Michael Pezzullo confirms he has been stripped of Order of Australia honour
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The news: Former Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo has confirmed his Order of Australia honour has been stripped by the governor-general.
The context: Pezzullo was sacked last November after an independent review found he breached the code of conduct over the more than 1000 text messages he sent former Liberal Party powerbroker Scott Briggs.
He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2020 Queens Birthday Honours for distinguished services to public administration through leadership roles in the areas of national security, border control and immigration.
A process has been under way for months to strip Pezzullo's AO, which can be done so if a person has behaved or acted in a manner that has brought disrepute on the order in the opinion of the governor-general.
In a statement sent to Capital Brief, Pezzullo said the people who made the decision "believe presumably that it is a just and fair one", but that the nation needed to focus on "far more pressing and serious matters".
What they said: "With wars underway around the world, and more likely to break out, possibly in the Pacific, with rising intolerance and anger in public debate, with many people struggling to make ends meet, and many other problems besides, being stripped of my official honour does not amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world," Pezzullo said.
"Those who recommend and make these decisions believe presumably that it is a just and fair one.
"As a nation, we need to focus urgently on far more pressing and serious matters.
"In any event, I was blessed over 37 years to be able to work with, and eventually lead, so many patriotic, talented, and largely unknown Australians who work day and night to keep us safe. That was honour enough for me."
