June 9, 2025 • 15 mins
Australia has marked the King’s Birthday long weekend and with it comes honours for 830 people.
But there’s one that stands out: former prime minister Scott Morrison’s appointment as a companion of the order of Australia has proved divisive.
So why did Morrison get the honour? Does he deserve it? And who are some of the other awardees on the list?
Today, senior economics correspondent Shane Wright joins Nick Bonyhady on the people Australia chooses to recognise.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:01):
From the newsrooms of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
This is the morning edition. I'm Nick Bonyhady, filling in
for Samantha Sellenger Morris. It's Tuesday, June 10th. Australia has
marked the King's birthday long weekend, and with it comes
honours for 830 people. But there's one that stands out.
(00:24):
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's appointment to the companion of
the Order of Australia, which has proved divisive. So why
did Morrison get the honour? Does he deserve it? And
who are the other 829 awardees on the list? To
discuss the honours, I'm joined by senior economics correspondent Shane Wright.
(00:48):
So tell me, Shane, what King's birthday honour did Scott
Morrison receive and why.
S2 (00:53):
He got made a companion of the Order of Australia,
along with 14 other people? This is in the grand
scheme of things, the highest honor that an Australian can
get for services to Australia. Now every Prime Minister bar
Paul Keating and there's a there's an asterisk next to
Paul Keating are since Menzies has got either the companion
(01:15):
or been made a knight of some sort. So it
is a recognition of the fact that being the PM
is a tough job.
S1 (01:24):
What's the reaction been like?
S2 (01:25):
Well, a bit like the Scott the reaction to Scott
Morrison in general, I think has to be the best
way to describe it. There are those who recognise that
this is a recognition of just how hard the job is,
and the period in which he was prime minister. So remember,
he gets elected in 2019. Yes, upsets the Labor Party
(01:47):
and all the rest. Put that to one side. But
he is in charge during Covid, which by any stretch
of any imagination, one of the more telling and difficult
periods for administrations around the world. So this is a
recognition of all that effort. Plus, they've tacked on orcas
and striking the deal with Britain and the United States
(02:09):
for a large number of very expensive submarines. So we're
right into the defense space. So that's what the recognition is.
But the reaction is falling a bit on political lines.
S3 (02:21):
Politicians always make somewhat contentious awards recipients, but it is
fairly commonplace.
S4 (02:27):
Scott Morrison should give it back and give it to
someone who is more deserving, which is pretty much anyone else.
S2 (02:33):
So former prime ministers don't often get much love, especially
if they've been voted out of office. Um, so that's
you can see some of that is, oh, why the
hell did Scomo get this? It should be going to
somebody more deserving. But of course you then have to
ignore the fact that every Prime minister has had recognition
of them because ultimately running the country tree in for
(02:56):
however long, is almost the pinnacle of political life, of
public life in this country. So that's a recognition of that.
S1 (03:05):
You covered the ups and downs of his time in office,
the job keeper payments, but also the scandals around robodebt.
On balance, do you think he deserves the award?
S2 (03:16):
Yeah, I think so. I think so. Like you can
focus on robodebt and we've had a royal commission into
that space. You haven't touched on the fact that he
managed to become minister for 6 or 7 other portfolios
without bothering to tell anyone. Um, but ultimately no one
is perfect. And this is recognition of just how much
(03:37):
was involved in dealing with Covid. Scott Morrison can rightfully
say he saved the lives of thousands of people.
S1 (03:44):
And that's a massive thing.
S2 (03:45):
That is a massive thing. And I think that if
you are so, so ignorant of the importance of that
role and you come back to say what was happening
in New York in the first half of 2020, when
New York was running out of space to bury people
and they were having to put up freezer trucks outside
hospitals as temporary morgues. That did not happen in this country. So, yes,
(04:10):
there are people alive today because of the decisions that
Scott Morrison led. Now, you can quibble and people have
about elements of that, especially once you got further on.
Like as an economics writer, you talk about how much
money was spent and whether it added to inflation. That
is an issue to debate. But ultimately, there are people
(04:31):
alive because of Scott Morrison. So I don't I think
it's being more than churlish to say, well, he doesn't
he doesn't deserve any recognition. And ultimately, we're all we
all make mistakes. Prime ministers make all of them make mistakes.
