PRIME MINISTER:
I have an important announcement today – a new honour for pre-eminent Australians.
On my recommendation, Her Majesty the Queen has amended the Letters Patent constituting the Order of Australia.
Knights and Dames in the Order of Australia will be approved by Her Majesty on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.
There may be up to four Knights or Dames created in any one year.
This special recognition may be extended to Australians of extraordinary and pre-eminent achievement and merit.
Henceforth, the serving Governor-General will be the principal Knight or Dame in the Order of Australia.
The first new Dame will be the outgoing Governor-General and the first new Knight will be the incoming Governor-General.
It is fitting that the Queen’s representative be so honoured.
My intention is that this new award will go to those who have accepted public office rather than sought it and who can never, by virtue of that office, ever entirely return to private life.
The Chairman of the Order of Australia Council will be consulted on any such recommendation.
I congratulate Her Excellency the Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce and the Governor-General designate, General Peter Cosgrove, on this acknowledgement of their service to our country.
I expect you might have just a few questions.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, so you said the Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce, what does the title of the Knight bring to, for example, the new Governor-General’s title? Does he become Sir?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, indeed he does. By virtue of appointment as Governor-General, henceforth the Governor-General will be a Knight or a Dame in the Order of Australia. So, as the outgoing Governor-General, it’s Dame Quentin Bryce and as the incoming Governor-General it will be Sir Peter Cosgrove.
QUESTION:
Why did you want to do this?
PRIME MINISTER:
I believe this is an important grace note in our national life. I think it’s important to appropriately honour people whose service has been extraordinary and pre-eminent. There won’t be very many Knights and Dames in the Order of Australia. There may be – I say may be – up to four a year, but they will be people of extraordinary achievement and pre-eminence and I believe that no one gets to be the Governor-General of this great Commonwealth without being a person of extraordinary achievement and pre-eminence.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, does your definition preclude politicians from becoming a Dame or a Knight?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, it doesn’t preclude anyone except people who have not given service of extraordinary and pre-eminent nature. Now, my anticipation is that the people who may receive this honour will be those who have accepted rather than sought public office and the sorts of people who have accepted rather than sought public office, might be considered to be Governors-General, Governors, Chiefs of the Defence Force, Chief Justices, people of that ilk. Politicians of course, however pre-eminent and extraordinary their achievement, have sought public office – that’s the nature of this business that I’m in: we seek public office and in a sense, public office is its own reward. But I believe this is a fitting recognition for people who have accepted public office, particularly people who have accepted public office and have discharged that office with great distinction, as obviously the outgoing Governor-General has.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, why did you not think that the existing honours system provided sufficient means to honour people who’ve done good public service?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, that is for eminent achievement – this is for pre-eminent achievement. The existing Companions, Officers and Members of the Order of Australia continue, as they should, but this will be a higher honour and, as I said, it will be confined to people who have given extraordinary and pre-eminent service to our country.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, further to the definition, it will be a higher honour but it will be the highest honour, so how will you prevent it going to politicians if you think that they haven’t sought that public service but have had it visited upon them? And if you expand your definition, would it refer to, say, Nobel Laureates or so on?
PRIME MINISTER:
In the end I’m not going to pre-empt who down the track may be considered worthy of this pre-eminent honour – I’m not going to pre-empt who may be considered worthy of this particular honour, suffice to say that there can only be four of them in any one year. So, it will be a very select honour and it is certainly my intention that it will be directed towards those who have accepted public office rather than sought it.
QUESTION:
I hazard a guess that there may be republicans who may be unhappy with this. Are you, by doing this, seeking to cement in any way the monarchy in Australian life?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, no I'm not. Everyone knows where I stand on this particular issue. I am a staunch supporter of our existing constitutional arrangements – always has been and, I imagine, always will be. But whether you support the existing constitutional arrangements or prefer different constitutional arrangements, the fact is that the Governor-General represents Her Majesty the Queen. The State Governors represent Her Majesty the Queen and I think it is entirely appropriate that someone who represents the Monarch should be honoured in this way.
QUESTION:
If you are looking for a category of pre-eminent achievement, why not come up with a new category of our own, why revert to a British system because not everyone who is going to be Knighted or made a Dame is going to be a servant of Her Majesty?
PRIME MINISTER:
One of the points that you may have missed, Phil, is that these are Knights and Dames in the Order of Australia and the Order of Australia is an entirely home grown order. As you may remember, it was created back in the period of the Whitlam Government. There were Knights and Dames in the Order of Australia from 1976 through to 1986. So, what I am doing is appropriately restoring something which I believe has been a grace note in our national life.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, now, who decides who these four Knights each year are going to be? And do they have to go to Buckingham Palace to be Knighted by the Queen?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, Knights and Dames in the Order of Australia will be approved by Her Majesty on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister would ordinarily consult with the Chairman of the Council of the Order of Australia.
QUESTION:
You've said four a year but there is only two people named here. Are we to expect that there will be two more people knighted this year and do you have those two people in mind?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, if there are Australians of pre-eminent and extraordinary achievement, they may well be so honoured at some point in this year.
