Governor-General David Hurley says it’s time to recognise extraordinary work of everyday Australians
Governor-General David Hurley says Australia’s honours system must change if it is to retain the confidence of Australians.
Governor-General David Hurley says Australia’s honours system must “evolve” if it is to retain the confidence of Australians, as former chief of the Defence Force Chris Barrie called for more community heroes to be given the top awards.
Professor Barrie, awarded all three of Australia’s most senior honours, backed criticism that too many people received top gongs essentially for doing their jobs.
“I think the criticism that a lot of people get the higher awards because of what they do in their professions has quite a lot of substance to it,” said Professor Barrie, who served for four years on the Council for the Order of Australia, which adjudicates on the awards.
He said medical, legal and even military organisations saw it as “very important” to secure awards and upgrades for some people in order to further their own status, and worked “pretty assiduously” to push their case.
However, countless Australians doing extraordinary community work for no personal gain were effectively excluded from the system’s top two honours: the Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) and the Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).
Any review would require a decision of government and the blessing of General Hurley, whom The Australian understands has taken a keen interest in the awards system over which he officially presides.
The Prime Minister’s Office, and the responsible assistant minister, Ben Morton, both declined to comment, but General Hurley issued a rare statement to The Australian indicating an openness to see the awards system “evolve” to remain relevant to modern Australia.
“I am determined, across my term in office, to ensure that the Order of Australia is — and is perceived to be by the Australian public — the highest form of recognition of the efforts and achievements of Australians,” General Hurley said.
“In many ways, this is already the case. I am also conscious that history alone does not guarantee ongoing success. Continuous promotion and engagement with the Australian community is required, for example, to ensure fairness and representation across gender, cultural backgrounds and categories of endeavour.”
Sarah Brown, a Northern Territory remote area nurse given an AM in the recent Queen’s Birthday honours, “didn’t know the difference” between the various awards.
“I thought OAMs were higher because they have more letters,” said Ms Brown, who has worked for 17 years to get dialysis machines and nurses to 18 remote communities in the NT.
Ms Brown was thrilled at the recognition that the award provides for her Purple House organisation, based in Alice Springs.
However, she said it would be “lovely” to see more nurses recognised alongside high-achieving doctors and medical researchers, the largest grouping of recipients in this month’s Queen’s Birthday honours.
“I think the worth of the awards is to shine a light on people or communities or issues that don’t get a lot of publicity or recognition,” Ms Brown said.
While a strong advocate for a national system of honours, Professor Barrie, a recipient of the AM (Member of the Order), AO and the AC, said changes could open up these levels to more grassroots community achievers.
“This is egalitarian Australia but what we’re doing in the current system is sort of preserving a hangover of the British Imperial system … Couldn’t we have something very Australian?” Professor Barrie said.
The intervention of such a senior recipient adds to growing calls for a revamp of the Order of Australia awards, following regular controversies, most recently at the Queen’s Birthday gongs given to former prime minister Tony Abbott and radio presenter Mike Carlton.
The Australian has obtained figures showing the number of awards issued has almost doubled since the year 2000, from 847 to 1547.
While the number of nominations has also risen, from 1462 to 2149, the percentage of nominations approved by the council has risen from 58 per cent to 72 per cent.
The 19-member Council for the Order of Australia insisted it was independent, and rejected criticism of the system, including concerns that too few community heroes received top gongs. “The level of award does not denigrate the value of that service or the contribution that the recipient has made,” a council spokesman said.
More Coverage
Home buyers ready for interest rate cuts
After several months of modest price falls, property experts are not expecting a housing market resurgence off the back of an interest rate cut.
Rise of local terror demands better from our leaders
The scourge of anti-Semitism in Australia has become a runaway train that now demands a radically escalated counter-terror mindset from federal and state governments, police and spy agencies.