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Australian Of The Year

The Australian’s Australian of the YearBooks
26/4/23: #Embargoed until 745pm on Thursday 27 April#. Poet Sarah Holland-Batt who has won the Stella Prize. John Feder/The Australian.

Passion for poetry and for living her best life

From ripping off bush ballads in primary school to receiving the 2016 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for poetry, Sarah Holland-Batt says her spark for poetry was lit in high school.

Australian’s Australian of the YearScience
EMBARGOED THE AUSTRALIAN: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos JUNE 21, 2022: Prof Michelle Simmons pictured in the quantum mechanics lab at NSW Uni.Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Physicist pushing world into quantum age

Michelle Simmons is leading the transition from the digital to the quantum age, and putting Australia at the forefront of information processing.

Australian’s Australian of the YearNation
Michele Bullock, governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. Australia’s central bank “will not hesitate” to raise interest rates further if there’s a material upgrade to its inflation outlook, new Governor Bullock said, in her strongest reference yet to the threat of renewed price pressures. Photographer: Lisa Maree Williams/Bloomberg

New RBA chief’s historic task

Michele Bullock became the first woman to helm the Reserve Bank in the middle of a desperate battle to tame the most severe ­inflation outbreak the country has seen in a generation.

Australian’s Australian of the YearFilm
Australian actor Jacob Elordi attends the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

Awards season beckons for star

With leading roles in two of the most-talked-about films of the year, Priscilla and Saltburn, 2023 was the year Brisbane actor Jacob Elordi became a certified A-lister.

Australian’s Australian of the YearNation
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 16: Sam Kerr of Australia (L) celebrating her goal with her teammate Hayley Raso of Australia (R) during the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Semi Final match between Australia and England at Stadium Australia on August 16, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Daniela Porcelli/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Who will be the Australian of 2023?

Australians have faced a year of significant challenges – a divisive referendum campaign, runaway inflation and rising interest rates, bushfires and floods – and yet heroes have emerged. Help decide the Australian of 2023.

scientist who took a standNation
19th January 2023.Kirsty Wright and her German Shepherd Ava at Main Beach, Surfers Paradise.Glenn Hunt / The Australian

Our Australian of the Year named

Kirsty Wright, who risked her career, her reputation and financial ­security to help uncover glaring failures at the Queensland government forensics laboratory, is our Australian of the Year.

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/topics/australian-of-the-year