Former SA premier makes Australia Day honours list
South Australia’s top gongs in the 2026 Australia Day Honours list are being issued to a former premier now living in the United States and a revered chief justice who joins the ranks of prime ministers and famous actors. See the full list of South Australians.
Former South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has risen to the rank of Officer of the Order of Australia “for distinguished service to the people and Parliament of South Australia, to business, to people with disability, and to governance and board positions” as part of the 2026 Australia Day Honours.
While the state’s outgoing chief justice Chris Kourakis has been awarded the nation’s highest honour, receiving the Companion of the Order of Australia “for his eminent service to the judiciary, to the law and to legal reform, to social justice and gender equity” and “to the Greek community”.
He joins the ranks of former prime ministers Julia Gillard and Gough Whitlam, former SA premier Don Dunstan, cricketer Sir Donald Bradman, swimmer Dawn Fraser, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, actors Olivia Newton-John, Hugh Jackman, Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman and author Colin Thiele in being awarded the honour.
Marshall told InDaily from New York, where he is President of the American Australian Association, that the accolade “was a huge surprise when I received an email from the awards secretariat to say they would be recognising me in the Australia Day awards”.
“I was absolutely delighted and feel very humbled to be included,” he said.
Marshall was the former Liberal Premier of South Australia from 2018 until 2022.
He held the seat of Dunstan (formerly Norwood) as a member of the South Australian Liberal Party from 2010 until his resignation from parliament in February 2024 – a seat in the spotlight with knife edge margin in the upcoming state election.
Reflecting on his time as SA’s premier, Marshall said he was proud of how his government navigated the Covid-19 pandemic.
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“Obviously, I was premier during a pretty tough time for South Australia, for Australia, and in fact the world with the Covid pandemic,” he said.
“I’m very proud that South Australia probably got through that pandemic better than most other places in the entire world, and that only happens if we all work together.”
Marshall was also proud of his government’s economic achievements.
“I’m equally proud of how we were able to turn the state’s fortunes around and put it on a better footing and create opportunities for the next generation in South Australia, whether they be in space or cyber defence, the creative industries, ag tech,” he said.
“There are so many wonderful opportunities for South Australians now.”
Since January 2025, Marshall has been president of the American Australian Association in New York.
He is currently also a board member of Portalink and the Australian Ballet, a foundation governor of Coopers Brewery, a governor of AmCham and chair of the Australian Advisory Council at MITRE.
Asked about his message to other recipients, Marshall said he has yet to see the list but that “there have been some very, very worthy recipients in the past, so I feel very humbled to be included”.
“Public service is not a solo effort – the achievements that I’ve had are really shared with my many fantastic colleagues, public servants, community leaders and volunteers – it’s been a collective effort,” he said.
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Kourakis announced he would step down as chief justice in December 2025, saying that “it is an appropriate time to retire”, finishing in the role on February 19.
His legal career began after Kourakis graduated from the University of Adelaide with a bachelor of laws in 1981, and was admitted to practice the following year, before being called to the bar in 1987 and taking silk in 1997.
Kourakis was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2008 and became the state’s ninth chief justice in 2012.
He has also served as commissioner of the Legal Services Commission, president of the Law Society and the state’s Solicitor-General.
In an exclusive interview with InDaily, Kourakis previously said he hoped his greatest legacy would be the method of work he had encouraged.
“It’s to try and look at the underlying substance of any case, and to address that and to think differently, to think inevitably about the law’s responses to problems and to a particular case – that’s what I hope is my legacy,” he said.
“I’d like to think that I’ve always looked for the opportunity within the law, and within the legal principles, to help the law keep up with modern understandings of social problems, so that the law can adequately deal with those problems.”
Among the 41 other South Australian award recipients in the general division were Aboriginal social justice advocate and businesswoman Tanya Hosch, and Flinders University lymphology professor Dr Neil Piller, who were made Members of the Order of Australia.
Meanwhile, crime fiction author Dr Lainie Anderson, native plant expert Neville Bonney, and pastoralist and politician the late Walter Hughes Duncan were awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.
Anderson was inspired by the true story of South Australia’s Kate Cocks in writing her most recent novels, The Death of Dora Black and Murder on North Terrace.
In 1915, unmarried and 40 years of age, Kate Cocks became the first policewoman in the British Empire employed on the same salary as men, and with the same powers of arrest.
