Opinion

Honours list has a way to go, but the way to improve it is to get involved

Jenna Price
Updated January 26 2022 - 8:15am, first published 5:25am
Dr Karen Fox has been researching Australia's honours system for more than 10 years, and says it is important to recognise people doing extraordinary things. Picture: Tracey Nearmy/ANU
Dr Karen Fox has been researching Australia's honours system for more than 10 years, and says it is important to recognise people doing extraordinary things. Picture: Tracey Nearmy/ANU

I've been writing about the Australian honours list since the mid-'80s. Mostly, it's been about how terrible the choices are, and how it bears absolutely no connection with the real life of courageous Australians. Time after time, someone gets a gong who really, really shouldn't. It takes a criminal conviction for an honour to be removed.

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Jenna Price

Jenna Price is a Canberra Times columnist and a visiting fellow at the Australian National University.