You could be forgiven for waking up on Tuesday and thinking it was   April Fools' Day.
The Australian of the Year, David Morrison, pledged to make his stint all about diversity and equality of gender, religion, race, disability and sexuality. And to continue the powerful work of Rosie Batty against domestic violence. 
Which all seems reasonable. But Australia's newest champion of diversity is a paid-up member of the straight, white dudes club. A man who spent nearly 40 years in an institution that is famed for its non-diversity - the Australian army.
Other nominees for Australian of the Year included a transgender advocate and a women who got corporate Australia to confront sex discrimination.
Is this some kind of joke?
Morrison's appointment actually represents a golden opportunity, not an insult. He is absolutely serious about tackling these issues, and recognises the perspective from which he comes.
As he told an International Women's Day conference in 2013: "I can never fully imagine, much less experience, the issues faced by any woman ... I have never routinely experienced discrimination in my career, nor the apprehension of violence in my personal life."
But on Tuesday, he said the way in which women are treated globally is a "disgrace".
"We need men of authority and conscience to play a part."
This is not about getting men to tell women what to do. Or about patronising minorities. It's about acknowledging that equality and inclusion are everyone's responsibility.
There is value in having someone from inside the establishment speak up and out. The truth is a textbook "macho man" will be able to reach some parts of Australia that other campaigners will not.
Australia in 2016 is a place in which one in six women experience physical abuse from a current or former partner and where men are paid, on average, $27,000 a year more than women. Muslim Australians report discrimination and abuse on a daily basis. And people with ethnic-sounding names face a tougher time in the job market than those with European appellations.
It's a place where Indigenous footy players get booed off the field and abuse of the disabled is so widespread, a Senate committee has called for a royal commission.
Meanwhile, same-sex couples do not have the right to marry.
Morrison demonstrated in his blistering acceptance speech on Monday that he has a knack for getting people to take notice. He could prove to be one of our most interesting Australians of the Year.