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2009/02: Should former Prime Minister John Howard have received the Medal of Freedom?





Introduction to the media issue

Video clip at right: a BBC report on the award of the Medal of Freedom to John Howard at the White House
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What they said...

'He never wavered in his support for liberty, and free institutions, and the rule of law as the true and hopeful alternatives to ideologies of violence and repression. He's a man of honesty and moral clarity. He can make a decision, he can defend it, and he stands his ground'
Part of the speech made by President George W Bush on awarding former Prime Minister John Howard the Medal of Freedom

'I find it ironic that a prime minister who has locked children up in detention [and]who has refused to apologise to the stolen generations... is given a medal for human rights and freedom'
Greens  Senator Sarah Hanson-Young

The issue at a glance
On January 14, 2009, former Australian prime minister John Howard was presented with the Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian award, in a ceremony in the United States capitol.
Mr Howard, Colombian President, Alvaro Uribe, and former British prime minister, Tony Blair, were each given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by United States President, George W Bush, as three foreign leaders who have been among his most loyal partners on the world stage.
The awards were made one week before President Bush left office.
Mr Howard's receipt of the award was criticised by a number of commentators in Australia as inappropriate and partisan.  The Greens, in particular, argued that aspects of the policies pursued by the Howard Government represented an attack on civil liberties and so made Mr Howard an unsuitable recipient of the award. Others defended Mr Howard's suitability for the award.  President Bush stipulated the basis for the award being given Mr Howard during the ceremony within which he conferred it.
Mr Howard's award attracted peripheral controversy in the United States as Mr Howard and his wife were accommodated in Washington DC at Blair House, the residence traditionally made available to the president elect.  The Howards' occupancy meant the Obamas were not able to use the residence at the time they requested.