Hi everyone

It's been almost a week since I started this petition and we have just reached the 9,000 mark.  Thank you for all your incredible support.

I will mention there are numerous other petitions swirling around on this issue. One in particular that I'd like to mention that came out the day the gag order was revoked (which just happened to be the day after I set up this petition) is freelance writer Amy Gray's petition which now has over 100,000 supporters! I'm envious of her social media reach but congratulate her for adding more pressure on the Order of Australia to act.

I will note that our Prime Minister has indicated that he will not support our calls for Pell to be stripped of his Australian Honours until Pell's appeals process has been completed.

As a lawyer, I respect that the legal process does need to run its course. However, once a defendant has been convicted of the crimes he was accused of, he no longer has the right to the presumption of innocence.  He is now at this point-in-time a convicted paedophile. (If he appeals, the appeals will focus on issues of law and not of fact.) This means the Governor-General can act to strip Pell of his honours immediately.

Now, by convention, the Governor-General only acts on advice from the Prime Minister, the Federal Executive Council (the cabinet) and sometimes the Parliament. However, it is unclear whether this "convention" applies to his role as Chancellor of the Order of Australia (it has certainly never been legally tested). By convention, the Order is supposed to operate "on the principles of independence and freedom from political patronage", which would suggest that the Governor-General can act independently in his role as Chancellor of the Order and hence strip Pell of his Honours.

I would also argue that the Council of the Order of Australia can (and must) act now to strip Pell of his honours, since he has already brought the Order into disrepute given the evidence provided to the Royal Commission. They do not need to wait for orders from anyone from the Government or Parliament with regards to their powers.

So, please don't believe Scott Morrison when he says we must wait for the appeals process to run its course. we do not have to wait. Morrison or the Council can act right now.