Tony Abbott makes retired Australian Defence Force chief a knight of the Order of Australia

By Mark Kenny and Bevan Shields
Updated January 26 2015 - 11:13am, first published 10:24am
Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Air Chief Marshal (retired) Angus Houston pictured in 2014. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Air Chief Marshal (retired) Angus Houston pictured in 2014. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

He was the nation's top soldier, and has since become the federal government's Mr Fixit - the "go to" man chosen to lead the complicated investigations into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 and the shooting down of MH17 over Ukraine.