Margaret Court’s sister ‘disgusted’ after Andrews condemns Australia Day award

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In a tweet later on Friday, Mr Andrews called her views disgraceful and bigoted. “Grand Slam wins don’t give you some right to spew hatred and create division. Nothing does,” he wrote.

Court’s sister, June Shanahan, told Sydney radio station 2GB on Saturday morning the criticism of her sister was unfair.

“She does Australia proud with her tennis and she worked hard to get where she got to,” Mrs Shanahan said.

Mrs Shanahan said that Court’s charity work included providing food to the needy through her Pentecostal church in Perth, where she has been a pastor for 25 years.

“These people that criticise her, especially the Premier of Victoria … I was disgusted with what he said,” he said.

“If he went over there to see what she did, he’d be regretting now what he said. It’s a credit to her, really, and there’s tonnes of food to go out to her church every day.”

Mrs Shanahan, a former radio producer, said people shouldn’t believe what they read about her sister in the newspapers and that some people were out to get her.

“It’s not as bad as what some people have made it out to be,” she said. “She’s a good woman and she helps a lot of people.”

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Court was the first woman to complete a singles grand slam during tennis’s open era, winning all four major tournaments in a calendar year. Her record of 24 major singles titles still stands, 48 years after her last match in 1973.

But the 78-year-old has drawn condemnation in recent years for her religious views, including claims that homosexuality was a choice and connected to “the devil”, and for her criticism of transgender athletes.

In an interview on a Christian radio station in 2017, Court said women’s tennis was “full of lesbians” and compared gay activism to policies of Nazi Germany.

Labor Health spokesman Chris Bowen weighed into the Australian Day honours debate on Saturday morning, and said a thorough explanation of the reasons for the decision should be given.

“I think we would welcome seeing the justification for her promotion in the Order of Australia given that her tennis achievements have already been recognised,” he said.

Mr Bowen, the member for McMahon in western Sydney, said he was a strong supporter of the freedom of religion and had deep respect for people’s individual religious beliefs.

“But I would invite Mrs Court to reflect on the fact that her views and the way she has expressed them have not always been respectful to other Australians, have caused great hurt and anguish for many Australians,” he said.

“In my very strong view, [they] have not reflected mutual respect and respect for people’s beliefs and the respect for people’s sexuality that is an important part of being a modern Australian.”

Mr Albanese expressed similar views on social media on Friday.

“She’s already an Officer of the Order of Australia,” he tweeted. “I think it’s clear for everyone to see that making her a Companion of the Order of Australia has nothing to do with tennis.”

Court told Nine News people should be able to separate her religious beliefs from her sporting achievements.

“Over the years I’ve had so much criticism that it doesn’t really affect me. I call them blessed because I pray for them and I pray for my nation,” she said.

“I run a church and I teach what The Bible says and that’s my beliefs and I stand by that.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday the honours system was a “completely independent process” and that he couldn’t comment further.

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The website of the Governor-General says “individuals are appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for eminent achievement and merit of the highest degree in service to Australia or to humanity at large”.

Governor-General David Hurley told The Age and The Herald that the Order of Australia honours system had been biased against women, historically, and had not recognised enough Indigenous Australians.

Mr Bowen said he was pleased to read the comments. “I think he’s right. The Order of Australia needs to be for all Australians and frankly far too often it hasn’t been,” Mr Bowen said.

“It’s not just about gender disparity. As a western Sydney MP, I scour the list every time there is an announcement for Australia Day, in particular, for local heroes that can be celebrated in the Order of Australia. I have to tell you often it’s slim pickings.“

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Mr Bowen said there was no shortage of volunteers deserving of recognition in his own electorate, for example, who were overlooked.

The Governor-General’s comments were recognition that “the Order of Australia does need to be refreshed and modernised to ensure all Australian from all walks of life – from the city, the suburbs, the regions and the bush – [who] contribute to our country and deserve a right to be recognised in the Order of Australia.“

“I think the Governor-General has started on a very genuine process, we should let that process roll through. But the objective has to be that Orders of Australia are not be dominated by one particular profession, one particular group, one gender, or people of one ethnicity.”