And you can criticize those. But does that outweigh that
broader effort that he has been recognized for.
S1 (04:54):
What is the selection process that would have led to
Morrison or indeed anyone else getting this award? How does
that work?
S2 (05:00):
Yeah, Pmbs are slightly different because it's almost a default recognition,
because if you've got to that position, then you have
done something along the way. Um, so ultimately there's a
formal application process. This is all run through the governor
General's office. They are inundated every year by applications for
(05:22):
people on behalf of somebody. So you actually ultimately have
an awards council that will go through all these applications.
S1 (05:31):
Within the 830 awards that were handed out. Were they
all the same or are there different categories?
S2 (05:36):
No. There is a long and rambling list of different divisions.
The top one is the companion, and so these are
the fewest. And these go to the absolute highest achievement
that possible. Then you get an officer. And again there's
I think there was about 30 of those. Then you
become a member of an Order of Australia. So that's
(06:00):
particular field for particular group. That's what you get recognised.
And then there's the medal of the Order of Australia.
And that's the most numerous. So you see for services
to a particular community or in a particular field where
you may not be the best, but you've been around
for a very long time and your community is recognising
(06:21):
you now outside of those, there's medals inside the public
service which recognise people in the public service. And the
public service is not just the federal public service you're
getting into, into the state levels. Then you have the
military division and there are different medals inside those. Some
of those are for meritorious service or bravery. So a
(06:44):
very there's a very broad selection Election ranking of these awards.
But there's plenty of awards to go around.
S1 (06:52):
So it sounds slightly black box once it actually gets
into the decision making process.
S2 (06:57):
Oh yeah. Yeah. And and we referenced Paul Keating previously.
Paul Keating has rejected his him becoming a companion like
Keating famously doesn't go by the term honourable, which all
all former ministers are entitled to take. So you can
reject your your award. And we have famously had people
(07:18):
have awards stripped like there is a whole debate about
Ben Roberts-Smith, for instance, in that space right at the moment,
whether you strip awards from people and in this case
we're talking about a VC, but there is a process,
doesn't get very used very often. But if someone falls
from grace as well.
S1 (07:39):
We'll be right back. Has there been any change in
how the awards have been handed out this year? One
of the first under the new governor General, Samantha mostyn.
S2 (07:53):
No, you can't see any real change. Like, um, Mostyn
did make reference that there'd been a big increase from
the Australia Day Awards, but the number of awards presented
this for this King's birthday is actually smaller than it
was the last, uh, in 2023 when it became we
went from the Queen's birthday to the King's Birthday Awards.
(08:14):
So there's nothing really that stands out that says there's
been a huge change.
S1 (08:20):
In light of that, how relevant are the King's birthday honours?
S2 (08:25):
That's a very good question. Um, because last I checked,
it's not Charles's birthday. Um, it.
S1 (08:31):
Would be in November.
S2 (08:32):
It'll be in November. So we are in a an
unusual position where we have two sets of awards and like,
so there has been that debate. Should there be a
King's or Queen's Birthday Awards when we have the Australia
Day Honours at the start of the year, which recognises
the official day of Australia. Now getting into this argument,
(08:53):
one whether there should be a King's birthday, whether we
should just stick with Australia Day and also what are
people getting awards for? Are they just getting awards for
doing their job, or are they getting it for something exceptional?
And this is where you get into a debate. How
do you value those sorts of things? So for instance,
(09:14):
Sister Carmel Moore, who has been a Saint Joeys nun
since 1955. Now, I don't think there's anyone listening to
us right now who may have come across Sister Carmel,
but she has been recognised with an OAM because one
she's been teaching in Central Coast Newcastle area of New
(09:36):
South Wales since the 1950s. She's been president of the
Federation Sisters of Saint Joeys. You go right. There is
a person who has been in the community working away
for a very long period of time. And you go, okay,
I can see that. Or there's John Mcalary who got
(09:57):
an OAM for services to the sport of wrestling. Now
wrestling is not one of the most high profile sports
going around.
