In a move that, in all honesty, should have already been made, controversial writer and social/political commentator Bettina Arndt’s recently bestowed Order of Australia medal will come under review after her abhorrent remarks in the wake of the murders of Queensland mother Hannah Clarke and her three children.
No stranger to having her misogynistic and downright vulgar personal views being questioned, it seems that Arndt was determined to sink to an all new low when she came out this past week in defence of the former lead detective of the investigation, Mark Thompson.
Thompson is said to have stepped down from the case after receiving nationwide backlash against his comments that he would remain open-minded during the investigation, and consider the possibility that the crime may have been committed due to a man being pushed “too far”.
Arndt, ever the provocateur, and quite frankly, someone who should have never have been bestowed with a national honour such as an Order of Australia medal in the first place, thought she would jump in on the conversation and took to her Twitter page to class the backlash as “misplaced outrage”.
Congratulations to the Queensland police for keeping an open mind and awaiting proper evidence, including the possibility that Rowan Baxter might have been “driven too far.” But note the misplaced outrage. How dare police deviate from the feminist script of seeking excuses…
— Bettina Arndt (@thebettinaarndt) February 20, 2020
If inciting public disapproval and causing mass outrage are the reasons Bettina Arndt gets out of bed and goes to work in the morning, she should book her annual leave and call it a wrap on 2020, because surely she will not be able to top this.
Upon the tweet’s vile descent into the public sphere, thousands called the writer out on her disgusting use of the tragic event to further promote her agenda, with 48,000 people at time of writing having signed a change.org petition to have her Order of Australia medal revoked.
Arndt’s tweet also stirred backlash from individuals on both sides of the political spectrum. Coalition MPs Luke Howarth and Dave Sharma, along with Labor MPs Catherine King and Peter Khalil have all publicly condemned Arndt in the wake of the scandal.
However, it was a moves from Liberal MP Tim Smith, Senator Sarah Henderson and Victorian Attorney General Jill Hennessy that have placed Arndt’s current ‘honour’ in hot water, as they took their disapproval of her comments a step further, writing to the Governor-General’s office to request that she be stripped of her Order of Australia.
Today, the Governor-General’s office confirmed that it had received these requests and thus would be referring the case to an independent review board, where Bettina Arndt’s medal would be decided upon. Speaking with the AAP, the office stated that,
“In all matters relating to the Order of Australia, the Governor-General acts on advice from and recommendations made by the Council for the Order of Australia. Following this standard process, the Governor-General has referred correspondence in relation to the appointment of Ms Arndt to the council.”
There’s no word yet as to how long this review process may take or when the findings will be released to the public, however we will be sure to keep you updated as this story develops.
Featured Image Source: Studio 10 (Ten Network)