Member (AM) of the Order of Australia appointee, Walter Mikac, says it’s his wife Nanette – killed in the Port Arthur massacre – who really deserves the honour.

January 26, 2018

Walter Mikac says it’s his murdered wife Nanette, who died along with the couple’s two young daughters in the Port Arthur massacre 21 years ago, who deserves his Australia Day honour.

“It belongs to Nanette in some ways, for standing up to the gunman and pleading for our kids’ lives,” Mr Mikac tells AAP.

Mr Mikac’s daughters Alannah and Madeline were aged six and three when Martin Bryant gunned them down in April 1996, along with their 36-year-old mother, and 32 other people.

On Friday, he was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for his work to protect children and as a gun control advocate following his family’s murder.

“When you know she [Nanette] was able to do that, then I can keep going, I can try and make things better,” Mr Mikac told AAP.

Mr Mikac’s advocacy and personal loss contributed to the Howard government’s swift introduction of uniform gun laws across the country.

“That we don’t have automatic firearms is incredible, and the beauty of that is we haven’t had a mass shooting since”.

His daughters’ deaths also led to the creation of a charity – the Alannah and Madeline Foundation – in 1997.

The foundation works to protect children through programs aimed at cyberbullying and domestic violence.

Mr Mikac is proud of what’s been achieved since Port Arthur, and that his family is remembered because of this work.

But there is a tinge of sadness that comes with the Australia Day honour, he says.

“There is definitely a bittersweet edge to the honour but if it continues to help peoples’ awareness of gun safety and domestic violence and helping our children be safe, then I’m very proud to have received it,” he said.

Mr Mikac believes the discussion about changing the date of the national day is “political correctness gone mad”.

“It’s a day to celebrate Australia whether you’re indigenous or not,” he said.

“Yes, things have happened with the Aboriginal people but I think it’s a case of living with respect for each other and making it work, rather than more decisiveness about a day – a day to celebrate.”

Mr Mikac said Australia Day should not only celebrate Aboriginal culture but could also focus on reconciliation.