Australian of the Year

[jean2579]

I don't feel comfortable with the 2014 Australian of the Year, Mr. Goode. I just can't help feeling that if he could not handle the rudeness and bad manners of a 13 year old girl without crucifying her on most forms of social media to make a political point of his own, however justified is  concerning. I wonder how he will handle interjections and comments he finds offensive during his term of office.

[lurker17260]

I think we may be confusing Australian of the Year with Australia Day honours.

[polksaladallie]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/australia-day-honours-list-2014-in-full/story-fni0cx12-122...

[azureline**]

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@**freethinker_bob** wrote:

I think they're plenty of people more deserving

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Probably.

I like the choice, in comparison to past years.

[the_great_she_elephant]

Here is a list of Australian Of The Year Award recipients - it makes interesting reading.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_of_the_Year_Award_recipients

[bluecat*dancing]

AFL star and 2014 Australian of the Year Adam Goodes wants to help break down the boundaries between races and won't rest until all Australians are treated as equals.

The Sydney Swan was named Australian of the Year on Saturday for his leadership and advocacy in the fight against racism, both on the sporting field and in society more broadly.

The 34-year-old made it clear he'll be using the position as another platform to tackle racial vilification.

"My hope is that we as a nation can break down the silos between races, break down those stereotypes of minority populations," the sportsman told the crowd at the Canberra ceremony. His mother Lisa, a member of the Stolen Generations, was among those at the event.

"The ultimate reward is when all Australians see each other as equals, and treat each other as equals."

An indigenous Andyamathanha man, Goodes holds an elite place in AFL history with two Brownlow Medals and two premierships.

He is actively involved with several indigenous sport and community programs, and has spent time working with troubled youngsters, including in youth detention centres.

Together with his cousin and former teammate Michael O'Loughlin, he established the GO Foundation which seeks to empower the next generation of indigenous role models.

[bluecat*dancing]

Tonight I was honoured to be named 2014 Australian of the Year.

I am deeply grateful to the many people who have inspired and supported me over a lifetime. This recognition is as much - if not more - about them as about anything I have achieved.

In this role, I expect I'll be further humbled as I meet Australians from all across the country and all walks of life - and hear about their aspirations for our country.

There will be chances to reflect on the opportunities that lie ahead for our nation.

One of those – which I feel passionately about – is the work being done to prepare for a referendum to recognise the first Australians in our Constitution and remove discrimination from it.

I'm proud to have been chosen for this honour. I'm also proud of the 40,000-plus years of history of my ancestors, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia. And yet that impressive Australian story is still missing from Australia's founding document. 

What a great day it will be for our nation when we fix that historic exclusion together.

Please forward this and encourage others to sign up too to show their support at www.recognise.org.au

Thanks in advance for all you’ll be doing to make it happen in the year ahead,

Adam Goodes

Australian of the Year 2014 & Recognise Supporter

[poddster]

What a pity that we have been reduced to having a "token" Australian of the year to apease a minority .

[izabsmiling]

ofgs...if a non Indigenous man had publicly commented on an inappropriate common made to him by a child....that would not even be an issue yet here that very thing makes the man seemingly unworthy and seems to justify other people crucifying him .

RACISM can stop with us

[izabsmiling]

Mine was an open comment jean 

[jean2579]

I understand Iza, my concern was how he would cope if during his tenure he was placed in  a position where he was on the receiving end of further comments he considered to be racist, even if they were not intended that way. It seems that a discussion on this subject gets very emotional, very quickly. It is hard to have a calm discussion without being labeled with names. My own immediate family is multi racial and multi cultural and yet we can have wide ranging discussions without it getting heated. It seems hard to do that here, perhaps because it is an open forum. I guess that at the end of the day, every persons opinion has equal weight.