There was the business figure who, once he knew the award was on the way, threw a party to thank his supposedly anonymous nominator and referees. Some who are aware they have been nominated have been known to approach referees, asking them to be suitably effusive. Not all nominations succeed.
Details of failed efforts are understandably scarce but television personality Kerri-Anne Kennerley saw a few go awry in the two years she served as a community representative on the Council of the Order of Australia. Twice a year before the member council met, Kennerley recalls, two suitcases full of documents — the nominations and accompanying references — would arrive at her home. And I did. Some made her cry, such was the commitment displayed.
Couples who cared for more than foster children. People who gave up large chunks of their time over decades. Wendy McCarthy: "A person who has been awarded an OA — regardless of level — is a person of integrity. The care factor in this country is enormous," she says. There was one nomination though that was memorable for a different reason. It was a television figure with a high public profile. The references were glowing, and written by some very big names, Kennerley recalls.
But there was scant evidence of serious charity work, or any other "above and beyond" contribution the awards set out to honour. So when her fellow council members looked her way for comment, Kennerley made her opinion known. Kerri-Anne Kennerley: "Celebrity is not enough. Like many, Kennerley is a bit leery of the many politicians and public servants who get an award around the time they retire.
If they do something outside of their job, fine. But we should not give them an award for doing their job. And famous people shouldn't get it just because they let a charity stick their name on an invite. Going to a cocktail party for a glass of champagne should not get you a gong. Kennerley wants children to be educated about the Order of Australia awards and what they represent so they can seek to emulate those who are honoured.
Medical researcher, former Garvan Institute executive director and recently retired CSL chairman Professor John Shine would also like more Australians to get involved in the awards. The Order of Australia has 4 levels and the Council for the Order of Australia will determine the level of the award your nominee receives. You don't need to specify the award level in your nomination. The Council for the Order of Australia defines this honour as achievement and merit of the highest degree for service to Australia or humanity at large.
This is the highest award in the Order of Australia and only 35 people are awarded an AC each year. The Council for the Order of Australia defines this honour as distinguished service of a high degree to Australia or humanity at large.
This award recognises people whose actions have made a significant impact in our society. Only people are awarded an AO each year. The Council for the Order of Australia defines this honour for service in a particular local area, field or to a particular group.
The Council for the Order of Australia defines this honour for service worthy of particular recognition. A little-known US car maker promised the electric ute. This place kills its residents, but some are fighting to stay. Heavy rain and wild winds continue to lash part of western NSW. Drought-stricken Queensland comes alive after drenching. Staff shortages are so extreme in this hospital staff are delaying inducing pregnant women, nurses claim.
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No going back for universities as lectures ditched in favour of online learning Posted 13m ago 13 minutes ago Thu 11 Nov at pm. Nanocrystal glitter keeps the sparkles without the polluting plastics Posted 24m ago 24 minutes ago Thu 11 Nov at pm.
Heavy rain and wild winds continue to lash part of western NSW Posted 37m ago 37 minutes ago Thu 11 Nov at pm. More Just In. Back to top. Footer ABC News homepage. Then Tony Abbott was elected in , and he re-introduced knighthoods and damehoods unilaterally as prime minister, with no oversight from the council.
Already trailing in the polls, when Abbott announced on Australia Day that Prince Philip would be made a Knight of the Order of Australia, he lost both the public and his party room, commencing a chain of events that led to Malcolm Turnbull toppling him in September that year. There were other noses out of joint, too.
Turnbull duly abolished the knights and dames category, although the changes were not backdated — Prince Philip may well have been baffled to receive an Australian knighthood, but he got to keep it. There cannot be such cases in the Order of Australia.
Former senior politicians are highly likely to be honoured with awards, compared to disability advocates or environmental crusaders — or just about anyone else. While many awards go to community workers, when politicians get gonged, it tends to be at the highest level — 40 per cent of politicians with an Order of Australia are at the AC and AO level.
There is a skew to conservative politicians — Coalition members have received gongs, compared to Labor politicians. Former Nationals federal director Paul Davey was given an AM in , and former Nationals federal president Christine Ferguson got the same gong in Some years the party-political bias has been stark — in , when John Howard was prime minister, the Liberals got 14 awards, and just one Labor politician was honoured.
Stone says neither he nor Edwardes is actively involved in politics. Women have been selected more often more recently, reflecting a general social shift towards more women in leadership roles.
Yet since the election of Tony Abbott in , there have been no Indigenous Australians appointed to the council. Prior to his appointment as council chair, he nominated 74 people, he says, and as chief minister he appointed a public servant to lead nominations for the Northern Territory. He particularly wanted more Indigenous and migrant citizens honoured. Stone regularly takes people aside in his stead as flood response coordinator, and tells them to nominate the ordinary people doing extraordinary things in flood and drought recovery on the land.
I have lived and breathed it. Certainly time, resources and expertise with government processes is a plus. It is almost like the British class system. Carol Kiernan is an intelligence and communications consultant who has worked with the Australian Federal Police. She was living with her husband in Washington, D. What the year-old read enraged her. On a flight from Melbourne to Sydney a few days later, still fuming, Kiernan picked up a copy of The Age and read a letter to the editor from education academic Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young, in which she too complained of the gender disparity in the honours list.
Kiernan contacted her, and soon after they met in a Melbourne cafe to discuss what they could do. What steps do we want to take? How can we get there? Its goal is to raise awareness and lobby governments for structural change to the honours system. The gender disparity in the awards system is stark — a breakdown of all recipients between and shows 70 per cent were male and 30 per cent female.
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