King's Birthday honours to recognise Hollywood heavyweights and COVID-era prime minister
Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, seen here at the Met Gala 2024, are recipients of the highest award within the Order of Australia. (AP: Invision/Evan Agostini)
From Hollywood heavyweights to humble community advocates, some 830 Australians will be recognised as part of the King's Birthday 2025 honours on Monday.
Those include 413 Medals of the Order (OAM), 123 Members of the Order (AM), 31 Officers of the Order (AO), and 14 Companions of the Order (AC) — the highest honour within the Order of Australia.
Among the recipients who have been appointed a Companion of the Order are married film couple Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin for their services to the arts.
Catherine Martin and Baz Luhrmann, seen here in 2009, have been collaborators for decades. (ABC)
Mr Luhrmann's string of successful films — from the 1992 Australian film Strictly Ballroom to the 2022 blockbuster biopic Elvis — have made him the country's most commercially successful director.
Ms Martin, an award-winning costume, production and set designer — and a frequent collaborator with her husband — has won more Oscars for her work than any other Australian.
Mr Luhrmann said his personal journey from a small, rural town in mid-north New South Wales to the world stage would not have been possible without those who came before him who "had the vision to support the arts".
"Catherine Martin and I feel this honour recognises not just us, but those who have made access to the arts possible for every Australian,"he said.
Ms Martin said that being recognised in her home country was "especially meaningful".
"I am so honoured to be joining the ranks of so many illustrious Australians, whom I have admired and been inspired by," she said.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison has also been appointed an AC for his leadership, particularly through the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Through all of this, Australians were just incredible and the one assumption I made is that's how they would be — their character would pull them through,"Mr Morrison said.
'Purposeful life' of service
Wendy McCarthy will also be appointed an a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). (ABC News: Liam Patrick)
A trailblazer for women who has held senior roles across a number of sectors, Wendy McCarthy has been appointed an AC for her work.
The businesswoman, advocate, and former ABC deputy chair has been recognised for her long-standing service to various communities including children, arts, business, health and women's leadership.
Having led and worked for a number of organisations, in both the public and private sectors, Ms McCarthy said she had lived a "purposeful life" but had been left "strangely awe-struck" by the honour.
The most important piece of advice she could give to young women: "Keep your head and heart together".
"If you're offered something and people think you can do it, you probably can, so say 'yes' first and think about it later,"she said.
Long-time ABC Radio National Late Night Live host, Phillip Adams, has been appointed for his eminent service to broadcast media, journalism, the arts, cultural leadership, and to the community.
Phillip Adams has been a powerful creative force in Australia over six decades. (RN: Nicola Harrison)
Apart from hosting the show for over 33 years, Mr Adams — who bid farewell to the program last years — said he was most proud of his work supporting the Australian film industry and his work advising the government on long-term issues like climate change through the Commission for the Future.
Mr Adams said he was "very, very pleased" to be appointed the honour by King Charles, and was asked if he felt conflicted being appointed the honour as a staunch Republican.
"If it doesn't worry [King] Charles, it doesn't worry me,"he said.
Eight more former ABC employees have been recognised in this year's honours list, including Matthew Peacock, Sally Loane, and Dr Cherie Romaro who have all been appointed an AM.
Former ABC staff Ken Casellas, Gerald Doyle, Carol Duncan and Moira Hansen have been awarded an OAM.
Advocates for those in need
Emily Korir has been awarded for her services for people living with a disability and to multicultural communities. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
Emily Korir has been awarded an OAM for her commitment and service to people living with disabilities and multicultural communities in South Australia.
Born in Kenya, Ms Korir moved to Australia for university, but in 2012 her life changed.
At just 37 years-old, and only 10 months after her second child was born, she suffered a severe stroke.
After her stroke, Ms Korir struggled to find housing suited to her accessibility needs, leading her and her husband to start their family business, disability support agency BET Group, from their home.
"Australia has given me a chance to rewrite my story, not just to survive but to thrive," Ms Korir said.
"And in that process I have brought more, way more — I've given permission to many migrants to stand up and feel that they belong."
Elder Greg Little believes there is "good in every person". (ABC News: Jacqueline Lynch)
Noongar elder Gregory Little has spent decades working within the Western Australian prison system, offering peer support to inmates, and starting conversations that he hopes have saved lives.
For his services to the community, particularly to First Nations social welfare, he has been awarded an OAM.
