Alan Jones’ comments about Julia Gillard’s father dying of shame have disgusted the country — he should be stripped of his Order of Australia, says Peter Wicks.
ALAN JONES has disgusted most of the country with his comments about Julia Gillard’s father’s death.
His apology was rather hollow, unsurprisingly. Alan was quick to point out he thought it was a private function and his speech would not be made public. Like that makes it okay? He was also keen to mention that he had come under attack online from trolls; given his comments, I’m less than surprised.
In the Daily Telegraph‘s story on this disgraceful display of less than human behaviour, I was interested to note that, of the three MP’s named as being at the event, two were from my area.
Federal MP for Mitchell, Alex Hawke; and State MP for Hawkesbury and parliamentary secretary for Premier O’Farrell, Ray Williams, were both there to cheer Alan on and ensure the youth are indoctrinated.
Both of these men came under fire recently when the Hills Shire Mayor, Greg Burnett was forced to stand down over allegations of a $280,000 embezzlement. Although both denied that they knew of the allegations beforehand, Ray Hadley has gone on air calling Ray Williams, who had Burnett as his campaign manager, a disgrace and a liar. There is now there a defamation case on the matter.
I can confirm that eyewitnesses saw Burnett, Hawke and Williams at the Rendezvous Cafe the evening the embezzlement story hit the fan. Also, after speaking to several of the Liberal Councillors, I can safely say that if Hawke and Williams didn’t know of the allegations, they were the only sitting members of the Liberal Party in the area who didn’t know and every Councillor I have spoken to on the matter believes that they knew.
In fact, when the questions over this embezzlement, and the goings on within the Alex Hawke faction became too hard, both MP’s disappeared ― Williams, I’m told, fled the country. Almost as gutless as attacking someone over the death of a parent, but not quite.
This however, will give you an idea of the type of audience that thinks highly of Alan Jones and were keen to hear him speak at the $100 a head event.

Action items sold at the Young Liberals dinner, including the chaff-bag jacket, signed by Alan Jones — and then bought by him.
Anyway, I could have just done another post decrying Jones and his lack of any form of decency. After all, his previous statements that he regretted the chaff bag comments have been shown as utter crap, by his signing of a jacket made of chaff bags for auction to the depraved souls who think that it’s funny to endorse the assassination of a popularly elected leader.
Below is a link to a PDF of information concerning the Order Of Australia. It talks a lot of “service to fellow citizens’; I don’t understand how Jones’s comments and actions constitute any sort of service to our Prime Minister, or any other citizen.
Order Of Australia Information
Instead, I thought I’d make a plea to have something taken from him that may actually make him regret his actions and words ― his Order Of Australia.
Below is the open letter I have sent to The Secretary Of The Order Of Australia requesting Jones be stripped of his Order of Australia.
Let’s hope this produces a reaction.
Please also vote on this subject on my website.
LETTER TO ORDER OF AUSTRALIA COMMITTEE
Peter Wicks
PO Box 6362
Rouse Hill Town Centre
Rouse Hill NSW 2155
The Secretary
Order of Australia
Government House
Canberra, ACT 2600
I wish I were writing to you with better news, but whilst I am sorry to have to bring something like this to your attention, I make no apologies for doing so, as I’m certain you will also see this as an important issue.
The awarding of an Order Of Australia to an individual is a hugely significant event. It is arguably the greatest honour that any Australian can be given, and it is something that is not just earned once. Recipients of this great honour have a responsibility to uphold the outstanding citizenship which this award represents. As long as somebody uses the initials after their name, they should be duty bound to to show respect to the title they have been awarded.
If somebody brings the award into disrepute, it should be taken from them, because the highest award given to Australians should be scandal free. After all, an Order Of Australia Award is bigger than any of its individual recipients.
Last week, one member of this exclusive club has brought the award into disrepute and cheapened the Order with his actions and words in the most public of manners.
The person I refer to is Alan Jones AO, a radio broadcaster.
I am unaware of how he came to be given an Order Of Australia, but frankly I don’t think it matters given his recent actions.
In the United States it is against the law to threaten the president, or to encourage their death, whether in public or private. If only that were the case in Australia.
Jones, on his radio breakfast show, has told his listeners that our elected Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, should be put into a chaff bag and dumped at sea. Despite public outrage at his words, Jones repeated his chaff bag comments on air again, this time putting the leader of the Greens Party, Bob Brown, in the chaff bag with her.
Last week, in what was the lowest point in political commentary this country has ever seen, Alan Jones did the unthinkable.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard recently mourned the loss her father, undoubtably one of the hardest and most heart wrenching things any person goes through. However, it would seem that not everybody has respect for others in these trying circumstances.
Alan Jones AO, made the conscious decision to announce during a speech to Young Liberals, at a political gathering, that he thinks Julia Gillard, our Prime Minister is a liar, and that her father had recently “died of shame” ― shame, Jones says, because his daughter is a liar. He then followed up by saying that the Liberals were weak for not using this method of attacking our Prime Minister, just because she is a woman.
