Companionships of the Order of Australia for a pair of grotesques such as Daniel Andrews and Mark McGowan show just how much the honours system invented as part of creeping republicanism, and imposed without public consultation by the Hawke government, can be manipulated for political purposes. To reward people like that as exemplars of public leadership – in Andrews’ case for ‘eminent service to the people and Parliament of Victoria, to public health… and to infrastructure development’ is akin to awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to V.