Australian of the Year

[Thiele]

The Australian if the year is Mick Dodson http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... 62,00.html

[blackcat]

Wasn't Glenn McGrath hot favourite for this???

[Wedgie]

Wasn't Glenn McGrath hot favourite for this???

Nup, he was the 2nd fav. Mick Dodson was the hot fav and rightfully so.

[bayman]

surely the sth aussie of the year will be MAL

[TroyGFC]

nup the South Aussie of year was also Indigenous. Have the governments gone to reconciliation this year or what?

[rod_rooster]

Very worthy winner of this award. A man all Australians can be very proud of.

[Ronnie]

Whoever decides this award went for symbolism over substance this year.
Unlike every other year i find this year's recipient a shocker.
Just because he supports a very worthy cause doesn't make him automatically a great person. Apparently he had to be talked into accepting the Award, which tells you how much of an honour it is to him.
I might be a poor judge but i doubt most Australians would really hold him in high regard, certainly not enough to called Australian of the Year. He is too divisive to really have broad respect.
He is the lead figure for the grievance industry, an assortment of people with varying degrees of Aboriginal heritage who will never be happy no matter who is said or done for them.
To me he represents the disastrous policies of the last 30 years where millions was wasted on welfare policies and bodies like ATSIC just soaked it all up.
Other Aboriginal people like Warren Mundine and Noel Pearson have seen this but Dodson has never changed his tune.
Bizarre choice but i doubt anyone is really losing sleep over it.

[Pseudo]

Whoever decides this award went for symbolism over substance this year.
Unlike every other year i find this year's recipient a shocker.

Without expressing an opinion on whether or not this year's choice was a good one, it was certainly a better choice than some others in the last 2 decades. Chief example: two former captains of the Australian Cricket Team.

[Ronnie]

Whoever decides this award went for symbolism over substance this year.
Unlike every other year i find this year's recipient a shocker.

Without expressing an opinion on whether or not this year's choice was a good one, it was certainly a better choice than some others in the last 2 decades. Chief example: two former captains of the Australian Cricket Team.

Good point. I've often felt the Award goes to a 'celebrity' figure who has a public profile.
The real Australian of the Year is probably some unknown person doing heroic work in an outback hospital or similar, doing it for little $ or recognition.

[HH3]

I just read about Mick Dobson and it doesnt really say why he deserves the massive acolade of Australian of the Year. All I can see is he is a lawyer who worked on land rights cases. No doubt for some decent money. Surely somebody else in the whole of Australia has done something more "Australian". Like the soldier that received the Victoria Cross recently. He put his life at risk multiple times and deliberately drew enemy fire to himself to give civilians and his fellow soldiers time to get to safety. NOW THATS AUSTRALIAN!!!