Australia Day honours will be announced this week, and, if recent announcements are any indication, they are likely to generate considerable public debate. In 2014, there was the re-establishment of knighthoods and damehoods in the Order of Australia under then prime minister Tony Abbott. The next year, Prince Philip was infamously awarded one of the revived titles. The past decade has seen increasing scrutiny of the gender balance in the awards, while individual honours, such as those given to writer Bettina Arndt and tennis champion Margaret Court, have also drawn criticism. This is not necessarily out of keeping with the longer history of the honours system.

Source: Why controversy continues to follow the Australia Day honours