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Abbott defends decision to hand Australian knighthood to Prince Philip

Xinhua, January 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has defended his decision to appoint an Australian knighthood to the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip.

Abbott announced on Monday morning during the country's Australia Day celebrations that Queen Elizabeth II had accepted his recommendations to appoint Australian knighthoods to both Prince Philip and former Defence Force chief Angus Houston.

However, the decision was met with immediate criticism, with many Australians taking to social media to vent their frustrations at Prince Philip's appointment, in particular.

Former Western Australian premier, Geoff Gallop, labeled Abbott' s choice as a"sad reflection"on the nation, while high profile Canberra press gallery veteran Laurie Oakes described it as"a joke."

However, Abbott responded by labeling these comments as" electronic graffiti," saying he was"really pleased"with his two choices. "I'll leave social media to its own devices,"Abbott told reporters on Monday."Social media is kind of like electronic graffiti." "I think that in the media, you make a big mistake to pay too much attention to social media. You wouldn't report what's sprayed up on the walls of buildings and look, as I said, social media has its place, but it's anonymous." "It's often very abusive and, in a sense, it has about as much authority and credibility as graffiti that happens to be put forward by means of IT."

Abbott would go on to explain the reasons behind his decision to name 93-year-old Prince Philip as one of Australia's two knighthood recipients for 2015. "Prince Philip has been a great servant of Australia,"Abbott said. "He's been a great servant of all the countries of the Commonwealth." "Here in this country, he's the patron of hundreds of organizations. He's the inspiration and wellbeing of the Duke of Edinburgh's awards, which have provided leadership training for tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Australians over the years." "I'm just really pleased that in his 90s, towards the end of a life of service and duty, we in this country are able to properly acknowledge what he has done for us." Endi