TINA ARENA, AM
Singer
Tina Arena, that precocious child star who grew up to be the multilingual, feisty mother hen of Australian pop, is in an unusually blissful state.
Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena makes it clear she wants to be a good sport more than a party pooper as she discusses being made a member of the Order of Australia. 
"I don't want to throw scalding hot water over myself ... I've shot off at the mouth in the past [and] had no right to do that".
She isn't offended that her home country took six years longer to bestow a major national honour on her than France did. In 2009, French president Nicolas Sarkozy presented her with the Knighthood of the Order of National Merit.
"I believe that everything comes when it's supposed to."
So, what does Australia Day mean to Arena? "It's a celebration of an exquisite melting pot. That is what is beautiful about Australia, and it makes me proud."
She has one wish for her nation on Australia Day: "That we can learn from everything going on in the world and lead by example in thinking outside the box [and] not being scared of the future."
Technology is what bugs Arena most. She believes the technology we use each day is too complicated and wastes time. "Social media is not a positive distraction; quite the opposite."
So, could this honour, earned from an extraordinary 40-year career that began on Young Talent Time in 1976, quieten the sometimes outspoken Arena? "I am incredibly honoured. How could I not be? [It] won't change who I am [but], as a human being, I give respect for whatever levels of society ... I come from humble beginnings."
Reference to those beginnings in an Italian household in Moonee Ponds in the 1970s quickly leads to immigration: "I'm not frightened [of immigrants]. I want everyone to have the same chance to have a go.
"A part of me says Australia is so capable of embracing everyone. My parents were embraced; I'd love to see that continued."