Australian of the Year: Julian Assange

Deadline or no deadline, you can make yourself heard by emailing the Council with your views of Julian Assange. (Ensure that you stipulate your comments relate to the award being handed down in January 2011, lest your email be interpreted as an early-bird reference to the January 2012 ceremony).

That said, all hope is not lost.

There is one other prestigious accolade where Mr Assange’s inspirations to all of us can be recognised: The Australian’s Australian of the Year, revealed on the front page of this coming 26 January’s edition of the paper.

The winner in January 2010 was former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, whom the paper feted: “With the exception of wartime prime minister John Curtin, few Australian leaders have faced a more daunting crisis in their first term of office than that which confronted Kevin Rudd”.

The paper draped the former Prime Minister in more glory than was perhaps deserved, and celebrated his economic triumphs as though they were all his, and not the residual of the economic legacy bequeathed by the former Howard/Costello government.

So why did The Australian choose Rudd?

Perhaps the media group considered which Australian above all else achieved the most and at least at the time, constituted the best role model. Such people are chosen for their inspirational qualities, which through their achievements, challenge us to make our own contribution to creating a better Australia. While the paper’s criteria for selection were sound, its choice of Rudd, objectively speaking was poor. Kevin Rudd did nothing he wasn’t called upon to do. Managing the economy is, after all, in the Prime Minister’s job description.

The criteria used to identify a stand out Australian would seem to target someone:

• With a demonstrated excellence in his/her chosen field;
• Who in a major way, contributed to the Australian nation;
• Who is an inspiration for the Australian community;
• Exhibits clear leadership and innovation; and
• Whose future goals and impact from his achievements to date.

Assuming no change to the criteria, who should be The Australian’s winner on 26 January 2011?

Apart from Julian Assanage, I find it impossible to come up with a single Australian who better addresses all five criteria listed above to the extent that Assange does. A sneak peek at say the National Australia Day Council’s shortlist doesn’t exude confidence in that body’s decision-making skills whatsoever. The resumes of say the three finalists from the most populous states in the federation (NSW, Victoria and Queensland), identify quality candidates such as Professor Larissa Behrendt (an indigenous rights lawyer), Simon McKeon (an philanthropist and investment banker) as well as Professor Noel Hayman (an indigenous doctor).