Queen’s birthday honours: party elders recognised for their decades of service to people and nation

Former attorney-general Philip Ruddock, former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop and Nationals maverick Ron Boswell have been named ­Officers in the Order of Australia.

Former attorney-general Philip Ruddock has been made an Officer in the Order of Australia.

Former attorney-general Philip Ruddock, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Bronwyn Bishop and former maverick Queensland Nationals senator Ron Boswell have been named ­Officers in the Order of Australia.

Two former Liberal premiers, Mike Baird of NSW and Denis Napthine of Victoria, have also been recognised for their contributions to their respective states.

Mr Ruddock, who served as a Liberal MP from 1973-2016 before going on to become the mayor of Hornsby in Sydney’s northern suburbs, has been honoured for his “distinguished service to the ­people and parliament of Australia, and to local government.”

He said he hoped he was ­remembered “not as the minister who had to protect our borders but, rather, the minister who ­restored integrity to migration so that it had far more public support than it had in the past”.

“One of the reasons that the numbers of people who settled in Australia went up in the Howard government — it almost doubled in that time — was because people were much more confident about the way it was working in the ­national interest,” he said.

Mr Ruddock, who served as immigration minister from 1996-2003, also identified his efforts to keep Australians safe as ­attorney-general in the aftermath of the 9/11 ­attacks in the US as an important moment in his career.

Mrs Bishop, who was first elected for the Liberals to the Senate in 1987 before becoming the member for Mackellar from 1994-2016, is recognised for her service to the “parliament of Australia, to the people of NSW, and to women in politics”.

“I hope that this will serve as an inspiration for young Australian women who think about going into public life, serving their country and loving their country,” she said.

“When I set out as a young girl to want to be a member of parliament and to serve the Australian people, there were hardly any women anywhere, particularly in the federal parliament.

“But I knew it was possible because in Australia we all had the opportunity.”

Mr Boswell, who served as a senator for Queensland from 1983-2014, said it was a “wonderful honour” and he “tried pretty hard for 31 years”.

He is being recognised for his “service to the parliament of Australia, to the people of Queensland, and to fisheries research and development”.

Mr Baird, who served as premier of NSW from 2014-17, was named as an Officer of the Order of Australia for his “service to the people and parliament of NSW, particularly as premier, and to the community.”

Mr Napthine served as premier of Victoria from 2013-2014 and was named an Officer of the Order of Australia for his service to the people and parliament of Victoria as well as to veterinary science.