David Morrison named 2016 Australian of the Year
The former Australian army chief has been given the top honour for his gender equality, diversity and inclusion work. (Video courtesy ABC News 24)
When the just-crowned Australian of the Year sat down to read the commentary on his appointment, he wouldn't have been surprised to see his honour called "some kind of joke".
After 36 years in the Australian Army, and four years as its chief, David Morrison knows pretty much all there is to know about the tough world of being a high-profile person in public life. He'll be well aware you can't please all of the people all of the time.
An exceptional individual
Morrison is an exceptional individual. To rise to the top of an introspective, conservative and powerful organisation like the Army - one historically drenched in a culture of machismo - and somehow maintain his position as one of the most visible, passionate and effective diversity advocates in the country, is damn impressive.
His body of work, the significant changes he has already brought about in the armed services, and his relentless public campaign against discrimination won him the award. He is also Chair of the Diversity Council of Australia.
Morrison's fellow nominees included Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, and his own speech-writer, the highest-ranking transgender officer in the military, Catherine McGregor. They are both delighted to be in his company. McGregor created many of his searing words and Broderick believes that in order to achieve true gender equality, men need to join the fight. In her words: "Gender equality is not just a women's issue."
But ignoring all that, it seems the heart of the matter is that Morrison is a man. And men are not allowed to speak on the issue.
The man Australian men need to hear from
In fact, Morrison's membership of the "dudes club" is actually quite brilliant for women and the fight for equality.
Critically, he stands a better chance of being listened to by the people who are at the foundation of discrimination against women. Men.
Morrison will have cut-through where many, many other individuals - male or female - would not. Sure, he's a man, and a man's man at that. Check out his terrifying stare-down of anyone involved in a nasty military sex scandal a few years ago. It's called leadership. When Morrison talks, people listen.
Morrison is a soldier in his heart, a fighter for what's right. He already has considerable respect and, now, a significant profile as a weapon in the fight. He has a great chance of actually being an effective change agent, not just a ribbon-cutter.
An agent for change
I heard Morrison talking on Triple J, the ABC's youth network recently. His audience was predominantly young, female and culturally left wing. Everyone was lining up to give the old soldier, the crusty paid-up white dude, a piece of their razor-sharp young minds.
But Morrison listened. He was courteous, confident, erudite and such a clean thinker and intelligent orator he had won over his audience, the prickly host and me, in mere minutes.
"This guy should be PM or something," I thought. He had authority and authenticity. The fact he had grappled with these issues leading the Army, a bastion of male conservatism built on a history of condoned violence, gave real meaning and weight to his words.
So this is the question for anyone who thinks a strong voice for diversity can't come from a straight, white male: Should David Morrison use his keynote role to create a new agenda and genuine debate in a thunderous year bashing discrimination wherever it may lurk ... or should he go and play lawn bowls instead?
I am not a black man, but I want to live in a world where people of colour are not discriminated against. I am not a child sex slave, but I want to live in a world where children are not subjected to sex slavery. I am not a woman, but I want to live in a world where no woman will be bashed by a former or current partner.
As a great man once said, on the issue of gender equality, "we need men of authority and conscience to play a part".
That man was our new Australian of the Year, David Morrison.
Do you consider David Morrison qualified to comment on matters of diversity? Do you agree with his promotion to Australian of the Year? Let us know you opinion in the comments section. This will be tightly moderated, so please keep all submissions strictly on-topic.
With more than 25 years in Australian media, Phil Barker has edited NW and Woman's Day magazines, and published such titles as Vogue, GQ, Delicious, InsideOut and Donna Hay. He is owner of a creative events and activations agency and is a regular commentator on the life and style of Australian men.
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