Tag: Order of Australia
“Celebrating our Marvellous Alumni” – Balwyn High School
Dear BHS Alumni
Our determination to shine a spotlight on our marvellous alumni throughout 2023 has resulted in your amazing stories that we have shared with the BHS and wider communities. Thank you for allowing us to do so and thank you for inspiring our students with your careers and achievements.
As a way of recording our stories we have created a Semester One poster which we are sharing to our social media.
It has come up a treat and I wanted you to have a copy.
Thank you again.
Deborah Harman
Principal
Balwyn High School
Balwyn High School’s celebration of IDAHOBIT 2023 recognises Class of ’86 graduate Michael Barnett
Thirty-seven years ago I graduated from Balwyn High School’s Year 12 class of 1986. I left the school with mixed memories.
On the one hand I came away with a fine appreciation for maths and science, made a lifelong friend, and passed my HSC with decent results that got me into college.
On the other hand I had been the victim of homophobic bullying and torment throughout my time there, and suffered greatly as a result of it, and of my fear of being gay. The school had no support for gay students, at least that I was aware of. It was a topic that simply wasn’t spoken about.
I am thrilled beyond belief to find that in 2023 my alma mater not only supports gay students but is committed to providing a safe, nourishing and inclusive space for all LGBTQI+ students.
When invited to submit a contribution for their Lion newsletter on the occasion of receiving my Order of Australia, I had no idea it would be intentionally included to time with IDAHOBIT Day on May 17.
Students at Balwyn High are most fortunate to have a school environment that values diversity, particularly under the leadership of Principal Deborah Harman.
Thank you Balwyn High School.
Our Alumni Spotlights continue – Malcolm Speed AO and Michael Barnett OAM
This week we feature international sporting administrator, Malcolm Speed, who was inducted into the Sport Hall of Achievement in 2012, and Michael Barnett, who was recently awarded an OAM in the New Year’s Honours List. The spotlight on Michael deliberately coincides with this week’s celebrations for IDAHOBIT Day that we marked on Wednesday.
Both Malcolm and Michael are marvellous ambassadors for our school community, and we congratulate them for the impact they have made in their careers. I hope you enjoy reading their stories.
Deborah Harman | Principal
(See pages 2, 6 and 18-19 in this edition of The Lion)
20230518-BHS-The-Lion-Edition-7[PDF]
Order of Australia Investiture
Being presented with my Order of Australia medal at Government House (April 3 2023):
[PDF]
Order of Australia – media coverage
| Name | Mr Michael Nathan BARNETT |
| Award | Medal of the Order of Australia |
| Post-Nominal | OAM |
| Date Granted | 26th of January, 2023 |
| State | VIC |
| Suburb | Ashwood |
| Postcode | 3147 |
| Citation | For service to the LGBTQI community. |
January 25 2023
- Australian Jewish News: Mazal tov to our honourees
- The Guardian: Australia Day 2023 honours for elder abuse law trailblazer, Indigenous activist and a fossil hunter
- The Age: Australia Day 2023 Honours: Full list
- J-Wire: 2023 Australia Day Awards: The Jewish Recipients
- SBS News: More women, multicultural and diverse recipients in Australia Day Honours List
January 26 2023
- Triple M: Australia Day 2023 Honours List
- QNews: LGBT+ advocates recognised with Order of Australia
- OUTinPerth: Australia Day Honours highlights well-known and everyday Australians
- Star Observer: Order Of Australia Honours For LGBT Advocates David Polson, Michael Barnett And Rebecca Johnson
February 8 2023
- ABC Radio Nightlife: LGBTQI Trailblazers: Recipients of the Order of Australia
March 13 2023
- Governor-General – The Order of Australia – Recipient Profiles: Michael Barnett OAM
March 25 2023
- JOY Saturday Magazine: Saturday 25th March 2023: Michael Barnett, LGBTIQ+ OAM recipient, Aleph Melbourne
Media Release: Australia Day Honours for Michael Barnett
Australia Day 2023 honours for elder abuse law trailblazer, Indigenous activist and a fossil hunter | The Guardian
What do Cardinal George Pell and Rabbi Ronald Lubofsky have in common?
Two distinguished religious leaders who hid the child sexual abuse they perpetrated as they oppressed sexual minorities throughout their lives.
What do Rabbi Emeritus Ronald Lubofsky AM and His Eminence Cardinal George Pell AC have in common?
Both appointed to the Order of Australia.
Both revered in their religious circles.
Both vehemently opposed to homosexuality and sexual immorality.
Both sexually abused / predated on young boys.
Pell pulled out his penis and approached the other boy, grabbing his head.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/26/five-times-guilty-how-george-pells-child-abusing-past-caught-up-with-him-in-courtroom-43
The complainant asked Pell, “Can you let us go? We didn’t do anything.”
“I could see his [the boy’s] head being lowered towards his [Pell’s] genitalia,” the complainant recalled. “Then he sort of started squirming, he was struggling. His head was being controlled and it was down near archbishop Pell’s genitals. I was no more than a couple of metres away.”
This took place for about a minute or two. Pell stopped and turned to the complainant.
“And then he put his penis into my mouth. Archbishop Pell was standing, he was erect, and he pushed it into my mouth. He instructed me to undo my pants and take off my pants, and I did that. And then he started touching my genitalia. Archbishop Pell was touching himself on his penis with his other hand.”
When it was over the complainant, in shock, pulled up his pants. The boys left the room and tried to rejoin the procession before returning their robes.
About a month later, again after Sunday solemn mass, Pell passed the complainant in a corridor of the church and attacked. He pushed the boy against a wall and forcefully squeezed his genitals through his choir robes.
“Nothing was said,” the complainant said. “It was all within a matter of seconds.”
The world can now know that a little over 20 years ago, in Pell’s first months as archbishop of Melbourne, this scourge of sex was forcing choirboys to suck his penis.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/26/brutal-and-dogmatic-george-pell-waged-war-on-sex-even-as-he-abused-children
It was alleged by two men in 2012 that the late Rabbi Emeritus Ronald Lubofsky AM of St Kilda Synagogue masturbated in front of them during their bar mitzvah lessons in the 1970s and 1980s. These men would have been 12 or 13 years old boys at the time. So far neither of these men have gone public with the details of this sexual abuse.
https://mikeybear.com.au/2018/01/08/rabbi-emeritus-ronald-lubofsky-am-child-sexual-predator
Members of the board of St Kilda Synagogue were made aware of these allegations at the time they arose.