S1 (10:04):
No one's becoming a massive sports figure with a huge
endorsement deal in that.
S2 (10:08):
No. He, uh. John apparently was a wrestling champion. National
wrestling champion from the 1960s and competed at the 1964 Olympics.
But he has been very heavily involved in the in
his local community. And you go, okay, I can understand.
S1 (10:26):
Why they deserve that recognition.
S2 (10:27):
Why they deserve that, and they would not be recognised otherwise.
So I think that's one of the one of the
roles that you can see the roles of these awards
play in trying to recognise people who would otherwise go
completely under the radar. Of course, there's another chapter which
(10:48):
you and I are discussing is Craig Perry for now.
He won an OAM for services to the hospitality industry
which has he co-founded the Great Aussie Meat Pie competition.
Last year the gourmet sausage roll came out of orange
for a maple bacon and hazelnut sausage roll. Now with
that sausage roll have ever been made, if not for
(11:10):
Craig Perry and his and his pie awards, I don't know. Indeed, indeed.
But I think, look, it's worth it. Might be worth
the trip to orange to find out how good the
maple bacon and hazelnut sausage roll is. But this is
again recognition of something in the hospitality space that there
are people there who really desperately care about the quality
(11:32):
of their pies and sausage rolls. Maybe there is a
role in that space to really to recognize them.
S1 (11:39):
The cynic might say, well, Scott Morrison's just being awarded
for being the Prime Minister. The poor chap is being
awarded for work in the hospitality industry. The none is
being awarded for her long career or calling as a nun,
but there's not much actual difference between them. They're all
just being awarded for doing what they do. Does that
(11:59):
argument hold water? Well.
S2 (12:02):
You're really into the argument. What are the what are
the what's the purpose of an award for, anyway? To recognize,
like Catherine Martin, who are our most successful Academy Award winner,
who has received four Oscars? There's a bloody big award,
isn't there? Receiving an Oscar for ultimately doing their job really,
really well and better than anybody else in at that
(12:25):
particular time. When she was working with her husband Baz
on Moulin Rouge and Great Gatsby. The Oscar would be
in the world of film is the pinnacle, I think.
I don't know how many people are trying to argue otherwise,
but we'd recognize that. Does she deserve a companion as
(12:46):
that is the country, the nation saying, well done, Catherine.
Well done Baz, we want to really honor you for
being great Australians, great Australians in your field. So that's
you coming back to that question, is that what we
should be doing as a community? And I think you
come down to that is part of being a community.
You recognize, you recognize excellence. You recognize people who are
(13:10):
really making a difference to. It may be maybe wrestling,
it may be to the Catholic Church, it may be
to pie making, but they're making a difference that that
the that we as a society says, yep, we should
we reckon we should recognize that. Yeah.
S1 (13:28):
Shane, is there any awardee that we haven't touched on
so far that stands out to you as being a
particularly quirky odd, odd, charming example.
S2 (13:36):
I think, well, one of the interesting things was the
number of posthumous honors. I think it was more than
30 of them. And you go, well, sadly, these people
aren't here to receive their award. One of those was
Jeff Monteith, a. Scientist out of Queensland who shares is
on a list with Charles Darwin in terms of the
(13:58):
fact that he has his name is attached to more
than 200 animals like he's a specialist. He was a
specialist in insects. He's on the list with the top
ten people in the world of science who have their
names attached to animals, because he. This is a guy
who apparently spent most of his life tramping around the
(14:18):
tropics of Queensland, trying to understand our our flora and fauna,
I should say. So yes, I think that's a great
recognition of somebody that would have passed by I complete
like outside his specialist field. Most Australians would go. What
are you talking about?
S1 (14:38):
Charles Monteith. It sounds like an incredible life. Shane, thank
you very much for your time.
S2 (14:42):
Always a pleasure, young Nick.
S1 (14:46):
Today's episode of The Morning Edition was produced by Kai Wong.
Our executive producer is Tammy Mills. Tom McKendrick is our
head of audio. To listen to our episodes as soon
as they drop, follow the Morning Edition on Apple, Spotify,
or wherever you listen to podcasts. Our newsrooms are powered
by subscriptions, so to support independent journalism, visit the page or.
