The Advertiser profiles the SA nominees for the Australian of the Year
MEET the South Australian finalists for the 2017 Australian of the Year Awards who are all making an extraordinary contribution to society.
South Australian nominees for Australian of the Year include a cycling safety advocate, a local business identity, a champion for homeless women, an anti-bullying campaigner and a fashion designer in the four SA award categories of Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Local Hero Award.
The SA recipients, to be announced tonight at a gala ceremony at Adelaide Oval, will join recipients from all other States and Territories as finalists for the national awards, to be held in Canberra on Australia Day, January 25, 2017.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA FINALISTS – 2017 AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR
Zita Ngor
Community advocate
Zita Ngor has notched many firsts since arriving in Australia as a refugee from South Sudan, aged five. She is the first in her family to complete university, the first Sudanese woman to graduate from law in Australia, and the first female African-Australian to stand for the federal Senate. The Salisbury Heights resident, a founding member of Multicultural Youth SA and chief executive of the Women’s Legal Service SA, has devoted her career to providing legal services to women and children experiencing family violence.
Professor Emeritus Alan Reid AM
Educator
An inspiring advocate for the power of education for all, Professor Alan Reid, has been an influential voice in education nationwide for more than four decades. The Malvern resident was a contributor to the formulation of Australia’s national curriculum and instrumental in the development of South Australia’s senior secondary education certificate. Post-retirement, Alan is co-founded and chair of the Australian Foundation for Fostering Learning in the Philippines which supports 15 schools and 20,000 students in the poorest part of the country.
Kate Swaffer
Dementia advocate
Diagnosed with dementia just before her 50th birthday, Kate Swaffer has refused to be defeated by her condition. The Burnside resident has helped redefine the way the world views dementia and has driven improvements to services and outcomes for more than 350,000 Australians living with the disease. Since her 2008 diagnosis, Kate has completed three degrees and is currently undertaking her PhD. The chair, ceo and co-founder of Dementia Alliance International, she sits on numerous committees and councils, and was the first person with dementia to be a keynote speaker at a World Health Organisation conference.
Dr Philip Tideman
Cardiologist
Working as a cardiologist at Flinders Medical Centre, Dr Philip Tideman discovered and revealed that people from rural South Australia had a far lower chance of surviving a heart attack than those from metropolitan Adelaide. The Wattle Park resident developed the integrated Cardiovascular Clinical Network to reduce the survival gap. Linking rural clinics to hospitals and employing new technologies, the program is improving access to quality health-care and has captured international interest, with other countries looking to replicate his care model.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA - FINALISTS – 2017 SENIOR AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR
Patricia Buckskin, 67 - Educator
A proud Narrunga Kaurna woman, Patricia Buckskin’s lifelong passion for Aboriginal education was sparked in 1972, when she was appointed to Mansfield Park Primary School as its first Aboriginal teacher aide. In 1987 she was appointed the first Aboriginal state manager of aboriginal education workers – a position she held until her retirement in 2009.
Nouha Jaber, 81 - Community volunteer
A member of the Lebanese Community Advisory Centre for nearly three decades and its current chair, Nouha Jaber is a stalwart of Adelaide’s Arabic-speaking communities, who has devoted her life to helping others.
Vilmos Milisits OAM, 68 - Businessman and philanthropist
A refugee from Hungary as a child, Vilmos Milisits, the owner of Vili’s Cakes, has employed people of all backgrounds, who, just like him, fled war-torn nations. A philanthropist, motivator and passionate supporter of multiculturalism, Vili has provided settlement advice, job offers, housing and interest-free loans to refugees.
Mary Safe, 70 - Cycling safety champion
The mother of a World Champion cyclist and Olympic rower Amy Gillett, killed during training in 2005, has crusaded tirelessly for the rights and safety of all cyclists. The former schoolteacher helped establish the Amy Gillett Foundation in 2006 to promote cycling safety and has since led successful campaigns for legislative and behavioural change.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA - FINALISTS - YOUNG AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR
Mathew D’Onofrio, 18 - Health and safety entrepreneur
A qualified first responder with St John Ambulance, Mathew established Nightlife First Aid to support high school formal after-parties and other social events.
William Russell, 22 - Anti-bully crusader
After a school friend took his own life as a result of relentless bullying for being gay, Billy established the Teen Support Network to help those suffering from harassment at school, the workplace and at home.
Amy Rust, 29 - Champion for homeless women
Amy co-founded ‘Essentials 4 Women SA’, a charity that has collected and distributed more than 150,000 sanitary items for local women in need.
Paul Vasileff, 26 - Fashion designer
Paul learnt to sew with his grandmother at age 11 is a graduate of Milan’s prestigious Europeo Istituto di Design and now the brains behind couture label Paolo Sebastian, stocked in boutiques around the globe.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA - FINALISTS - LOCAL HERO
Caz Bosch (Millswood) - Volunteer
With a particular interest in improving the educational outcomes for indigenous Australians, Caz was instrumental in establishing Parents Australia, that deploys indigenous trainers to promote the importance of literacy and numeracy by involving parents in their children’s learning.
Linda Fisk (Wellend) - Women prisoners advocate
Together with her social worker Anna Kemp, Linda, who battled addiction and gave birth to two children in Adelaide’s Women’s Prison co-founded Seeds of Affinity, a self-funded community organisation which assists women to reintegrate into society after spending time in prison.
Reginald George Heading (St Peters) - Agriculturalist
George spent 25 years working in Asia and the middle-east helping to equip local farmers with technical and practical knowledge, and apply modern Australian dryland farming techniques to improve the sustainability of pastures and livestock.
Sarah Powell (Wharminda) - Rural community champion
Returning to Darke Peak on Eyre Peninsula after a decade away, Sarah Powell was distressed to see the decline of her once thriving community. She established the Champions Academy to teach young people the skills and confidence to become the next generation of rural leaders.