Many years ago, when Olivia-Newton-John was given a gong for services to Australian music, the Canberra journalist Ian Warden suggested that we had the whole thing backwards, and Australian music should be given a gong for its services to Olivia Newton-John.

How about an award to the Australian people for their services to John Howard? Or an award to the Father of the Year campaign for their services to Bob Hawke?

Anybody who takes this confraternal boot-licking seriously needs to have their heads read.

This is a timely and well written piece. I hadn't though of the OOA like that before.

A good article on awards iniquities until it became a logging article.

Another premature honour is Nicole Kidman's AC, primarily for her rich and famous Hollywood "career" cruising overseas with infrequent stops in Australia, one of her several homes.

Yes Nicole did do some charity work but normal people have to dedicate 50 years to charity work (coordination and leadership) before receiving the lowest honour, OAM, maybe AM, if they are lucky.

After 18 years of moderate adult acting Nicole received what is meant to be a lifetime acheivement honour, the AC, in 2006 (nowadays equivalent to a Damehood), at the age of 39.

Thanks again to Mr Howard and that memourable GG "joined at the hip" Jeffery. Perhaps they were attempting to be hip to match the British system of knighthoods to the richest celebrities.

ACs are now the quasi Knighthood level by default. Until 1986 there was provision for the appointment of Knights and Dames in the Order of Australia. But not now. http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/awards/medals/order_of_australia.cfm#history

Those who work hard for charity all their lives in most parts of Australia get the lowest honour, the OAM, if they're lucky.

Pete

Plantagenet's first sentence is spot on, for mine. Not that I particularly disagree with the politics on logging, but the OOA awards (and all like them, eg most honorary degrees) should have dedicated cannons to take them down.

The Order of Australia Awards is an outdated award system that should be changed but will not be changed because it is simply the best way for the Government of the day to pay back all their friends.

Why should any person receive an award for a job they do where they receive great remuneration and accolades. These awards are an absolute disgrace. A previous writer mentioned Nicole Kidman. Nicole is a multi millionaire who is on the free list for anything from theatre tickets to clothes and jewellery. Where is the need to repay her further with an Award. It lowers the tone of the award.

I believe there are many people in our community who deserve to be recognised for the unpaid great deeds they carry out whilst going about their business, which includes work every day as well as looking after their families. But giving awards to these people gives no kudos to the Government.

Also, the over representation of people in the arts is embarrassing. Most artists who receive these awards are already on the Taxpayers payroll, through grants etc. even though they have been working in these areas for many years.

I would like to see a general discussion started, where the community is allowed to set down some form of criteria where real people doing outstanding actions will be chosen.

The OOA has got to be bullshot, it is "Made in Singapore"...

Damn you Brian for calling in to disrepute Carla Zampatti who has done so much for fashion in Valcluse and Toorak.

I won't have her name sullied when street kids are allowed to beg (that's right - beg!) wearing classic hand me downs and urban street wear right under our noses. Our NOSES, Brian.

The Australian fashion industry has done so much - so very much - to cloth kids, provide hot lunches, provide money for Aboriginal health care, AIDS, mental health for homeless people, services for country women, suicide prevention, the environmental movement, - you name it -that it's hard to reconcile that Carla Zampatti didn't receive the the Big One -whatever that is.

I pray to God - God Brian - that the Catholic Church recognises the works she has done with her skirts and blouses, and that maybe, just maybe, a canonisation is in the offing.

Yours

Ordering Australia as we like it

Mareelorraine raises an interesting issue - is it appropriate to receive an honour for the very same thing you have already been paid for?
Must honours only be for unpaid work?
I understand and am sympathetic to the issue but see some problems.
What of small stipends or reimbursement of expenses, do they count?
I also agree with the general trust of the article, I think that there is too much recognition of the 'shiny' characters, particularly the arts community. I would love to see more recognition going to the quiet achievers but, that said, there are always examples of them on the list - but sometimes they aren't highlighted so much by the media and often their awards are in the lower orders.

What a total joke. Order of Australia. Order of recognising the right wing community in the main, and throwing a few crumbs to everyone else.

How many ethnic Australians do you ever see in this list? Too few mate.

How many volunteers who have given so much to hospital auxiliarys, to the Blood bank, to sports at the local level (coaches, refs, aaaadminuistrators...), to school council members (not teachers as they get paid)...

How many under thirty, unless they are sports stars?

The whole thing is a blasted joke

Matthew T
"The whole thing is a blasted joke" I agree!

MAREELORRAINE
"it is simply the best way for the Government of the day to pay back all their friends" Not the best way but sure the easy way! I agree with you.

plantagenet
"Those who work hard for charity all their lives in most parts of Australia get the lowest honour, the OAM, if they're lucky"
Not only charities or honours and awards BUT the whole system run with this way.
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaid

Yup, all the above, and more. Its our half ars*d post colonial joking attempt at the House of Lords. Why three levels? Why not four, why not one? The whole thing is patronising royalist lunacy. But remember it was Napoleon who wrote, "a man will fight hard and long for a piece of ribbon." And the scrappers love it don't they?

It would be an interesting piece of demographic analysis by postcode...

From what I have read, most haven't or are prejudiced to any awards
given on HM Queen's Birthday. You realize as a constitutional monarchy any Australian can be awarded a knight or dame of the British Empire.

However nominated by the Australian Commonwealth. New Zealand has just nominated one of their own as a Sir ...? Australians have refused to nominate their nationals for equivalent awards.

However some of our elders have received the equivalent to overseas awards but non from the British because they are staunch republicans. Something prejudiced against this perhaps?

I know local people in New England NSW, Mr Chris Ross-Smith and my friend Mr Melvin Duffy who were not in the employment of the establishment who rightfully received the Order of Australia for their commitments and abilities in performing arts and visual arts.

There are many categories for British and Australian National Awards.
Some are given for those who have worked within the so called Establishment areas, military etc. But many are available for other
people involved in the community or relevant services and also the arts. All they need to gain these awards is to be nominated.

Plantagenet

I was disappointed that you did not see the relevance of the anti-logging activist bit. Here was a person who had donated the best years of his life for this land - and yet he would be the very last person who would get an AO for his sacrifice. There could be no better example of the distortion that is the honours system.

Brian

I agree with what you say about the Honours system, but the more pointed issue in your article, struggle against logging, is just not an issue I agree with by association.

I know many people, like Platypus, who (including myself) have devoted the best years of their life without recognition, with no hope or Need for Gonghood.

In fact to have a medal and to place those letters after ones name can often smack of conformity and pro-government conservatism.

Better recognition might be a fuller biography of Platypus or other people who fight for the conservation cause - as another article in this and other journals.

Regards

Pete

Brian,

I agree with your appraisal of the honours system - it merely puts icing on the cake for the well established in society and effectively takes kudos and support away from those that are putting in real effort and facing real problems in everyday life. With society's fixation on celebrity, the hard-working, ordinary person does not get a look in. I'd certainly like to see this change.