Honours: Former premiers Campbell Newman, Barry O’Farrell and Ted Baillieu appointed Officers of the Order of Australia

Campbell Newman, Barry O’Farrell and Ted Baillieu, are appointed Officers of the Order of Australia for their leadership.

Campbell Newman, awarded an Australia Day honour, with his wife Lisa. Picture: Jamie Hanson

Former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has paid tribute to former NSW premier and fellow Australia Day Honours recipient Barry O’Farrell, saying he took a principled stance by stepping down from public office over a now infamous bottle of Penfolds Grange.

Mr Newman and Mr O’Farrell, as well as former Victorian premier Ted Baillieu, have all been appointed Officers of the Order of Australia during ceremonies in their respective states.

Mr Newman, who is being recognised for distinguished service to the people and Parliament of Queensland, particularly for his time as Premier, and to local government, said he admired both men for their leadership and politics.

Barry O’Farrell.

But he was especially impressed by Mr O’Farrell’s 2014 resignation, which surprised and shocked many in politics. The then-premier was in the witness box during a NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry when he was queried about a $3000 bottle of 1959 Penfolds Grange he received as a gift.

Mr O’Farrell denied that he’d received the bottle of wine, only for contradictory evidence to emerge during the next day’s hearing. He resigned immediately over the misstep.

“Barry O’Farrell did the principled thing with the bottle of wine that he forgot about — that was a really principled move and I contrast that with so many issues today (in politics), so he showed he was the real deal when he did that. I was really impressed by that.”

Australia Day Honours

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Mr Newman, now a businessman and commentator with Sky News, described his Australia Day honour as a testament to his family “who supported me and put up with a lot while I was in political life”. He described it also as a recognition of his staff members during his time in state government and on local council. “I couldn’t have done what I did without their fantastic support, so this is their recognition. I hope they see it that way,” he said.

Highlighting his successes in state government, he pointed to an apology from the Queensland Government to victims of forced adoptions as one of the defining moments of his career. As for regrets, he cited losing the 2015 election, a loss he put down to an difficult, unpopular and challenging decisions that he could not convince fellow Queenslanders to abide.

“If we had been able to convince people to give us a second term, Queensland would have gone ahead like a rocket. I regret we didn’t get the politics quite right.”

Attempts to contact Mr O’Farrell were unsuccessful. He is being honoured for distinguished service to the people and Parliament of NSW, particularly as Premier, and to the community. Mr Baillieu is being honoured for distinguished service to the people and Parliament of Victoria, and for his involvement with international engagement.