In the Member of the Order of Australia category, associate professor Robert Bauze was recognised for his service to orthopaedics and trauma care as a clinician and administrator, while Andrew Fielke was recognised for his role in the food industry, particularly as a chef using native ingredients.
Others included Roger Lang for his service to the community through charitable organisations, particularly through the Lang Foundation, Dr Leon Pitchon for his work as a plastic surgeon and to the arts through philanthropy and Geoffrey Tattersall for his service to veterans and community health.
| Name | Reason | |
|---|---|---|
| The Honourable Chief Justice Christopher John Kourakis | AC | For eminent service to the judiciary, to the law and to legal reform, to social justice and gender equity, to the Greek community, and to education. |
| The Honourable Steven Spence Marshall | AO | For distinguished service to the people and Parliament of South Australia, to business, to people with disability, and to governance and board positions. |
| Associate Professor Robert Joseph Bauze | AM | For significant service to orthopaedics and trauma care as a clinician and administrator. |
| Mr Andrew Craig Fielke | AM | For significant service to the food industry, particularly as a chef developing Australian native cuisine. |
| Ms Tanya Louise Hosch | AM | For significant service to the community through social policy, and as an advocate for diversity and inclusion. |
| Mr Roger James Lang | AM | For significant service to the community through charitable organisations. |
| Professor Neil Brenton Piller | AM | For significant service to lymphology as a clinician and academic. |
| Dr Leon Pitchon | AM | For significant service to medicine as a plastic surgeon, and to the arts through philanthropy. |
| Mr Geoffrey Colin Tattersall | AM | For significant service to veterans, and to community health. |
| Mr Douglas Harry Ahola | OAM | For service to the community of Port Pirie. |
| Dr Lainie Lee Anderson | OAM | For service to community history. |
| Mr Neville Bruce Bonney | OAM | For service to conservation and the environment, and to the community. |
| Mr Patrick Charles Bourke | OAM | For service to the community through public speaking coaching. |
| Mr Allen Daniel Burns | OAM | For service to the community through emergency response organisations. |
| Dr Peter Roy Clements | OAM | For service to conservation and the environment, and to medical science. |
| Mrs Kay Collas | OAM | For service to the Anglican Church of Australia, and to education. |
| The Reverend Dr Vernon John Cracknell | OAM | For service to youth through Scouts. |
| Mr Stephen Mark Day | OAM | For service to charitable organisations, and to the finance sector. |
| The late Mr Walter Hughes Duncan | OAM | For service to horticulture. |
| Mr Jean Mekhael El Kfoury | OAM | For service to Taekwondo. |
| Mr Apostolos Gaganis | OAM | For service to the community, and to the Australian food industry. |
| Dr William Douglas Gransbury | OAM | For service to the community of Angaston. |
| Mr Bruce Leslie Green | OAM | For service to local government, and to the community of Port Lincoln. |
| Dr David John Heilbronn | OAM | For service to the community through a range of organisations. |
| Mr Graham Leon Hill | OAM | For service to youth, and to vocational education. |
| Mr David John Jarman | OAM | For service to history preservation, and to the community of Marion. |
| Mr Rex Liebelt | OAM | For service to the agricultural show sector. |
| Ms Margaret Mickan | OAM | For service to the Indigenous communities of the Northern Territory and the Kimberley. |
| Mr David George Milne | OAM | For service to the community through a range of organisations. |
| Mr Eli James Murn | OAM | For service to road safety advocacy. |
| The late Mr Reginald Timothy Nolan | OAM | For service to horse racing. |
| Mr Robert John Peet | OAM | For service to the performing arts. |
| Mrs Patricia Anne Pledger | OAM | For service to children’s literature. |
| The late Mr William John Quinlan-Watson | OAM | For service to the community of Robe. |
| Ms Gerlinde Trappe | OAM | For service to the community of the Barossa, and to the arts. |
| Mr Peter Charles Wallace | OAM | For service to community health. |
| Mr Ronald Craig Warman | OAM | For service to Australian rules football, and to the community. |
| Mr Douglas Ralph Warmington | OAM | For service to the church, and to the community. |
| Mr Kenneth Bruce Warnes | OAM | For service to conservation, and to the district and community of Owen. |
| Mrs Christine Shirley Williams | OAM | For service to Australian rules football. |
| The late Mr Archibald Julian Woods | OAM | For service to the community of the Yorke Peninsula. |
