On the 8th June 2020, the Governor-General announced the Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List, recognising 933 Australians. Included on this list is Corporal Matthew James Williams, who has received an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his service to the community through brain cancer awareness initiatives.
He is also the youngest recipient of the award this year.
“I’ve known for a few months about this award, and in the beginning was unsure if I was going to accept it. No-one does this for recognition or medals it is nice to know that the work we’ve done is noticed, and although it may have my name on the honour roll it belongs to all that have supported me. I’ll be awarded the physical medal once COVID restrictions lift, and we can go to a pub a celebrate together.”
Included in the list are:
- 710 recipients of awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia (3 AC, 50 AO, 200 AM and 457 OAM)
- 28 recipients of awards in the Military Division of the Order of Australia (3 AO, 12 AM and 13 OAM); and
- 128 meritorious awards.
“In this list, we see all the positives that are in our community – we see the great ideas, we see the hard work, we see the love and compassion for fellow human beings – it’s a microcosm of Australia,” the Governor-General said.
“This list recognises a group of outstanding Australians who have made a contribution to their community, to Australia globally or domestically. Their efforts have been noted by their peers, they’ve been nominated and assessed independently as worthy of recognition.