Father John Tyson expresses his sincere appreciation
for publics support
Gold Coast, Queensland, September 9, 2015
- It has been confirmed by Government House, Queensland that Australian flood
hero Jordan Lucas Rice is to be awarded
a ‘Bravery Medal’. Jordan and his mother Donna lost their lives during flash
flooding which tore through the Queensland city of Toowoomba in January 2010.
An awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday 23 September 2015
at Government House, Brisbane.
In May 2014 a Change.org petition was
instigated by John Tyson appealing for Jordan to be formally recognised with
the Cross of Valour. To date 306,909 members of the public have signed the
petition in support of his plight. Mr. Tyson is very much aware that the
Bravery Medal was awarded only as a result of the strong public support as
previous third party nominations requesting that Jordan is suitably recognised for
his bravery had been flatly refused by the Australian Bravery Decorations
Council.
There are four grades of award made by the
Australian Bravery Decorations Council (ABDC). These awards commencing with the
highest, are:
- Cross of Valour (CV) - awarded
only for acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril
- Star of Courage (SC) - awarded
only for acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril
- Bravery Medal (BM) – awarded
for acts of bravery in hazardous circumstances
- Commendation for Brave Conduct
– awarded for other acts of bravery are considered worth of recognition
While Mr. Tyson understands that the BM has
been awarded under duress, he wishes to thank those that have supported him in
his quest to have Jordans sacrifice acknowledged:-
“On Wednesday 23 September 2015
and 4 and a half years after losing his life, Jordan will receive the first and
only form of formal recognition by way of a Bravery Medal (BM) as awarded by
the ABDC.
I would like to thank everyone across
Australia and beyond for taking the time out of their busy lives in order to
lend their support to the online petition calling for Jordan to be honored with
the Cross of Valour (CV). The petition
gained over 306,909 signatures and is the largest Change.org petition in
Australian history.
Tony Abbott had publicly likened Jordans
bravery to that of a modern day Simpson and Donkey, our Prime Minister wept in
Parliament and calls for Jordan to be awarded with the Cross of Valour echoed
across government and public forums it was apparent that that this was to be the only extent of their support.
The gap between social classes soon became
apparent. In what Mr. Abbott described as a ‘Captains call’ he knighted Prince
Philip and Angus Houston - my point being is that he could have intervened
however it seems that his previous statements in support of Jordan had been
lost. I instead found myself once again at the mercy of the Honours Council for
their consideration – some members of whom have vested interests in the very systems
and organisations that had failed a large number of flood victims during this
period.
I have chosen no to attend the official
awards ceremony as I do not believe that this is the time for shallow and
insincere back slapping. I instead wish for the mums, dads and children that
have battled with me to know that every phone call, letter, email and
nomination made this happen and that they are to take great pride in this achievement. Without their support, to this day Jordan
would not have been acknowledged for his sacrifice and bravery – for this I am,
and will always be eternally grateful."
John
Tyson
# #
#
If you would like more information about
this topic, please email at [email protected]
comments (206)
