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Kerry OâBrien has rejected the Australia Day honour he was due to receive on Tuesday in protest at the âdeeply insensitive and divisive decisionâ to give the countryâs highest award to former tennis great Margaret Court.
âI believe the decision to award Australiaâs 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,â the veteran journalist and former ABC current affairs host wrote in a letter to the office of the Governor-General, David Hurley.
Kerry OâBrien said giving Margaret Court an Australia Day medal âeroded the hard fought gains made over decadesâ to stop discrimination against the LGBTQI community.
Liberal and Labor MPs back changes to Australia Day honours system
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MPs from both sides of federal politics have backed changes to the Order of Australia honours system, suggesting the awards could better reflect modern Australia.
Governor-General David Hurley told
The Sydney Morning Herald and
The Age that he wanted to change the awards system, acknowledging it had been historically biased against women and had not included enough Indigenous Australians.
Margaret Court will be recognised on Australia Day with a Companion of the Order of Australia.
Credit:Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images
The comments came amid a furore over leaked news that former tennis champion Margaret Court will be upgraded from an AO (Order of Australia) to an AC (a Companion in the Order of Australia) on Australia Day.
Margaret Court’s sister has defended a decision to recognise the tennis great with the highest Australia Day honour and says she’s “disgusted” with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews for condemning it.
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Controversial Australian tennis great Margaret Court is to be elevated to the Companion of the Order of Australia in this year s Australia Day honours according to leaked reports.
A Christian pastor, Mrs Court has been criticised in recent years for her opposition to homosexuality, same-sex marriage and transgender athletes.
The Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has condemned the decision of the Australia Day Council.
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Court is an all-time tennis great who holds 24 major singles titles, but her views on homosexuality, same-sex marriage and transgender people have been labelled offensive and intolerant. There have been calls for the Margaret Court Arena at Melbourne Park to be renamed.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison refused to comment on the honour, saying the Order of Australia was a “completely independent process”.
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Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said Mrs Court had “already been honoured for her tennis prowess”.
“She’s already an Officer of the Order of Australia,” he posted on Twitter. “I think it’s clear for everyone to see that making her a Companion of the Order of Australia has nothing to do with tennis.”