Catherine McGregor says........................

FORMER chief of army Lieutenant General David Morrison was a disastrous choice as Australian of the Year and the award should now be abolished. So says Queensland Australian of the Year Catherine McGregor, a transgender former army and RAAF officer who served under Lt Gen Morrison. Ms McGregor, from Toowoomba, revealed she offered to hand back her award after being snubbed by the State Government. “I should never have accepted the nomination,” she said. “I feel I was used as a pawn in a social activist experiment. “They always knew they would give it to Morrison. They wanted to keep me alive so I could be on the stage with him.” Ms McGregor said she was part of a “trendy little experiment” to be seen to be promoting diversity. Catherine McGregor. She said Lt Gen Morrison’s “bungling” of the “Jedi Council” sex scandal made him an unsuitable recipient for the award which had now “passed its use-by date”. Ms McGregor was also insulted not to be given any official duties by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. “In the middle of the year I ­offered to step down,” she said. “I have had no contact whatsoever from the Government of Queensland or the Queensland Australia Day Committee. “Everything I have done as Queensland Australian of the Year has been paid for either by charities who have engaged me or paid for out of my own pocket.” Lt Gen Morrison shot to fame after a 2013 speech on sexual harassment in response to the sex scandal went viral. He was criticised earlier this year for his suggestion that the term “guys” no longer be used in the workplace, as it was a masculine term that could be seen as disrespectful. Ms McGregor said Lt Gen Morrison was pandering to the media and overreacted to the outcry. The case took a twist in the Senate this week when Jacqui Lambie also called Lt Gen Morrison to apologise for wrongly accusing a senior army officer of involvement in the Jedi Council sex scandal. Ms McGregor said Lt Gen Morrison had “damaged the awards and damaged himself”. She accepted she may be seen as a bad loser. “I believe my reservations about his appointment have been vindicated,” she said. “I don’t believe it is too strong a word to say that he has been a disaster for the Australian of the Year. “He has made a fool of himself and he has damaged both the brand of Australian of the Year and he has damaged the respect Australians hold for their men in uniform.” Lt Gen Morrison declined to comment.