The personal is political

Our Attorney General Phillip Ruddock has come out saying that nominating Terry Hicks, father of Guantanamo bay detainee David Hicks politicises father of the year. In saying that, the AG is not celebrating the nomination, he is criticising it.

I find this an astounding assertion. Past winners have included six powerful members of a political party, four of them Prime Ministers. How does their nomination not politicise the event and Terry Hicks’ does? Why would say John HoWARd’s politics, which are overt, not politicise the event. How can we be sure that he wasn’t nominated to give the Australian people a sense of father-knows-best liberal paternalism just after he was elected.

Past Recipients of Australian Father of the Year Award.
2005 Steve Waugh AO
2004 Professor Graeme M. Clark AC FAA FTSE FRS FAAS
2003 Dr Karl Kruszelnicki AM
2002 Steve Vizard
2001 Jim Rafter
2000 Stephen Biddulph
1999 Slim Dusty
1998 Khamal
1997 The Hon John Howard MP, Prime Minister of Australia
1996 Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair A.C.A.D.(ml)RAN(Rtd)
1995 Mark Taylor
1994 Sir James Hardy, O.B.E.
1993 Michael Chugg
1992 Rev Bill Crews, B.E.E.,B.T.H.
1991 Dr Bruce Shepherd, M.B.,B.S.(Syd),B.D.S.(Syd).F.R.C.S.(Eng). F.R.C.S.(Edin).F.R.A.C.S., F.A.Orth.F.A.M.A.
1990 Peter Doyle, A.M.
1989 Ken Done, A.M.
1988 His Excellency Rear Admiral David Martin, A.O.,R.A.N.
1987 A H Pollard, M.Sc.,M.Sc(Econ),Ph.D.D.Sc.,F.I.A.A.,F.A.S.S.A.
1986 Rev Dr Gordon Moyes, A.M.,B.A.,D.B.
1985 Sir Ian Turbott, C.M.G.,C.V.O.
1984 Prof. Peter Rowe, M.C.,F.R.A.C.P.
1983 Bobby Limb, O.B.E.
1982 Alan Davidson, M.B.E.
1981 Dr Bradney W Norington, Esq.C.B.E.
1980 J T Lees, Q.P.M., Commissioner of Police
1979 Neil McLeod,O.B.E.
1978 His Excellency Sir Zelman Cowen, A.K.,G.C.M.G.,K.StJ.,Q.C. Governor General of Australia
1977 Gary O’Callaghan, M.B.E.
1976 The Right Honourable Malcolm Fraser, M.P., Prime Minister of Australia
1975 Major General Alan Stretton, A.O.,C.B.E., Director General, Natural Disasters Organisation, Department of Defence
1974 His Excellency The Honourable Sir John Kerr, K.C.M.G.,K.St.J., Governor-General of Australia
1973 The Right Hon J L Waddy, O.B.E.,D.F.C.,M.L.A. Minister for Youth and Community Services
1972 Dr W G McBride, C.B.E.
1971 The Right Hon William McMahon, M.P., Prime Minister of Australia
1970 V.C. Fairfax, C.M.G.
1969 W.M. Leornard, C.M.G.
1968 His Excellency The Right Honourable Lord Casey, P.C.,GC.M.G,C.H.,D.S.O.,M.C., K.SU., Governor General of Australia
1967 Sir Lorimer Dods, M.V.O.
1966 His Excellency Sir Roden Cutler, V.C.,K.C.M.G.,C.B.E.,K.St.J., Governor of New South Wales
1965 Ald. W.H. Northam
1964 The Right Hon. Sir Robert Menzies, K.T.CH.,Q.C.,M.P., Prime Minister of Australia
1963 The Hon. L J Herron, K.StJ.,Q.C. Chief Justice of New South Wales
1962 Sir Norman Gregg, M.C.
1961 His Honour Judge Adrian Curlewis
1960 Colin Delaney, Esq. C.B.E., Commissioner of Police
1959 The Hon J. J. Cahill, M.L.A. Premier of New South Wales
1958 Ald. HF Jensen, Lord Mayor of Sydney
1957 Sir Edward Hallstrom, Kt.F.R.Z.S.

The AG is completely right in his assertion that the nomination politicises the event. The AG is really just very annoyed that Terry Hicks’ nomination highlights Australia’s complete isolation in the International thinking on David Hicks’ rights and Terry Hicks’ nomination for father of the year is being widely reported.

As a parent I can tell you that faced with the same situation that faces Terry Hicks I would be trying everything possible, everything improbable and all things impossible for my child.

Nominating Terry Hicks for father of the year is inspired, and I for one applaud Jon Stanhope the ACT’s Chief Minister for doing it.

terryhickscage.jpg

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7 Responses to “The personal is political”

  1. Rooster Says:

    Well said, Suki.

    Terry Hicks is doing what any right-minded parent would do – not that I am one myself, but I can surely empathise.

  2. joe2 Says:

    Suki,well said indeed.
    Phil the dill, has a case of the sour grapes. I thought his daughter had left Australia to get away from the embarrassment of her creepy dad. Let’s face it, his nomination to A.G. was akin to putting the fox in charge of the chookhouse. A cruel blow that will take our legal system to get over.

  3. phil Says:

    Suki – I heard the cadaver whingeing about this unacceptable corruption of our fine democratic processes this morning and thought he was almost incomprensible: something about all parents wanting “outcomes” for their children?

    Ruddock’s a bloody facist but, that said, the cleverer way here would have been for Stanhope to organise someone else to nominate Mr Hicks as, unfortunately, Stanhope has zero credibility.

  4. phil Says:

    Also, obviously Labor prime ministers must be very bad fathers, all the PMs listed are Liberal.

  5. weezil Says:

    Phil, Stanhope has zero credibility? Based on what, his moves to implement same-sex civil unions, out the sedition laws for the steaming piles of autocratic crap they are, or his whack at a Bill of Rights for ACT?

    Stanhope has more street cred than Ruddock will ever muster, even if the lying sack of shit signs over his net wealth to Vinnies and spends the rest of his life in India treating festering sores on street people.

    Gimme a break.

  6. phil Says:

    Weezil – I support all those issues in a policy sense but Stanhope’s government is stuffing up the basic things it is meant to do – run the ACT – with the result that his attempts to influence national policy are seen as diversions. Also, as head of a Territory, not a State, he has less leverage than even the Premiers so he can get done over easily. As a Chief Minister, he should have more smarts about how he goes about things. From what I pick up, even the majority of Canberrans are fed up with him.

  7. Brownie Says:

    If David Hicks had been tried in a court the same year he was remanded, and given an appropriate sentence for the crime of being in a dumb place, he would be FREE NOW.
    His only crime appears to be that of ‘consorting with criminals’.
    I imagine his father feels responsible for not being able to dissuade his son from the foolishness of it in the first place, and he has my sympathy.

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