Update: 21st July 2025:
Letter sent to the following Members of Parliament:
The Hon Anthony Albanese MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
The Hon Patrick Gorman MP
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Copy of Letter below:
21 July 2025
RE: Consideration to amend the National Emergency Medal or Create a new Medal for all ADF Responders to Operation Help for Cyclone Tracy
Dear Prime Minister – the Hon Anthony Albanese MP,
It was gratifying that both you and the Governor General were in Darwin on Christmas Day 2024 paying tribute to the victims and survivors and unveiling the memorial, symbolizing resilience, and the rebuilding of Darwin, after the devastation caused by Cyclone Tracy.
As the Governor-General said in her speech on the day – “‘Cyclone Tracy was a nationally significant emergency.”
Cyclone Tracy killed at least sixty-six people, destroyed more than 70 percent of Darwin’s buildings and was our worst national disaster in modern times, until the devastating Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.
Operation Help was the largest peacetime evacuation in Australian history.
We therefore request that Operation Help for Cyclone Tracy be added to the eligibility criteria for the current National Emergency Medal (NEM) so that Cyclone Tracy (1974/1975) ADF responders receive the recognition they deserve.
The National Emergency Medal (NEM) is awarded to a person who has given sustained or significant service during a nationally significant emergency.
We are requesting your support for the NEM and to consider Cyclone Tracy, be included as a nationally significant emergency in the context of the NEM.
If this course of action is not possible, we request that the Government initiates a process for creation of a completely new medal in Australia – The Cyclone Tracy Medal.
To be awarded to All ADF personnel who responded to the call. Many Service personnel recalled from leave returned to their ships and establishments on Christmas Day 1974 and at striking short notification to aid.
King Charles III provided a message on the 50th Anniversary of Cyclone Tracy, which was published on 30 November 2024.
His Majesty said.
“Across Australia and around the world we look back on that fateful Christmas Eve of 1974, a day which remains ingrained in our collective memory, not only for the devastation brought by Cyclone Tracy but for the extraordinary strength shown by Territorians in their fortitude and determination to rebuild. From the ruins of a catastrophic cyclone came a remarkable demonstration of renewal and perseverance through unwavering solidarity, serving as a powerful reminder of the Australian spirit.”
I trust you will see favour in our requests and look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours faithfully,
Gordon Lowe
President.
Ops Room Association of Australia Inc.
Incorporation No: IA12074
The National Emergency Medal recognises service in response to a nationally significant emergency. Nationally significant emergencies must be declared by the Australian Government under the National Emergency Medal Regulations 2011.
Annotate
In 1974/1975, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) played a vital role in the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy, which devastated Darwin on Christmas Day. The ADF’s response included Operation Navy Help Darwin, a large-scale disaster relief operation involving naval vessels, aircraft, and personnel. The ADF also contributed to the massive evacuation effort, the provision of medical assistance, and the restoration of essential service
