Australia Day honours HIV achievers

From the February 2003 issue of Positive Living • By Paul Kidd

PLWHA Victoria President John Daye has received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2003 Australia Day Honours List.

Daye, recognised for his community work as an advocate for people with HIV/AIDS since 1996, expressed his appreciation at receiving the honour. “I am very proud that I’ve been acknowledged like this but I would never have been able to do what I’ve done without the tremendous support I’ve had,” he told Positive Living.

The award also comes as a somewhat humbling reminder: “One of the things that has been driving me has been that I lost a lot of friends, so in some way I feel lucky to be alive,” he said.

Also included in the honours list for their work in the HIV/AIDS field were clinical immunologist Dr David Cooper (AO), social researcher Doreen Rosenthal (AO), sexual health physician Dr David Plummer (AM), and ACON CEO Stevie Clayton (OAM).

Daye said the honours recognised the enormous commitment of people in the HIV/AIDS sector. “It’s more than a job for people who work in this field so the awards recognise that people go above and beyond the call of duty,” he said.

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This article was first published in February 2003 - more than five years ago.

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