(15:12):
Subscribe and to stay up to date. Sign up for
our Morning Edition newsletter to receive a summary of the
day's most important news in your inbox every morning. Links
are in the show. Notes. I'm Nick Bonyhady. This is
Morning edition. Thanks for listening.
From the newsrooms of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
This is the morning edition. I'm Nick Bonyhady, filling in
for Samantha Sellenger Morris. It's Tuesday, June 10th. Australia has
marked the King's birthday long weekend, and with it comes
honours for 830 people. But there's one that stands out.
(00:24):
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's appointment to the companion of
the Order of Australia, which has proved divisive. So why
did Morrison get the honour? Does he deserve it? And
who are the other 829 awardees on the list? To
discuss the honours, I'm joined by senior economics correspondent Shane Wright.
(00:48):
So tell me, Shane, what King's birthday honour did Scott
Morrison receive and why.
S2 (00:53):
He got made a companion of the Order of Australia,
along with 14 other people? This is in the grand
scheme of things, the highest honor that an Australian can
get for services to Australia. Now every Prime Minister bar
Paul Keating and there's a there's an asterisk next to
Paul Keating are since Menzies has got either the companion
(01:15):
or been made a knight of some sort. So it
is a recognition of the fact that being the PM
is a tough job.
S1 (01:24):
What's the reaction been like?
S2 (01:25):
Well, a bit like the Scott the reaction to Scott
Morrison in general, I think has to be the best
way to describe it. There are those who recognise that
this is a recognition of just how hard the job is,
and the period in which he was prime minister. So remember,
he gets elected in 2019. Yes, upsets the Labor Party
(01:47):
and all the rest. Put that to one side. But
he is in charge during Covid, which by any stretch
of any imagination, one of the more telling and difficult
periods for administrations around the world. So this is a
recognition of all that effort. Plus, they've tacked on orcas
and striking the deal with Britain and the United States
(02:09):
for a large number of very expensive submarines. So we're
right into the defense space. So that's what the recognition is.
But the reaction is falling a bit on political lines.
S3 (02:21):
Politicians always make somewhat contentious awards recipients, but it is
fairly commonplace.
S4 (02:27):
Scott Morrison should give it back and give it to
someone who is more deserving, which is pretty much anyone else.
S2 (02:33):
So former prime ministers don't often get much love, especially
if they've been voted out of office. Um, so that's
you can see some of that is, oh, why the
hell did Scomo get this? It should be going to
somebody more deserving. But of course you then have to
ignore the fact that every Prime minister has had recognition
of them because ultimately running the country tree in for
(02:56):
however long, is almost the pinnacle of political life, of
public life in this country. So that's a recognition of that.
S1 (03:05):
You covered the ups and downs of his time in office,
the job keeper payments, but also the scandals around robodebt.
On balance, do you think he deserves the award?
S2 (03:16):
Yeah, I think so. I think so. Like you can
focus on robodebt and we've had a royal commission into
that space. You haven't touched on the fact that he
managed to become minister for 6 or 7 other portfolios
without bothering to tell anyone. Um, but ultimately no one
is perfect. And this is recognition of just how much
(03:37):
was involved in dealing with Covid. Scott Morrison can rightfully
say he saved the lives of thousands of people.
S1 (03:44):
And that's a massive thing.
S2 (03:45):
That is a massive thing. And I think that if
you are so, so ignorant of the importance of that
role and you come back to say what was happening
in New York in the first half of 2020, when
New York was running out of space to bury people
and they were having to put up freezer trucks outside
hospitals as temporary morgues. That did not happen in this country. So, yes,
(04:10):
there are people alive today because of the decisions that
Scott Morrison led. Now, you can quibble and people have
about elements of that, especially once you got further on.
Like as an economics writer, you talk about how much
money was spent and whether it added to inflation. That
is an issue to debate. But ultimately, there are people
(04:31):
alive because of Scott Morrison. So I don't I think
it's being more than churlish to say, well, he doesn't
he doesn't deserve any recognition. And ultimately, we're all we
all make mistakes. Prime ministers make all of them make mistakes.