"I know a lot of people don't like prisoners," Mr Little said.
"But there's always good in every person, you've just got to find it."
His compassion for those behind bars didn't stop once Mr Little retired from his job at Bunbury Regional Prison, two hours south of Perth.
"I don't mind sitting there for an hour, two hours, three just to know where they're at," he said
"When you get something like [this medal] you know you've done something right for the community."
Climate science trailblazers
Professor Ian Ove Hoegh-Guldberg has been appointed an AC for services to marine science. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)
Pioneering reef and climate change scientist, Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, has been appointed an AC.
Professor Hoegh-Guldberg said he was "gobsmacked" when he was told he was receiving the award.
The University of Queensland Professor was the first to sound the alarm of the threats posed by climate change and ocean warming on coral reefs.
Professor Ian Ove Hoegh-Guldberg (right) with David Attenborough. (Supplied)
He said watching what his research has become through the work of other scientists is his legacy.
"It's far beyond what I was hoping to achieve,"he said.
For decades, Professor Mark Howden has worked on climate variability, climate change, innovation, and adaption issues.
He also happens to share the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore and other Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) members.
Professor Stuart Mark Howden will be recognised for his work towards a global response to climate change and adaptation. (ABC News: Mark Moore)
For his work, Professor Howden too has be appointed an AC.
"If you survey the average Australian, nine out of 10 will actually say they want more action on climate change so I think the message has got through," Professor Howden said.
"The challenge of course now is taking action on that motivation that people are expressing, and science has a role to play."
Voices against inequity
Associate Professor Emma Kennedy has trained hundreds of health professionals in the Northern Territory. (ABC News: Djamal Cook)
General Practitioner and Associate Professor Emma Kennedy is among the Northern Territorians to be appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
As Flinders University NT Medical Program director, Ms Kennedy has trained hundreds of health professionals, improving access to healthcare.
"I was pretty blown away, I feel quite emotional about being offered an award for, what I feel to be, being a good human,"she said.
"We've got really challenging circumstances here in the NT, so I just want to keep working with people to continue to train good doctors, people who want to stay in the Territory and work here," she said.
Childcare worker Ros Cornish says she was humbled to be acknowledged in this year's honours list. (ABC News: By Paul Verne)
Tasmanian Ros Cornish has also been appointed a Member of the Order (AM) for her significant service to early childhood education.
Ms Cornish has long lobbied for quality early childhood education and care services, and improved wages for early child care workers, both in Tasmania and nationally.
Despite her work, Ms Cornish said she felt embarrassed, but humbled, to receive the honour.
"It was really just my job," Ms Cornish said.
"Some of us would say that we're still advocating for the same things we did a few decade ago.
"But we have made some gains and we have made some inroads."
Community first for religious leaders
Mohamed Farouk Adam says he wants to see his Queensland community prosper. (ABC News: Laura Lavelle)
Mohamed Farouk Adam moved from South Africa to Australia 25 years ago and decided the only way he was going to make Brisbane feel like home was to treat it like one.
He said he went to every mosque across the city; offering his time and services to every one, and signed up to assist with several charities.
Mr Adam has been awarded an OAM for his service to Queensland's Muslim community, and for his steadfast leadership of the region's Muslim diaspora.
When the ABC spoke to him, he was standing at the Kuraby Mosque in Beenleigh, south of Brisbane.
It was reduced to rubble after it was targeted in an act of arson, days after the 9/11 terrorist attack.
Now, it's been rebuilt — Mr Adam said something beautiful has risen from the ashes.
"I'm just happy to see communities prosper and I'm just happy to be there when they need me for any assistance,"he said.
Professor John Rosenberg has been awarded an OAM for service to tertiary education, and to the Jewish community. (ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
Professor John Rosenberg has been awarded an OAM for his service to higher education and to Melbourne's Jewish community.
In 1999, Professor Rosenberg founded the synagogue Kehilat Nitzan — roughly translating to "budding community" — to create a space for Melbourne's small but committed Masorti population.
"Everybody is welcome in the congregation, and every single person can take part in every element of our services," Professor Rosenberg said, reflecting on the egalitarian ethos that has shaped Kehilat Nitzan from the start.
What began as a gathering of about 20 people in a former tyre shop has grown into a congregation of more than 200 families.
Professor Rosenberg said he often marvels at what the community has become.
"It's amazing that we now have this flourishing community which, 26 years ago, was barely the bud of a flower,"he said.