The Barnardos Mother of the Year award has been scrapped after 25 years.

Ben Fordham has hosted the event for the last few years and says it’s “a real shame”.

“It’s also a shame because it sounds like political correctness has played a part here.”

Barnardos has said in a statement, since children live with a “variety of families … the celebration of mothers in the absence of others does not truly represent all the families we celebrate in our contemporary world’.” (Full statement below)

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Barnardos’ full statement:

“As a group that has generously supported Barnardos Mother of the Year (BMOTY), we would like to inform you about a decision that the organisation has come to in relation to the future of this campaign.

“After 25 years of running this successful event and media campaign within the community, we have decided to bring the MOTY event to an end.

“This is a decision that we have not made lightly, and one we make with many fond memories of the incredible mothers and families we have met over the past 25 years.

“It has been a difficult decision to come to, but there are a number of factors that have led us to this. Firstly, in everything that we do, we want to display our values and align to the children and families we work with day to day.

“Barnardos works with children who live with a variety of families – among the families we support are sole parents, same sex couples, families with both a mother and a father figure, relatives caring for the children of family members, and children who are cared for by their grandparents.

“This is the wonderful and diverse group of people we work with in caring for children in our communities. With this in mind, we believe that the celebration of mothers in the absence of others does not truly represent all the families and care givers we celebrate daily in our contemporary world.

“We also want to celebrate the work that is done by our foster carers right across NSW and the ACT. Taking in these considerations, the decision has been made to bring Barnardos Mother of the Year to a close.        

“We strongly believe in celebrating all families and will be looking to develop a campaign in the future that does this. The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed our ability to launch an event in 2021 that celebrates and acknowledges our diverse families and foster carers, however we will continue to plan for this as the year progresses.

“Finally we would like to sincerely thank you for the wonderful support you have given us over the years with this special event, whether that be sponsorship enabling us to put on the event, gifts for our mothers, promotion across the community, engagement on our committee, hotel accommodation, a venue to hold the event or attendance on the day.

“You have allowed us to put on this important event year after year. Without your generous involvement, we would not have been able to hold BMOTY.

“We also thank all the wonderful mothers who have participated over the years, and their friends and families who have nominated them. They are the ones that truly deserve our thanks.”