SA finalists for Aussie of the Year

[Dogwatcher]

South Australian Finalists Announced For Australian of the Year Awards 2008

The South Australian finalists for Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia’s Local Hero were announced today.

South Australian finalists include an Academy Award nominated filmmaker, an ecological architect, a violinist, a coastal community activist and a shark expert.

Ms Tam Johnston, National Manager of the Australian of the Year Awards, said nominations for this year’s awards reflected the values Australians admired in others.

“We received more than 3,000 nominations for people who are contributing to the community, who are taking a leadership role in our society and whose achievements are an inspiration,” said Ms Johnston.

Ralph Norris, Chief Executive Officer of major sponsor Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said the finalists demonstrated the diversity of Australian society and the importance of community.

“The finalists in this year’s awards make a difference within local communities or to the Australian community as a whole and their contributions are a vital part of what makes this country great,” said Mr Norris.

Recipients of each category will be announced at South Australia’s Australian of the Year Awards Ceremony on Wednesday 21 November at Government House, Adelaide at 5:30pm. Recipients in each category then become national finalists for the Australian of the Year Awards to be announced on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra on 25 January, 2008.

South Australian finalists are:

SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR
Michael Angelakis AM - Businessman and cancer supporter (Netherby)
Dr Paul Downton - Ecological architect (Hyde Park)
Scott Hicks - Filmmaker (Kent Town)
Brenton Whittaker OAM - Humanitarian supporter (Unley BC)

SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S SENIOR AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR
Margaret Flower OAM - Philanthropist (Magill)
Rodney Fox - Shark expert (Glenelg)
Professor Rob Morrison OAM - Science communicator (Bridgewater)
Joy Tatnell - Refugee supporter (Seacombe Heights)

SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S YOUNG AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR
Anna McInerney - Fundraiser (Glenelg)
Erin Riddell - Social activist (Malvern)
Victoria Saint - Health advocate (Tennyson)
Niki Vasilakis - Musician (Semaphore Park)

SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S LOCAL HERO
Jim Douglas - Coastal community activist (Henley Beach)
Nouha Jaber - Arabic community worker (St Georges)
Samantha Krollig - Rural community builder (Bowhill)
Ted Pawelski - Community worker (West Lakes)
Ends.

Finalist bios attached with this media release.
For further information or to arrange an interview please contact:
Nicole Browne, Media Opps 02 9954 7677 or 0414 673 762 or nicole@mediaopps.com.au

BIOGRAPHIES – SOUTH AUSTRALIA FINALISTS, AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2008

AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR – SA

Michael Angelakis AM
Businessman and cancer supporter

Michael Angelakis runs South Australia’s largest seafood, poultry and game business; chairs the Seafood Industry Development Steering Committee; is Director of the Seafood Council; and is a television celebrity as co-host of the Out of the Blue series. In short, he is the face of SA seafood. Michael was destined to work closely with the ocean. As a youngster, wanting to be a marine biologist led to his passion for the seafood industry. It helped having a family in the business, which started in the 1920’s with a borrowed dinghy. Now in its third generation, the diversified company uses the latest technology and employs over 140 people. Michael’s toughest challenge came through his misadventure with cancer. Through this experience he has worked to inspire others. His generosity in raising money to improve the care and comfort of other patients through the Royal Adelaide Hospital Cancer Centre has been extraordinary.

Dr Paul Downton
Ecological architect

Dr Paul Downton is an award winning architect who is internationally recognised for his work as a theorist and practitioner of ecological architecture and eco-city projects. He has worked tirelessly for over thirty years promoting urban ecology, both in a professional capacity and through thousands of hours of voluntary work. He is the architect of Christie Walk, a successful ecological development in Adelaide. Well before climate change entered mainstream consciousness Paul was raising community awareness about the need to reshape our cities to be ecologically sustainable. Indeed then United States Senator Al Gore said in 1992 that Paul was on the cutting edge of some of the most critical issues of our times and shared Paul’s view that the realignment of human civilisation’s relationship with the natural environment is the key to a sustainable future. Paul has been a persistent, patient and effective educator, both formally and through his extensive community service.

Scott Hicks
Filmmaker

Scott Hicks was propelled to the forefront of international filmmakers in 1996 following the release of his film Shine and its world-wide box office success and honours, including seven Academy Award nominations. Scott had come a long way from his studies at Flinders University and a job as a runner on the set of Storm Boy in 1976. He has gone from strength to strength, with credits for such movies as Hearts in Atlantis, Snow Falling on Cedars, and the recently released No Reservations. He’s currently back home filming The Boys are Back in Town. Between films, Scott directs high-end commercials including the only advertisement ever to be inducted into the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Scott is passionate about South Australia and whenever possible brings elements of his filming projects here.