And you can criticize those. But does that outweigh that
broader effort that he has been recognized for.
S1 (04:54):
What is the selection process that would have led to
Morrison or indeed anyone else getting this award? How does
that work?
S2 (05:00):
Yeah, Pmbs are slightly different because it's almost a default recognition,
because if you've got to that position, then you have
done something along the way. Um, so ultimately there's a
formal application process. This is all run through the governor
General's office. They are inundated every year by applications for
(05:22):
people on behalf of somebody. So you actually ultimately have
an awards council that will go through all these applications.
S1 (05:31):
Within the 830 awards that were handed out. Were they
all the same or are there different categories?
S2 (05:36):
No. There is a long and rambling list of different divisions.
The top one is the companion, and so these are
the fewest. And these go to the absolute highest achievement
that possible. Then you get an officer. And again there's
I think there was about 30 of those. Then you
become a member of an Order of Australia. So that's
(06:00):
particular field for particular group. That's what you get recognised.
And then there's the medal of the Order of Australia.
And that's the most numerous. So you see for services
to a particular community or in a particular field where
you may not be the best, but you've been around
for a very long time and your community is recognising
(06:21):
you now outside of those, there's medals inside the public
service which recognise people in the public service. And the
public service is not just the federal public service you're
getting into, into the state levels. Then you have the
military division and there are different medals inside those. Some
of those are for meritorious service or bravery. So a
(06:44):
very there's a very broad selection Election ranking of these awards.
But there's plenty of awards to go around.
S1 (06:52):
So it sounds slightly black box once it actually gets
into the decision making process.
S2 (06:57):
Oh yeah. Yeah. And and we referenced Paul Keating previously.
Paul Keating has rejected his him becoming a companion like
Keating famously doesn't go by the term honourable, which all
all former ministers are entitled to take. So you can
reject your your award. And we have famously had people
(07:18):
have awards stripped like there is a whole debate about
Ben Roberts-Smith, for instance, in that space right at the moment,
whether you strip awards from people and in this case
we're talking about a VC, but there is a process,
doesn't get very used very often. But if someone falls
from grace as well.
S1 (07:39):
We'll be right back. Has there been any change in
how the awards have been handed out this year? One
of the first under the new governor General, Samantha mostyn.
S2 (07:53):
No, you can't see any real change. Like, um, Mostyn
did make reference that there'd been a big increase from
the Australia Day Awards, but the number of awards presented
this for this King's birthday is actually smaller than it
was the last, uh, in 2023 when it became we
went from the Queen's birthday to the King's Birthday Awards.
(08:14):
So there's nothing really that stands out that says there's
been a huge change.
S1 (08:20):
In light of that, how relevant are the King's birthday honours?
S2 (08:25):
That's a very good question. Um, because last I checked,
it's not Charles's birthday. Um, it.
S1 (08:31):
Would be in November.
S2 (08:32):
It'll be in November. So we are in a an
unusual position where we have two sets of awards and like,
so there has been that debate. Should there be a
King's or Queen's Birthday Awards when we have the Australia
Day Honours at the start of the year, which recognises
the official day of Australia. Now getting into this argument,
(08:53):
one whether there should be a King's birthday, whether we
should just stick with Australia Day and also what are
people getting awards for? Are they just getting awards for
doing their job, or are they getting it for something exceptional?
And this is where you get into a debate. How
do you value those sorts of things? So for instance,
(09:14):
Sister Carmel Moore, who has been a Saint Joeys nun
since 1955. Now, I don't think there's anyone listening to
us right now who may have come across Sister Carmel,
but she has been recognised with an OAM because one
she's been teaching in Central Coast Newcastle area of New
(09:36):
South Wales since the 1950s. She's been president of the
Federation Sisters of Saint Joeys. You go right. There is
a person who has been in the community working away
for a very long period of time. And you go, okay,
I can see that. Or there's John Mcalary who got
(09:57):
an OAM for services to the sport of wrestling. Now
wrestling is not one of the most high profile sports
going around.
