Australia PM Malcolm Turnbull drops knights and dames from honours system

[webfact]

Australia PM Malcolm Turnbull drops knights and dames from honours system

CANBERRA: -- Knights and dames will be dropped from the Australian honours system, the Order of Australia, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced.

In a statement he said that the Queen had agreed to the recommendation, and added that knights and dames were "not appropriate" in today's Australia.

Former PM Tony Abbott was criticised for reintroducing knighthoods and damehoods in March 2014.

The row re-ignited when he awarded Prince Philip a knighthood in January.

Many commentators said that the re-instatement of knights and dames, nearly 20 years after they had been discontinued, raised grave questions about Mr Abbott's judgement.

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-34695549


-- BBC 2015-11-02

[BookMan]

Hopefully dropping the Queen as head of state will be next

[shirtless]

What does this have to do with todays problems ,

[geriatrickid]

Turnbull is miffed because he would not qualify to be a knight.

[up2u2]

Australia became a Federation of States and The Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed on 1st January 1901. At that point all ceremonial British awards should have been discontinued and replaced with Australian Awards and Queen Victoria / King Edward Vll should have been replaced with an Australian Head of State.

Just bizarre that this has not been done.

[Basil B]

Know a few Aussies worthy of the title Dame...

[Publicus]

Can't help but think of Bogart who said they'll always be a lot of dames around anywhere you go. A dime a dozen nights especially.

I suppose Australia will be come a republic once they stop using the word fortnight which might be sometime next century if ever. Even Canadians I know don't use fortnight and they are profoundly hard core loyalists.

One of the zillion Aussies I know here in the former LOS once said USA and Oz have a lot in common so I had to disabuse him on the point of the War of Independence which always has been inconceivable down under in the lucky country (even more so in Canada).

(It's a bit off topic but I still cite the Brits for requiring in their N American colonies (ca 1650-1770) that everyone have a rifle so the Crown could save on policing and law expenses, whereas in Oz the Brits did no such thing. In Canada the French used their army instead of leaving self-protection to the individual.)

[WitawatWatawit]

Shame. Sir Bruce has a certain ring to it ....

[up2u2]

I was always extremely impressed with Australia's Cultural Attaché Sir Les Patterson.

[Basil B]

Hopefully dropping the Queen as head of state will be next

I am sure the feelings will be mutual...

Having to travel around the world to some far flung outback territory seem something she does not care for nowadays.

[ozyjon]

Bring back ''bushrangers''

and ''pirates'' but only the

ones with a parrot on their

shoulder, and ''witches''

[Baerboxer]

Can't help but think of Bogart who said they'll always be a lot of dames around anywhere you go. A dime a dozen nights especially.

I suppose Australia will be come a republic once they stop using the word fortnight which might be sometime next century if ever. Even Canadians I know don't use fortnight and they are profoundly hard core loyalists.

One of the zillion Aussies I know here in the former LOS once said USA and Oz have a lot in common so I had to disabuse him on the point of the War of Independence which always has been inconceivable down under in the lucky country (even more so in Canada).

(It's a bit off topic but I still cite the Brits for requiring in their N American colonies (ca 1650-1770) that everyone have a rifle so the Crown could save on policing and law expenses, whereas in Oz the Brits did no such thing. In Canada the French used their army instead of leaving self-protection to the individual.)

Oz - a penal colony. Would you have allowed them all arms?

Aussie Immigration Officer: " Do you have a criminal record?"

Tourist: "Is one still required to come here then?"

[Gandtee]

Does this mean that Dame Edna Everidge will now become Mrs. Everidge?

[jesimps]

Good! Closely followed I hope by republic status. Be glad to be rid of the whining Aussie sods.

[Cats4ever]

Good! Closely followed I hope by republic status. Be glad to be rid of the whining Aussie sods.

Is it a coincidence that Britain's decline began & grew, as Oz took the cream of their people?

[Vandadavid]

Now Now boys play fair..... Kind Sir please extend me your wallet and sit the <deleted> down