Brenton Whittaker OAM
Humanitarian supporter

Brenton Whittaker is the kind of person who simply can’t say no to anyone in need. Seeing poverty first hand while travelling overseas, Brenton knew he had to do something. Building on his altruistic inclinations from his Boy Scout days, he concluded that we are all on this planet together and those who are blessed with opportunities should try to make a level playing field for the others. He started Carry for Kids in 1995, using tourists’ spare outgoing luggage capacity to deliver donated goods to orphanages in South East Asia, thus avoiding hefty customs fees and ensuring they are delivered to the right people. Brenton’s roles now as director of Bali Kids, board member and project coordinator of the Australia Cambodia Foundation, and his support of many other humanitarian causes is more than a contribution, they are his life’s work and the world is all the better for them.


SENIOR AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR – SA

Margaret Flower OAM
Philanthropist

Margaret Flower has devoted her retirement to supporting aid development projects overseas. She has built a school and provided fresh water to communities in Cameroon and built a pre-school in East Timor and a health clinic in Indonesia. Her support for the Organisation of Women AIDS Educators in Mozambique enables activists and counsellors to keep functioning in their important roles in their clinics. Margaret has also funded a micro-finance project for slum communities in Bangladesh and more recently supported HIV education in Tibet and a special health project for elderly former tea plantation workers in Sri Lanka. These are just a few of the projects she has been involved in that have helped thousands of people living in very poor countries around the world. Yet Margaret asks for nothing in return – she is as humble as she is generous and is an inspiration to all Australians, young and old.

Rodney Fox
Shark expert

After surviving a violent attack by a Great White shark during a fishing competition off the SA coast in 1963, Rodney Fox dedicated his life to studying sharks and has become one of the world’s leading authorities and conservationists on the species. He built the first underwater observation cage to dive with Great White sharks, providing an unequalled opportunity for tourists, film makers, and scientists to observe them. Rodney is a renowned international speaker, has written two books and many articles, and he has led more than 200 research and filming expeditions. The many facets of his work have put SA on the global tourism map, with over 30,000 people a year visiting his museum at Glenelg. From the time of his attack he has worked to create awareness about this majestic creature and with his campaigning around the world he has moved from being victim to a committed advocate.

Professor Rob Morrison OAM
Science communicator

Professor Rob Morrison’s work as a scientist, writer, and media personality has added profoundly to the promotion and understanding of science in Australia. For 25 years he has been a familiar face of science on television, as presenter of The Curiosity Show for eighteen years and appearances on The New Inventors, Nexus, Science Magazine, and Radio National’s Ockham’s Razor. He has written thirty books on science and natural history and under his stewardship the SA Royal Zoological Society has trebled its membership in six years. Rob recently helped establish SciWorld, a new science centre in Adelaide that runs exciting education programs, and developed six regional science fairs and shows, including Adelaide’s National Science Week. He is recognised nationally and internationally as an outstanding science communicator and in the citation for his2007 Australian Museum Eureka Prize Rob is described as a national treasure and a well-loved ambassador for science.

Joy Tatnell
Refugee supporter

Joy Tatnell has worked tirelessly for many years to help people less fortunate than herself. After contributing to the Red Cross and Lifeline her passion for social justice led her to set up the successful network of volunteer women’s clubs within World Vision; hundreds of these clubs have supported overseas humanitarian projects over many years. They are Joy’s legacy of her time working with World Vision, when she was exposed to the hardships people faced while taking women’s groups on tours of under-developed countries. The Cambodian family she took under her protective wing in 1982 remain a credit to Joy’s compassion and she has since opened her home to refugees from Pakistan, Iran, Kenya, Vietnam, and China who need shelter and friendship as they face depression and suicide. She selflessly provided the food, clothes, and emotional support they needed to get them on their way to a new life.


YOUNG AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR – SA


Anna McInerney, 16
Fund raiser

If you think you recognise Anna McInerney it’s probably because you’ve seen her face on the front cover of the latest Adelaide phone directory. She was chosen under the theme of “Champions in Our Community,” an apt description of this helpful, friendly, enthusiastic, and dedicated young citizen. Over the past six years Anna has raised $31,000 for the Red Cross, mostly from sewing and selling a soft toy – a fluffy beanbag chicken – that she designed as a ten-year-old. Anna not only attends school, she also has a part-time job, plays three musical instruments, sings in a choir, debates, and serves on the Red Cross SA Youth Advisory Committee. Earlier this year she produced an outstanding music and dance version of Romeo and Juliet for the Adelaide Fringe Festival, giving local disadvantaged and disabled students the opportunity to attend a live performance. Anna’s generosity, initiative, and dedication are an inspiration.

Erin Riddell, 21
Social activist

Erin Riddell channels her passion for social and environmental justice into positive activism as an Advocacy Team Leader of World Vision’s youth movement, Vision Generation, and through her work with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. Her studies and her participation in community networks have fostered her passion for international relations, the fight against global inequity, and social and environmental impacts of world trade. Erin develops workshops and campaigns to raise young people’s awareness of these issues and has represented Vision Generation at the state and national levels and at conferences. Her campaigns include lobbying for fair trade tea and coffee on her university campus and a weekly radio program covering global issues. Another one is the “Adopt-a-Politician” campaign aimed at giving young people non-partisan information about climate change and empowering them to become politically engaged. Erin will travel to Thailand next year to learn more about sustainable livelihoods and permaculture.

