If, even for a moment, you’ve ever questioned why exactly this country gives out Australian Of The Year awards and what calibre of human deserves the honour, check out this incomplete (!) list of Rosie Batty’s good deeds done after being awarded last year:
- As part of her campaign against the scourge of family violence, she was instrumental in releasing an app that instantly and discreetly educates women about the warning signs of abuse;
- She called out the government for their apparent lack of funding and support for victims of family violence;
- Following that, she also advocated for children in off-shore detention after rape allegations, and called for the centres to be shut down;
- Batty was at the forefront when Malcolm Turnbull & Co. started “walking the walk” with a $100M funding boost;
- And Miranda Devine was systematically shut down after Batty tore one of her inflammatory, counter-intuitive columns to shreds.
As Australia Day draws near, bringing with it a new Australian Of The Year recipient, social media is giving Batty another round of applause for raising the national level of rhetoric around family violence in 2015.
The specifics vary, but the core message is simple: #ThankYouRosieBatty.
#ThankYouRosieBatty for bringing Domestic Violence out of the closet so it can be discussed and more importantly dealt with.
— Unfortunate Noely (@YaThinkN) January 12, 2016
Your courage to speak out, share your story and challenge the status quo, will save lives.
It probably already has.
— Aus Women’s Health (@AWHealthNetwork) January 12, 2016
#ThankYouRosieBatty For your inspirational leadership, for making people listen, for your strength. Looking forward to the continued journey
— Kit McMahon (@kitmcmahon) January 12, 2016
#ThankYouRosieBatty for your ongoing work and passion towards eliminating violence against women and their children
— Julie Oberin (@Julie_Oberin) January 12, 2016
#thankyourosiebatty. Your booming voice broke through the veil of silence in 2016. The chorus grows every day. pic.twitter.com/Mvu3nbtBkq
— christina hobbs (@Christina_ACT) January 12, 2016
#ThankYouRosieBatty for using your own heartbreaking loss to achieve so much good. I’m in awe of your strength #VAW #domesticviolence
— Rebecca Zosel (@rzosel) January 12, 2016
After all that, some are asking one final question:
Is it possible to make someone Australian of the Year twice in a row? #ThankYouRosieBatty #AnythingisPossible
— Hollie (@hollie_doar) January 12, 2016
Still, if our newly-nominated peak Aussie is equally as stellar in 2016, we might just be alright.
Photo: Stefan Postles / Getty / Twitter.