Alan was also disrespectful enough to autograph a jacket made from chaff bags for auction at the event.
Clearly class is not a requirement for an Order Of Australia, and misogyny is smiled on.
If you were to ask people what it means to be Australian, I am confident that one of the most common answers would be mateship. The spirit of Australians, that has even rivals looking after each other when they are down. It is the spirit of the diggers, going through hell to help a fallen comrade.
Alan Jones has not displayed this sentiment at all; in fact he has shown quite the opposite, he has instead taken to putting the boot into somebody in the most cruel of manners when they are at their most vulnerable.
Put simply, Alan Jones, by his actions and words, has shown himself to be Un-Australian.
This week Alan Jones will continue to try and justify the unjustifiable to an utterly disgusted nation. All the while he will be referred to as Alan Jones AO.
I hope you will consider the future and past recipients of this most prestigious award, and agree that Alan Jones should be stripped of his Order Of Australia.
I thank you for taking this into consideration.
Yours Sincerely
Peter Wicks

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13 Comments
@MadWixxy reckons Alan Jones should be stripped of his AO. #AusPol http://t.co/ED7RtB5i
Strip Alan Jones of his AO, says Peter Wicks, who includes his letter to the Order of Australia committee. http://t.co/0WO6dQkn
Here here !!!
I’ll second wake up and happily sign the letter.
So glad you thought of this Peter, just shows what a great
Reporter you are. Thank you, Anne.
Hear! Hear! Peter. Alan Jones is a disgrace and those at the Liberal Party function who found humour in his comments are also a disgrace. The fact that their parliamentary leader Tony Abbott has avoided the media, choosing instead to release a very brief statement – a mere tap-on-the-wrist-comment, coupled with praise for Jones’ ‘apology’ – says a lot about HIS character (or lack of it) as well.
Abbott’s comment and praise for Jones’ apology, misses the most important fact: Jones did not apologise to the Prime Minister – he apologised to himself, for himself by himself – and provided verbal testimony to his wholesome, praiseworthy, exemplary and benevolent character.
The news conference was a character reference of Alan Jones seconded by Tony Abbott – IT WAS NOT A APOLOGY TO JULIA GILLARD??
Alan Jones wasn’t apologising for his disgraceful remarks about our Prime Minister and her family. He was apologising for getting caught making them. I hope Ms Gillard continues to refuse to take calls from the man, because quite frankly, he deserves to have his fauxpologies knocked back.
A genuine apology (for the sake of reference, and just in case Mr Jones happens to be reading this) contains the following things: firstly, it contains an acknowledgement of wrongdoing and harm caused; secondly, it contains contrition for having done wrong or caused harm; and thirdly, it contains a commitment on the part of the person making the apology not to repeat their action.
It doesn’t contain phrases like “I’m sorry if offence was caused” or “I thought it wouldn’t get out”. It isn’t about specific offences (“I won’t repeat that particular statement again… although you’ll note I’ve carefully left lots of room for making other, even more offensive statements”) but rather about a generalised trend of behaviour.
Most importantly: a genuine apology is freely offered by the offending party without obligation. It isn’t made under duress, and it doesn’t require the acceptance of the wounded party in order to be valid.
However such a man as this was awarded an order which has Honour in its description amazes me. He should be in prison for disgracing the Australian people and the honour system.
But then if it looks like it, smells like it, has the same consistency as it and tastes like it. Then i suppose it is it.
Alan Jones is a big piece of it.
There might be some gratification in having Jones stripped of his AO. He certainly doesn’t deserved such an honour, and his having one makes it less of an honour to those who deserve better.
But better than such gratification is watching as Jones makes plain, even to his own audience, what a perfidious prat he is. It’s much more fun to see people who were once under his thrall turn away from him in distaste.
That’s what I want to see.
And no, I don’t want to see Jones apologise. It means nothing to him. Why should it mean anything to the nominal apologee?
good idea and great letter. jones has also besmirched all other deserving recipients of this award, because as far as i can see, AO seems to stand for Arse-’Ole.
Well said Pete your on top of your game.
A wonderful reporter I’m proud to support IA.
Why is taking this AO back taking so long.
He shamed our PM and her mother and sister what more do you need.
Do it now.
Liberals are going down the tube fast and they did it all by themselves.
Big Al’s apology has added another issue that should be exposed, Julia Gillard should now be feeling ‘guilty’ of causing Alan Jones ‘Old Man” posthumous distress for exposing him to public accountabillity??
Meanwhile Alan Jones is under pressure to make a public apology after a court upheld a ruling that he incited hatred and vilified Lebanese Muslims in on-air comments made in the lead-up to the Cronulla riots. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-02/tribunal-rules-alan-jones-incited-hatred/4292052
Why do we allow Honours to decorate those with no honour?