S1 (10:04):
No one's becoming a massive sports figure with a huge
endorsement deal in that.
S2 (10:08):
No. He, uh. John apparently was a wrestling champion. National
wrestling champion from the 1960s and competed at the 1964 Olympics.
But he has been very heavily involved in the in
his local community. And you go, okay, I can understand.
S1 (10:26):
Why they deserve that recognition.
S2 (10:27):
Why they deserve that, and they would not be recognised otherwise.
So I think that's one of the one of the
roles that you can see the roles of these awards
play in trying to recognise people who would otherwise go
completely under the radar. Of course, there's another chapter which
(10:48):
you and I are discussing is Craig Perry for now.
He won an OAM for services to the hospitality industry
which has he co-founded the Great Aussie Meat Pie competition.
Last year the gourmet sausage roll came out of orange
for a maple bacon and hazelnut sausage roll. Now with
that sausage roll have ever been made, if not for
(11:10):
Craig Perry and his and his pie awards, I don't know. Indeed, indeed.
But I think, look, it's worth it. Might be worth
the trip to orange to find out how good the
maple bacon and hazelnut sausage roll is. But this is
again recognition of something in the hospitality space that there
are people there who really desperately care about the quality
(11:32):
of their pies and sausage rolls. Maybe there is a
role in that space to really to recognize them.
S1 (11:39):
The cynic might say, well, Scott Morrison's just being awarded
for being the Prime Minister. The poor chap is being
awarded for work in the hospitality industry. The none is
being awarded for her long career or calling as a nun,
but there's not much actual difference between them. They're all
just being awarded for doing what they do. Does that
(11:59):
argument hold water? Well.
S2 (12:02):
You're really into the argument. What are the what are
the what's the purpose of an award for, anyway? To recognize,
like Catherine Martin, who are our most successful Academy Award winner,
who has received four Oscars? There's a bloody big award,
isn't there? Receiving an Oscar for ultimately doing their job really,
really well and better than anybody else in at that
(12:25):
particular time. When she was working with her husband Baz
on Moulin Rouge and Great Gatsby. The Oscar would be
in the world of film is the pinnacle, I think.
I don't know how many people are trying to argue otherwise,
but we'd recognize that. Does she deserve a companion as
(12:46):
that is the country, the nation saying, well done, Catherine.
Well done Baz, we want to really honor you for
being great Australians, great Australians in your field. So that's
you coming back to that question, is that what we
should be doing as a community? And I think you
come down to that is part of being a community.
You recognize, you recognize excellence. You recognize people who are
(13:10):
really making a difference to. It may be maybe wrestling,
it may be to the Catholic Church, it may be
to pie making, but they're making a difference that that
the that we as a society says, yep, we should
we reckon we should recognize that. Yeah.
S1 (13:28):
Shane, is there any awardee that we haven't touched on
so far that stands out to you as being a
particularly quirky odd, odd, charming example.
S2 (13:36):
I think, well, one of the interesting things was the
number of posthumous honors. I think it was more than
30 of them. And you go, well, sadly, these people
aren't here to receive their award. One of those was
Jeff Monteith, a. Scientist out of Queensland who shares is
on a list with Charles Darwin in terms of the
(13:58):
fact that he has his name is attached to more
than 200 animals like he's a specialist. He was a
specialist in insects. He's on the list with the top
ten people in the world of science who have their
names attached to animals, because he. This is a guy
who apparently spent most of his life tramping around the
(14:18):
tropics of Queensland, trying to understand our our flora and fauna,
I should say. So yes, I think that's a great
recognition of somebody that would have passed by I complete
like outside his specialist field. Most Australians would go. What
are you talking about?
S1 (14:38):
Charles Monteith. It sounds like an incredible life. Shane, thank
you very much for your time.
S2 (14:42):
Always a pleasure, young Nick.
S1 (14:46):
Today's episode of The Morning Edition was produced by Kai Wong.
Our executive producer is Tammy Mills. Tom McKendrick is our
head of audio. To listen to our episodes as soon
as they drop, follow the Morning Edition on Apple, Spotify,
or wherever you listen to podcasts. Our newsrooms are powered
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