Malcolm Turnbull has dumped Tony Abbott’s widely ridiculed policy of reinstating Knights and Dames, saying the titles are “not appropriate” in modern Australia.
The new Prime Minister announced on Monday that he was dumping the titles nearly seven weeks after ousting Mr Abbott from the top job.
In a statement, Mr Turnbull said the decision was recently taken by cabinet and approved by the Queen.
“The cabinet recently considered the Order of Australia, in this its 40th anniversary year, and agreed that Knights and Dames are not appropriate in our modern honours system,” he said.
Mr Turnbull said the change will not affect existing Knights and Dames, meaning Prince Philip will potentially be Australia’s last Knight.
Mr Abbott March 2014 decision to reinstate Knights and Dames in Australia was one of his most notorious “captain’s picks”.
He described the change at the time as an “important grace note in our national life”.
Mr Abbott said he expected recipients to include governors-general, state governors, chiefs of defence forces and chief justices rather than politician.
The decision was mocked at the time but it became a lightning rod for Mr Abbott’s critics when he appointed Prince Philip a Knight on Australia Day earlier this year.
He said the 93-year old was being recognised for his “contribution to Australia throughout the Queen’s 62-year reign.”
Mr Abbott dismissed a social media backlash against the decision as “electronic graffiti”.
“I’ll leave social media to its own devices. Social media is kind of like electronic graffiti and I think that in the media, you make a big mistake to pay too much attention to social media,” Mr Abbott said at the time.
“You wouldn’t report what’s sprayed up on the walls of buildings.”
Earlier gongs had gone to former chief of the defence force Angus Houston and former governor-general Quentin Bryce, who accepted the title despite being a republican.
Peter Cosgrove was automatically made a Knight upon becoming Governor-General.
source:theherald.com.au
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 