Knight Hood still getting mileage

“‘Secret’ Prince Philip knight deal sees the light” headlines this article by Sarah Martin

Asked by the journalist to say something negative about the award Penny Wong simply gets it wrong.

Labor senator Penny Wong said Mr Abbott had for months “secretly planned” to appoint Prince Philip as a knight.

“He kept that plan a secret from his colleagues and the Australian people,” she said. “No wonder he has lost the confidence of two thirds of his backbench and many of his ministerial colleagues.”

Penny obviously doesn’t understand the Honours system. The awards are always kept secret from the public until Australia Day.  They are Australia Day awards, not New Years Day awards, or Christmas Awards or awards that should be announced whenever Penny thinks they should. A comment from the article underlines the reality.

Canada and New Zealand both gave Prince Phillip their highest honours in 2013.  Australia was dragging the chain and a reasonable perception was that we were backward.  At Phillip’s age honours are largely a thank you for what he’s done in the past and general respect.  But Australia can’t do that, can we?  We’re too petty.

Between the Left wing Luvvies, Royalty haters and the Republican movement in general, what was a standard award for long and valuable service to the Commonwealth, particularly the hundreds of thousands of young people who have benefited from the Duke of Edinburgh awards, has turned poison. Anything to beat up a conservative PM.