About 2,000 people every year receive Queen’s Birthday and Invasion Day honours, awarded by a private organisation. They comprise a hierarchy of gongs! At the top you have the Companion of the Order of Australia medal. Tony Abbott, no less, received this honour last week. This is the man who tried to privatise Medicare. You also have philanthropists in the mix, those tax-evading individuals granting charity to the 'deserving poor', along with has-been's and media celebrities.
There’s no way that you and I will ever be invited through that door. That's because we’re the type of people who make a difference, who rattle the cage. We are tenacious enough to struggle for decades to make the kind of changes those in power don’t like. So why would they bother honouring us?
The ‘Reclaim the Radical Spirit of the Eureka Rebellion Celebrations’ committee solved this problem in 2005. We created the Eureka Australia medal. This is awarded to 6 Australians anually who, through their efforts, have made a real difference to the lives of ordinary Australians. These are people you’ll never hear about on the television or commercial radio. People who have struggled for decades to create an egalitarian community, looking after their communities, without receiving a gong or acknowledgement.
We don’t pick the nominees. That is up to you! We have an open nomination system. Nominations are now open and will close on the 3rd of November. Write a sentence or two about why you think your nominee deserves a Eureka Australia medal.
The parameters should be reflective of the Eureka oath: 'We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties'. This oath was sworn on the 29th of November 1854. Use this as your guide when thinking about your nominee.
We hand out the Eureka Australia Medal on the 3rd of December at Bakery Hill in Ballarat, at the very site the Eureka oath was sworn by the Eureka miners and their supporters.
Why should we let the elites decide who has contributed to Australian society? The upper echelon of the honours list always contains the same names, the same strata of society. Every year it’s the same, just in a different guise - the great business people, the corporate executives, the ex-politicians.
Let's honour someone who makes a real difference in your community.
EUREKA AUSTRALIA MEDAL
• Sick and tired of seeing the usual suspects pop up on the Invasion Day and Queen Lizzie’s Birthday Honours list?
• Never see anyone who has made a real difference, honoured?
DON’T DESPAIR – Nominate someone you believe embodies the spirit of the Eureka Oath which was sworn by miners and their supporters at Bakery Hill, Ballarat on the 29th November 1854.
SEND NOMINATIONS
Every year six Eureka Australia Medals (EAM) are awarded to outstanding Australian activists whose political or community activities reflect the principles embodied in the Eureka Oath –
“We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties”.
If you know somebody who should be recognised, not just those people who are well known, please contact me via either
Email: anarchistage@yahoo.com
Post:
Eureka Australia Medal
PO Box 20 Parkville, VIC 3052
with the following details:
1. The person’s name
2. A few sentences on why they should receive an EAM
3. A contact address for the person you have nominated (postal or email)
4. Include your name and contact details (postal, email or phone)
Only written nominations will be considered. You can nominate more than one person.
Nominations close 3rd November 2020.
See you in Ballarat on Thursday 3rd December 2020 to celebrate the 166th Anniversary of the Eureka Rebellion.
All the very best for the rest of this difficult year,
Dr. Joseph Toscano / Convenor Reclaim the Radical Spirit of the Eureka Rebellion Celebrations