Cate McGregor apologises for “weak” selection comments of Australian of the Year winner

Cate McGregor apologises for “weak” selection comments of Australian of the Year winner
Image: Catherine McGregor. Photo: Australian of the Year Awards

UPDATE: Cate McGregor has apologised to the National Australia Day Council and David Morrison and withdrew her remarks in a series of tweets. [See below.]

TRANS advocate and 2016 Australian of the Year finalist Cate McGregor believes the new Australian of the Year, David Morrison, has a lot to learn when it comes to LGBTI issues.

Lieutenant General Morrison was awarded the nation’s top honour on the night before Australia Day for being a diversity champion and his commitment to gender equality in the Australian Defences Force (ADF).

[showads ad=MREC] In 2012, the former army chief also refused to accept McGregor’s resignation when she decided to transition and encouraged her to remain in the Army.

Despite his win, McGregor — who was named Queensland Australian of the Year — believes he has a way to go in understanding LGBTI issues. However, she said she was willing to work with him to develop his knowledge.

“He’s on a steep learning curve when it comes to LGBTI and trans issues, he needs to learn a lot and rapidly,” McGregor told the Star Observer.

In media interviews following his win, McGregor said Morrison “dead-named” her — referring to McGregor by her former male name — and used the wrong pronouns but she does not believe it was malicious.

“It shows a lack of skill on trans issues, he didn’t do intentionally… but that showed a clunkiness he needs to learn,” she said.

While she congratulated Morrison on winning the top honour and said he would do a good job in living up to it, McGregor felt sad she wasn’t named Australian of the Year not only for herself but for the wider trans community.

“I felt sad for two reasons, one was I like to win things,” she said.

“I felt really sad that they (National Australia Day Council) did not have the courage to go with an LGBTI person.

“I thought it was time… it was a weak and conventional choice.

“I think I’ll die without seeing a trans Australian of the Year and I think that’s terribly sad.”

Looking forward, McGregor will move into her trans advocacy role on a full-time basis after informing the ADF that she will be retiring.

“I have found it difficult to manage my day job and so I decided to go full-time with advocacy and community work,” she said.

“I want to do justice to my Queenslander of the Year role.

“I got allocated that state and I feel an obligation to Queensland generally and to LGBTIQ people in that state.”

Shortly after the news broke of her comments about the National Australia Council, McGregor took to Twitter to apologise to both the board and Morrison in a series of tweets:

Other LGBTI people to receive an honour on Australia Day was Sydney-based community advocate Bruce Pollack, who was named a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the community in the areas of social welfare and public health.

Pollack told J-Wire the award was “a wonderful recognition of the work I have done within and for the gay community”.

The founder of the Australian Defence Force’s LGBTI personnel group, DEFGLIS, Warrant Officer Stuart O’Brien, was also awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his long standing meritorious services to the Navy.

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19 responses to “Cate McGregor apologises for “weak” selection comments of Australian of the Year winner”

  1. Will Mattel ever release a trans barbie with detachable features along with a chunky Barbie & a skinny pale Ken for a truly inclusive range of dolls

    • No the ACL would not like that! I would personally like that good idea, and to immediately pass the marriage equality bill – just to piss the ACL off!

  2. As an “Oldie” I well remember during the 1950, 60s, 70s 80s and beyond the publicity given to the practices of “Hazing, Bastardisation, Bullying, Mental, Physical and Sexual Abuse which we were told had been part and parcel of ADF campuses for not just decades but generations.
    Junior Cadets were regularly picked on by Senior Cadets during their first year at those campuses.
    More recently one young man reported that he had been sexually abused, sodomised, was forced to perform Oral Sex on a Senior Cadet and as a final indignity he had been again sodomised but this time by a Senior Cadet using a broom handle. Instead of the Top Brass – all of whom had begun their ‘careers’ as Junior, then Senior Cadets and had advanced through the ranks – defending this young man they denigrated him, insulted him and accused him of lying, he was “not military material”.
    Whenever we see one of those Top Brass people parading around, being self-important, covered in Gold Braid and their chests adorned in more Campaign Ribbons than a despotic South American Dictator we ask ourselves just what roles did they play in this Culture of Sadism within the ADF.
    It was not until the ADF opened it’s doors wide to women that we heard anything from The Brass and then it was only to condemn the behaviour of some males against women – both within and outside the ADF.
    The abuse of males within the ADF continues to be swept under the carpet by those former Senior Cadets.
    Hypocrites.
    People should be appointed Australian of the Year as a result of their actual contribution to Australia and the World in general. After all those in the ADF, Judiciary, Public Service, Politicians get extremely well paid to do the job they are now being rewarded for, in some cases only allegedly, doing.

