four Corners wrote to the Governor-General on Sunday, saying he wouldn’t accept the honour.

“I believe the decision to award Australia’s highest honour to Margaret Court may serve to erode the hard-fought gains made over decades in reducing the impact of discrimination against members of the LGBTQ+ community — discrimination that has caused immense pain to untold people and destroyed lives,” he wrote.

“I believe the decision to present her with this award was deeply insensitive and must undermine community respect for awards that were created to celebrate a true spirit of community, not divide it.”

O’Brien is the second Australian to hand back his honour over Mrs Court’s award, after Canberra doctor Clara Tuck Meng Soo handed back her Order of Australia Medal last week.

Dr Soo, who was one of the first GPs to undergo gender transition in Australia, received an Order of Australia medal in 2016.

In a letter to the Governor-General, she said she could not be seen to support the 24-time grand slam winner, who is being recognised for her tennis achievements.

Ms Court, 78, who compared receiving the award in Tuesday’s Australia Day honours with winning the tennis grand slam in 1970, said the attacks on her beliefs amounted to cheap political point-scoring and she was not prejudiced against any section of the community.

“I love my nation and I want to see our nation as a lighthouse nat­ion to others, and that we can show other nations how to do things right. That’s the most important thing, and it’s very sad when a minority group gets to dictate how the country is run,” she said.

“The (political point-scoring) really saddens me because I don’t hold anything against anyone and the work we do (at my church), we’re there to help everyone. Our community services have been open throughout the pandemic.

“Before the coronavirus, we were going through 30 tonnes of food a week, and now we are giving out 75 tonnes of food a week to people in need. It doesn’t matter where you are from or who you are: whether you’re homosexual, transgender, Muslim or whatever”.