The Prime Minister has announced that the national Government will -
provide special legislative protection to control the use of names associated with Mary MacKillop, who will become Australia's first Saint on 17 October 2010.One might hope that Phar Lap will be canonised, alongside other 'national icons' such as Gary Ablett, Fred Hollows, Weary Dunlop, Joan Sutherland, Nellie Melba and Steve Irwin, and suitably protected through changes to the Corporations Law regulations in the near future. (The 2002 ACIP report [PDF] on protection for national icons highlights some issues. I of course jest, as is my wont, about canonisation, in a reaction to the hyperbole about St Mary.)
The PM's media release indicates that -
The decision to grant additional protections reflects the significance of the canonisation of Mary MacKillop for millions of Australians.The release goes on to boast that -
The Corporations Regulations 2001 will be amended so that requests for use of a company name, or part thereof, that suggests a connection to Mary MacKillop will be prevented, unless Ministerial approval is granted.
A name need not include the text "Mary MacKillop" to suggest a connection. For example, a name including "Saint MacKillop" would be prohibited. A name including "Our Mary" might be blocked, depending on the circumstances and the rest of the text of the name sought.
This amendment will reduce the extent to which an entity may hold itself to be associated with Mary MacKillop.
the new measure would provide the highest level of protection currently provided for any individual Australian's name.All Australians?
The only other individual Australian's name with similar protection is Sir Donald Bradman.
In addition, existing laws will continue to offer a range of protections against the improper use of Mary MacKillop's name, including the Trade Marks Act 1995, Trade Practices Act 1974, equivalent state laws, and the common law.
The Prime Minister said the new measure was further recognition of the significance that Mary MacKillop's life holds, not only for the five million Australians of Catholic faith, but for all Australians.
The ability to express national joy in the form of federal funding is less than miraculous -
The amendment complements the Government's election pledge of $1.5 million to assist in the commemoration of the canonisation, which includes support for a delegation of youth and indigenous representatives attending the canonisation ceremony in Rome, and the inclusion of the Mary MacKillop Canonisation Gift Fund as a specifically listed deductible gift recipient.We might better have spent the $1.5 million housing some of the local homeless or providing support services for the truly needy.
More broadly, we might ask what is the "significance" of Mary MacKillop's life "for all Australians". Was she an archetype of the 'little Aussie battler'? Does significance lie in the way that she has been appropriated by particular interests and in contestation regarding her image, with suggestions for example that she become the patron of victims of clerical abuse. Do we need a change to the Corporations regulations (which restricts use of terms such as 'bank', 'university', Red Cross', 'RSL', 'Made in Australia' and 'building society' and which restricts corporate names that suggest a relationship with a member of the House of Windsor) in order to protect the new saint?
