Australians of the year, good one.

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Originally Posted by Ean Austral

I think if you look at the list of past winners , you could say that about quite a few, cricket captains, swimmers , movie stars etc, really at least half could be said is due to crowd favourites rather than the commitment to improving day to day life of others. Then again I don't know what the criteria is for the award.

They said that the aneathitist -however the hell you spell it - was 1 of only 2 people in the world that had the skills and cave diving experience to pull it off. I believe the other doctor was also in a rare group who had cave diving experience as well. They helped save 14 lives so I think they are worthy of the award , even tho it was for something done in another country.

Cheers Ean

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The cynic in me , reading both Doctors profiles, and seeing how well connected they are, and the fact they received a high bravery award, well, it would be uncharitable to go on. And perhaps a little Churlish. Well done, both.

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Originally Posted by bob10

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The cynic in me , reading both Doctors profiles, and seeing how well connected they are, and the fact they received a high bravery award, well, it would be uncharitable to go on. And perhaps a little Churlish. Well done, both.

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I am sure you are not the only person who feels that way Bob - at the end of the day , like all awards some agree and some don't.

Cheers Ean

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Originally Posted by bob10

Because there are politics of division in this country right now, and Australia will never move forward whilst divided. The first step to reconciliation would be to move Australia Day to the date federation was declared, which I believe is Jan. 1st. A date decided by the Australian people, through their elected representatives. As long as we celebrate a random English man stepping on our soil and claiming Terra Nullis [ think that's it] we will always exclude a large portion of our population. Like it or not, until our indigenous people are made to feel included in the Australian story, we will always have this division. And radicals from both sides will take advantage of this division. I don't want my grandchildren to be having this conversation. As distasteful as it may be for some, we must find a way . Just my thoughts, if we can't do this, I fear for the future of this country.

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The date does need to change, for the reasons you've stated.

Also, when I was a kid Australians used to pride themselves on not being jingoistic - that was just so American. And Australia Day wasn't a thing. What I noticed when I moved back to Australia about 10 years ago was how aggressively "patriotic" a lot of Australians have become, aided and abetted by various sporting codes and broadcasters. Even at the Australian Open, if a crowd isn't one-sidedly supporting an Australian player then they're a disappointing crowd, well according to Channel 7 that is.

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Originally Posted by Ean Austral

I am sure you are not the only person who feels that way Bob - at the end of the day , like all awards some agree and some don't.

Cheers Ean

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And of course, that is part of the human condition.

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Originally Posted by Arapiles

The date does need to change, for the reasons you've stated.

Also, when I was a kid Australians used to pride themselves on not being jingoistic - that was just so American. And Australia Day wasn't a thing. What I noticed when I moved back to Australia about 10 years ago was how aggressively "patriotic" a lot of Australians have become, aided and abetted by various sporting codes and broadcasters. Even at the Australian Open, if a crowd isn't one-sidedly supporting an Australian player then they're a disappointing crowd, well according to Channel 7 that is.

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Thanks, you've noticed that to. Far be it for me to judge, but we are slowly turning into a Nation of *******. Led from the top.

Back on topic. I was disappointed to see so many celebrities in the honours list. I thing they get enough recognition.

I do favour having a Federation Day public holiday. That’s when Australia substantially moved to becoming an independent and recognised nation.

When the first fleet arrived the extent of land/ocean boundaries of our island nation were far from known. The first fleet only technically established the colony of New South Wales.

Forget about the arrogant whites, angry blacks, what about Australia's women?

John Birmingham: The nation-builders we constantly fail to recognise | The New Daily The nation-builders we always fail to recognise

If only the Irish Had " discovered " Australia. It would be a Much better place. Especially with more fiddle players[wink11]

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