Memorable men: The heroes and villains of the year

Stephen A Russell

Dec 9 2016

The Good
Luke Beveridge
There’s a fair argument argument for rewarding the entire Western Bulldogs team for their Herculean AFL Grand Final win over the Sydney Swans, ending a 62-year spell in the wilderness, but particular credit is due to magnanimous coach Luke Beveridge for giving his premiership medallion to injured skipper Bob Murphy. Photo: Darrian Traynor
Deng Adut
Snatched from his family and forced to become a child soldier at only six years old, Deng Adut was not crushed. The former refugee turned lawyer and refugee advocate is a new Australian citizen worthy of our respect and has been recognised as NSW Australian of the Year for 2017, with a shot at the top award come January 25. Photo: Michele Mossop
Gus Worland
Ten years ago Triple M Grill Team presenter Gus Worland was shocked when his best mate committed suicide. This year he confronted the silent killer that claims around 2000 men every year, tackling men’s mental health head on in the powerful ABC TV series Man Up. His desire to get men talking about what bothers them is inspiring. Photo: Supplied
Kurt Fearnley
Australia’s paralympians brought home from Rio almost three times as many medals as their able-bodied cohorts, at 81 (22 gold) compared to 29 (eight gold). Wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley, taking his final bow, was held to silver by long-time rival, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug, but with 13 medals across five Paralympics, including two marathon golds, he’s a true winner. Photo: Getty Images
Chansey Paech
In a year of political firsts, Territorian Chansey Paech became the country’s first gay Indigenous parliamentarian, elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly seat of Namatjira. His maiden speech called for both marriage equality and recognition for First Australians. Photo: Facebook
Jimmy Bartel
Recently retired Geelong champion, Brownlow and Norm Smith medallist Jimmy Bartel used his final season to raise awareness of domestic abuse and raise much-needed cash for frontline services by growing out his hair and beard as a conversation starter. Having witnessed his father assault his mother as a boy, the new dad wants to do his bit to help eradicate violence against women. Photo: AFL Media/Getty Images
Lucas Patchett and Nic Marchesi
The Brisbane-based co-founders of Orange Sky Laundry were inspired to create their free mobile laundry service for homeless people after being shocked that over 100,000 Australians have no place to call home. With nine vans up and running there are plans to expand nationally and even internationally. The pair were jointly awarded Young Australian of the Year 2016. Photo: Paul Harris
Ronny Chieng
Australian comedian Chieng became one of our most high-profile exports when he joined the Trevor Noah-led The Daily Show in September last year and has been nailing it ever since. His righteous take down of a racist Fox News segment by Jesse Watters in October, in the midst of America’s fraught election campaign, has been viewed by millions of people. Photo: Dallas Kilponen
Adam Briggs and Daniel Rankine
Another well-deserved joint recognition for hip hop duo Briggs, a Yorta Yorta man who has also appeared on Cleverman and Black Comedy, and Ngarrindjeri producer and MC Trials (Rankine). Their debut album Reclaim Australia, released as AB Original, is a furious clarion call for racial equality that entertains even as it challenges. Photo: Justin McManus
Luke McGregor
Shy comedian and actor McGregor lost his virginity at 25, making him the perfect frontman for the ABC’s six-part documentary Luke Warm Sex. De-stigmatising sex and coaching how to be better at it, it made for compelling TV, as did his Tasmanian-set comedy series Rosehaven, alongside co-star Celia Pacquola. Photo: James Penlidis
The Bad
Mike Baird
Choosing villains amongst politicians is like shooting fish in a barrel, but the NSW premier is an easy pick. Once considered Australia’s most popular, his lockout laws and council amalgamations sparked a community backlash, but it was his backflip on greyhound racing that damaged him most. Can he resuscitate his reputation? Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Sam Dastyari
The rise and fall of Labor senator Dastyari earns him a nod here too, what with the murkiness of accepting foreign donations from companies with links to the Chinese government to pick up his bills, overshadowing good work on multinational tax avoidance and a corrupt banking industry. Photo: Wolter Peeters
The Budgie Nine
Speaking of bad looks the culturally insensitive, boorish behaviour of nine young Australian men who stripped to their budgie smugglers at the Malaysian Grand Prix saw them cooling their heels in jail for four days. All the more embarrassing given one of the men, Jack Walker, was a staffer for Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne. Walker has since quit. Photo: AP
Nick Kyrgios
Young tennis star Nick Kyrgios is undoubtedly talented, but continues to undermine his ability with his on-court behaviour. His tanking tantrum at the Shanghai Masters was yet another low point for a man who needs to lift his game. Photo: Chung Sung-Jun
Pete Evans
Not content with his recommendation of a paleo diet for babies, celebrity chef and My Kitchen Rules judge Pete Evans has further soured matters with his promotion of camel milk as an alternative to breastfeeding. Perhaps leave it to the experts Pete? Photo: James Brickwood
Salim Mehajer
As if his ostentatious wedding wasn’t bad enough, property developer and disgraced former deputy mayor of Auburn Mehajer’s estranged wife Aysha took out an apprehended violence order against him, as did brother-in-law Bruce Heart. That’s not to mention continuing investigations in electoral fraud. Photo: Supplied
Matthew Mercer and Samuel Monaghan
Another joint nod here for the Brisbane-based Nomadic Thinkers start-up founders who blame women for domestic violence against them and think the start-up business world needs safe spaces for men, despite men making up 75 per cent of the sector as it is. Photo: Nomadic Thinkers
David Oldfield
Former One Nation politician Oldfield spent a month in remote aboriginal communities for SBS series First Contact. During that time he claimed the Stolen Generations policy was “well-intentioned,” and that “Aboriginality is just unnecessary.” No change of heart was forthcoming. Photo: David Dare Parker, SBS
Stephen Dank
After one of the longest-running doping scandals in history, Essendon’s disgraced sports scientist Stephen Dank failed to show up to appeal his lifetime ban in late November, and then failed to explain why. Game over. Photo: Getty Images
Raman Shaqiri and Stefce Kutlesovski
In one of Australia’s most flagrant abuses of planning law, this pair of developers destroyed the 159-year-old heritage-listed Corkman Irish Pub in Melbourne without permission. Amidst local fury, they will now be forced to rebuild it brick by brick. Photo: Supplied
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As one of the strangest years in living memory draws to a close, with Prince, Bowie and Leonard Cohen gone too soon and Trump named president-elect of the US, now is as good a time as ever to round up a list of the heroes and villains of 2016.

From the footy coach whose team conquered all the odds but still found time to honour those on the sidelines to the radio star who stared down old-fashioned notions of masculinity and told men it's OK to cry – these are the gents and blokes who have inspired by so many fellow men throughout the year.