QUESTION:
This question about Buckingham Palace – like, where you get knighted?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, this is really a question for the recipient of the award. Let's not forget that the Queen is actually the head of the Order of Australia and my understanding is that it is not entirely unknown for people who receive an award in the Order of Australia, as things stand, to receive their honour from Her Majesty. On the other hand, it is also quite common for people who receive these awards in the Order of Australia to receive the honour from the Governor or the Governor-General.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, what is the definition of someone who can never entirely return to public life? And also if I may, how does this fit in with your promise to have a government of no surprises?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I don't think it is any surprise that I am a supporter of the existing system and that I want to enhance the dignity of our existing system and I want to particularly acknowledge and recognise the place of the Governor-General in our system. So, I don't think it is really any surprise. Now, there was another element to your question?
QUESTION:
You say in your statement that these people can never entirely return to...
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh, yes, yes. If you've been the Governor-General or a Governor, there are certain things that you can never really do again. You can never really be as free with your opinion as might otherwise be the case. There are certain jobs that you could never really do again because of the position that you've occupied. Ditto for a Chief Justice. There is lots of legal work, for instance, that a former Chief Justice could never really do. If you're a former Chief of the Defence Force or a former Chief of Army, there are lots of issues upon which you can never really comment by virtue of the position that you've held. I think when someone does accept a position of such importance and gravity in our system, it is perfectly fitting to honour them in this way.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, you ruled this out in December. What has changed?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I made a quite specific comment in December. I said that we weren't intending to do what New Zealand has done and what New Zealand has done is simply enable existing companions in the Order of New Zealand to convert to Knighthoods. There is no such capacity under Letters Patent as amended. Knights or Dames will have to be specifically created.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, that is a distinction that very few people would understand.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I also make the point that this is a decision that I've made in the last few weeks, contemplating the retirement of Dame Quentin Bryce and the accession to the Governor- Generalship of General Peter Cosgrove.
Now, I'm trying to get people who haven't had a question.Yes, Tory.
QUESTION:
Could you describe for us the reaction of the outgoing and the incoming Governors-General to the news?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, look, I don't want to put words in anyone else's mouth but when I broached the subject with them, they carefully considered the proposition and both were happy to accept.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, can you clarify on the Governors-General – the previous living Governors-General – will they be made Knights?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the position is that Knights and Dames in the Order of Australia will be approved by Her Majesty the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister who will consult with the Chairman of the Council of the Order of Australia. There's only four at a maximum to be created in any one year. So, I can give you no better answer than that, Karen.
QUESTION:
What about Governors – State Governors – you mentioned they’re eligible. Will they be automatically given one?
PRIME MINISTER:
No. Look, if a Premier wanted to make an approach for an honour of this nature to be conferred upon a State Governor, that would certainly be a matter that the Prime Minister of the day could consider.
We’re now giving everyone a second go and I am pleased that people are excited by today's announcement! Two people will get a second go.
QUESTION:
Ok. Prime Minister, isn't it a retrograde step to be reintroducing gender into these titles, given that the Order of Australia did not make any difference whether you are a male or female? And will there be any requirement that the – for the name, there is a gender balance, or could it be the case that there are four Knights in one year and no Dames?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, Mark, let's see what the future holds, but I don't accept the premise of your question because it was AK or AD, Knight of the Order of Australia or Dame of the Order of Australia in the Order of Australia as it was constituted between 1976 and 1986. James?
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, it’s the 20th anniversary of your period in Parliament tomorrow. How much of a role did that play in your thinking, this being a sort of legacy item, if you will?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, that’s a fair question, James. Look, I believe very strongly in our existing system of government. I think that Governors-General at the national level have been invariably figures of great distinction and I think they have invariably added lustre to our public life. I believe that this additional recognition will add dignity and stature to what is a very important office. No one has added more to the office than the current Governor-General who has lent enormous grace and style to our national life.
What Governors-General do is the kind of work that Prime Ministers and Ministers might in their better moments want to do but invariably don't. They go to the places that are off the beaten track. They visit the people who aren't fashionable. They do the events where there's no media, and it's very important, I believe, that both the vice-regal officeholder and the people who the Governor-General is working with are conscious of the gravity of the occasion and I think a title of this type will add to that.
Final question.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, is this now a prerequisite for a Governor-General designate to accept before they’ll be appointed? Are you in fact locking in Governors-General to an honour from Her Majesty explicitly rather than implicitly?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, there is no reason why a Prime Minister could not change the Letters Patent if necessary to accommodate someone who, for whatever reason, was reluctant to be a Knight or Dame in the Order of Australia, but people who love our country, who want to serve our country should they be approached to serve in this particular capacity, I think would normally be happy to accept this honour because, in the end, yes, it is for people who have served our country in an extraordinary and pre-eminent way, but no one achieves extraordinary and pre-eminent service without working with others and so it is an honour for our country as well as an honour for the individual.
Thank you so much.
[ends]