More than 900 Australians are being lauded after receiving honours on the King’s Birthday list for services praised as shaping the nation.
Former Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman, gender equality advocate Natasha Stott Despoja and philanthropist Janet Calvert-Jones are among those appointed Companions of the Order of Australia (AC), which is the nation’s highest civilian honour.
All up, 34 Australians received honours through the military division, 149 received meritorious citations and 63 conspicuous accolades, with a further 702 recognised in the general division.
Soldiers will perform 21-gun salutes in both Sydney and Melbourne for the King’s Birthday public holiday on Monday, where one blank howitzer round will be fired every 10 seconds until all 21 have been expended.
Late doctor and former Victorian Liberal MP Katie Allen was appointed an Officer of the Order, credited with changing how pediatric food allergy is treated after authoring more than 400 publications in leading medical journals. She died in December at the age of 59 after developing a rare form of cancer.
Rove McManus is among those to become a Member of the Order, with the comedian – whose company produced long-running prime time news talk show The Project – being recognised for his service to broadcast media, entertainment and the community.
Longtime Aboriginal rights campaigner Pat Turner was handed the same honour for her distinguished service to the Indigenous community.
Through a string of roles, Ms Turner has dedicated her life to Closing the Gap, most recently in a decade-long sting running the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.
Veteran winter sports administrator Michael Kennedy was appointed a Member of the Order after 23 years heading Snow Australia.
He departed that role in the wake of Australia’s record-breaking Winter Olympic performance in Milano Cortina.
Mr Kennedy was awarded for significant service to snow sport development and advancement in Australia, and to international sport governance.
Former NSW premier Morris Iemma was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia, for his service to the people via parliament and through community sport.
Mr Iemma was the 40th NSW premier and led the state between 2005 and 2008.
Former Workplace Gender Equality Agency boss Helen Conway was appointed an Officer of the Order for her service to business and legal governance, youth social welfare, gender equity and the not-for-profit sector.
Overall, 949 people received gongs across all divisions.
From the general division, 471 of 702 were male recipients, a five per cent increase in gender balance year-on-year.
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