  3. The whole world has gone mad! The Daily Telegraph is now comparing her to Mitchell Pearce, now Australia you have all gone completely bonkers!

  4. Get over yourselves, yes she did the wrong thing. We all say stupid things when we have a few sherries’ on our National day. Lets not get distracted by this! Can we just focus now on the rest of 2016 and hopefully really focus on marriage equality, a Republic, PREP and changing both SA and QLD laws on adoption equality! Lets focus on the positive things this year and boycott this referendum on marriage equality! Come on Australia, we can do this! I really hope the Greens will get in and have the balance of power. The 2 big political parties of Labor and Liberal are corrupt and delay and procrastinates on marriage equality!

  5. The part of me that’s skeptical and disappointed about what Group Captain (retiring) McGregor had to say is inclined to suggest that a woman who was born and raised a woman would almost certainly be more gracious in defeat, as Elizabeth Broderick was.

    The ‘I don’t like to lose’ sulk smacks of ADF hyper-masculinity, as does the highly qualified apology. When only one can be picked from nine, eight others lose.

    How one handles defeat all comes down to character. Broderick sees the ‘big picture’, I’m sure: the issues both she and Morrison care about will be heard, and maybe more straight men will listen because it’s Morrison speaking.

    The part of me that’s more optimistic says it probably will happen in Cate’s lifetime that someone from our little alphabet soup community will be the AOTY.

    I hope it’s recognition for a lifetime of good works, not just for dodging the issue for most of his or her adult life, then coming out in a blaze of glory and expecting a standing ovation and three curtain calls when the hardest yards have been done long since by others.

    I’d feel your pain, Cate, if you’d have come out as transgender in the 1980s or 90s, when the ADF didn’t accept it, and then when they tried to dismiss you for your difference, you’d have courageously fought them all the way to the HREOC like an anonymous, dismissed lesbian reservist did in 1991.

    Her courage and tenacity resulted in the Keating government repealing the ban on gay men and lesbians serving in Defence. She’s the one who opened the door for you to serve as transgender. Have you ever sent a silent prayer of thanks to her? If she’s continued being as courageous, perhaps we should nominate that unknown lesbian soldier for AOTY for 2017.

  6. That’s a poor apology. Why compromise its value by restating your reservations? Cate’s need for validation runs very deep. It’s a shame she publicly criticised her staunchest supporter schooled by none other than herself.
    I believe David will be more successful in addressing LGBTI issues.

  7. COURAGE…. To you Cate. I say it was a WEAK choice to choose your (wonderfully supportive) boss. I was sad as you were pitted AS IF against each other. Hats off to you both. You who have been wonderfully courageous. SELECTION was about “Choosing Weakly” …. These are only human attempts to see society through difficult pursuits towards Civility & Inclusion …. They are hard won and don’t come easy or sometimes, without risk or occasionally even embarrassment.
    & Christmas Eve service at Sydney Town Hall… 2015 the ESSENCE of courage civility …inclusion. You have given so much to so MANY.

  8. So over the ‘tranny’ issue. There a people out there with real issues. These are people who hold down jobs, a lot of the time deceive their partners and children and eventually come ‘out’ to live their lives while the destruction is left in their wake.
    I agree, this award is for people like the ‘ young Australian’ boys who help the homeless. They concentrate on others not on themselves.

  9. If in the next 200 years there is not a transgender recipient then we might suspect bias. Since there is no basis to assume that transgender people are more or less worthy of the award than non transgender people then we should expect the award to be distributed more or less in proportion to their percentage of the population. Same with women, indigenous persons, left handed men etc. etc. etc.

  10. It’s the *person* and what they’ve done who deserves such awards, not someone simply because of their identity. Tokenism does nobody any true favours; additionally, it’s condescending to that identity-group, and dilutes the *real* strengths that that group has gained *without* tokenism. Thankfully, Cate apologised. Nevertheless, the humbleness that I’ve seen so far from David Morrison, and the inclusiveness that he’s shown pre- and post-award, wins hands down with me; prior to this ‘sour-grapes’ comment from Cate, I would have seen her as an *equal* contender with David.

  11. I’m gay myself but you are way off the mark Cate…. and bordering on stupidity to be frank.

    Selecting someone for an award is sexism at the other end. We all should aim to live in a society where everyone gets a fair go regardless of gender, sexual preference and race….

  12. Cate, sorry but get over yourself, you made a personal choice to live as your authentic self, good for you, happy for you, but this does not make you worthy of being Australian of the year, not everyone is obsessed with whatever gender you choose to be, sour grapes big time