Victoria Saint, 23
Health advocate

Victoria (Tori) Saint has a passion for driving social change to improve health outcomes among Australia’s most vulnerable populations. She is a member of the UN Development Fund, the People’s Health Movement, and South Australians Supporting Children & Women in Assam. Her commitment to social change is also demonstrated by her work as South Australian Coordinator of Project Australia, a youth driven movement aimed at connecting young leaders across Australia. She has been integral in organising SA’s participation in nationwide discussion nights focusing on health and wellbeing, youth issues and empowerment, Indigenous issues, human rights, and social justice. Tori has also stepped forward as a volunteer in times of crisis, such as working in a call centre during the Red Cross earthquake and tsunami appeals and her long association with the Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club. Tori has also participated in numerous health-related conferences, as well as this year’s Brightest Young Minds Conference.

Niki Vasilakis, 25
Musician

Niki Vasilakis is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most exciting musicians and one of the world’s up and coming violinists. She has already played her solo violin concertos with some of the finest orchestras in the world. Her regular media appearances and her busy international schedule of concerts have made her a familiar face with a wide public. Niki took up violin at age four because her parents suspected she had ADHD, using her daily practice to temper her over-energetic behaviour. She became so keen that she often wagged school to practise. Her career has taken her to Europe, China, and New Zealand, the Rockefeller Centre in New York, Washington Cathedral, and the Sydney Opera House. Niki is also lead violinist with Australia’s premier piano trio, TrioZ, and regularly volunteers her time running school holiday programs in remote Indigenous communities.



LOCAL HERO – SA

Jim Douglas
Coastal community activist

Jim Douglas has been a tireless activist for the people of Adelaide’s western coastal suburbs for over twenty years, acting as their advocate to all levels of government. He has championed community concerns on environmental, urban planning, public health, and arts issues, including the ‘Save Our Beaches’ campaign to protect the last metropolitan sand dune. Jim was the impetus for ‘Energy Friends,’ to provide energy audits for householders to save both money and the environment. This was so successful that Energy SA took his concept into nearly 8,000 homes across the state. Jim has a strong interest in the River Torrens and has taken a leading role in a coalition of community groups concerned for the ecological sustainability of the Gulf St Vincent. Dedicating his organisational skills to yet another project and despite serious health concerns, Jim also initiated a sea-creature mosaic community artwork to decorate the sea wall at Henley Beach.

Nouha Jaber
Arabic community worker

Nouha Jaber is a very busy person. She is concurrently involved in more than ten organisations and projects helping Adelaide’s Arabic-speaking communities. Under her guiding hand they find work for Arabic-speaking people, assist frail aged people and people with disabilities, organise regular social gatherings, arrange English language classes for refugees, help the elderly remain in their homes for as long as possible, and train care workers. Nouha also coordinates a group of Arab-speaking women who organise monthly lunches and information sessions for seniors, provides information to the wider community at the Migrant Resource Centre, and she obtained a grant for a project that enabled children and grandparents to meet, discuss their lives, and have lunches and other activities. In a joint project between the SA Lebanese Women’s Association and police, Nouha fosters awareness of the challenges facing Arabic-speaking youth and the benefits of their positive participation in the Australian community.

Samantha Krollig
Rural community builder

Samantha Krollig lives in the small South Australian rural community of Bowhill. She understands the importance of teamwork in sharing the workload and strengthening the social and economic capacity of her community, especially when times are tough. Samantha epitomises the strength of character of Australia’s many remote rural communities. Just two examples: On seeing the need for support for a local mothers and babies group to provide support and encouragement, Samantha formed the Bowhill Kids & Coffee Parent Group, which offered a welcoming forum to openly discuss concerns, find support and friendship, and learn new mothercraft skills. When the tennis clubroom burnt down three years ago, Samantha led the way in getting it rebuilt as a community hall costing $250,000. It’s nearly finished – and debt free due to her fundraising skills. Because of the friendships forged through Samantha’s efforts, there are many who no longer face isolation and loneliness.

Ted Pawelski
Community worker

Ted Pawelski was a policeman for almost forty years, much of this in regional areas. Ted took into retirement in 1994 the experience of contact with people affected by poverty, drugs, and alcohol and he decided to do something to help them. Together with a good friend Ted set up a charity targeting schools where children arrived in the morning without having had breakfast. He gave them pasta and sauce meals and over time this program extended to many schools, charities, and pensioner groups. Every week Ted and his group of volunteers, all of them retired policemen, work tirelessly to support those in desperate need of assistance and help organisations like Boys Town at Port Pirie, various ethnic and Indigenous groups, and Operation Flinders, who take kids into the outback. This local hero also gets bakeries to donate their unsold bread and he distributes it to many needy homes each evening.