Holding out for a local hero: the search for Australia's next Vicki Jellie
After losing husband Peter to cancer, Ms Jellie made it her mission to bring treatment services to her part of regional Australia.
It was a dream of her husband's that she didn't discover until after his death in 2008.
From there, Peter's Project was born - a group dedicated to fighting for better cancer services for Warrnambool on the south-west coast of Victoria.
Ms Jellie lobbied governments and rallied the community to raise funds.
The region raised $5 million in just nine months, while $25 million came from state and federal governments.
The South West Regional Cancer Centre opened in July 2016, offering radiotherapy treatment for regional patients.
Ms Jellie's campaigning led to a nomination in the Australian of the Year Awards. She was named Victoria's Local Hero before then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced in Canberra that she was Australia's Local Hero of 2017.
Ms Jellie said the years since the opening of the centre and the Australian of the Year honour had been a whirlwind.
"The opening of the centre was something that had come together after years of work by so many people," she said. "It was just such a great outcome for the community."
She had never expected to be recognised for her advocacy.
"I didn't do it for that, that's not my style," she said. "I did it because it was in my heart and the community followed on board to work together to do that. To be told I'd received the award was, of course, an honour, but very humbling, and I continue to pursue the cause for the community because even though it was my name on the award, for me, our community's name was on it."
Ms Jellie said the emotional weight of her husband's diagnosis was intensified by the fact they were required to travel three hours for treatment.
"We had no family in Melbourne yet had to go down there for treatment for weeks on end, away from our jobs, our family and children," she said. "It was a huge upheaval."
Ms Jellie says she knows Peter would be proud of the outcome their community achieved.
"He was a very big community person," she said. "He was in the rural fire brigade and on school councils, we were also a community-minded family so it means a lot to be able to achieve it, even though a lot of times along the way, we never knew if we would. We knew it wouldn't bring him back but that it was going to benefit so many in our region for generations to come."
Ms Jellie said the Local Hero award led other communities to seek advice.
"I had contact from a lot of different groups around Australia, that weren't all necessarily cancer related, that felt they did not get the same services as our metropolitan counterparts and asked how they could move forward like we did," she said.
"Really, my response to them was 'You have to work as a team and you have to not give up when you easily could', because we didn't give up, we kept going even though we were told we would never get such a centre."
The South West Regional Cancer Centre provides oncology, haematology, radiation therapy and other support services.
"There have been some really great outcomes," Ms Jellie said. "And I still get feedback from people just down at the supermarket or elsewhere, who have now been able to stay at home and have their treatment, and that is the biggest benefit."
She hopes others in her community and elsewhere around Australia who are making a difference will be recognised for their dedication with a nomination in the Australian of the Year Awards.
"You don't have to look far to see all the great clubs and groups we have here, and it's the quiet achievers in those groups that go around doing things, not for acknowledgment, but sometimes we need to really say to people that what they are doing is something extraordinary," she said.
Help find the 2025 Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia's Local Hero by nominating someone you admire.
The only way someone can be considered for the annual awards, which were first presented in 1960, is if a member of the public nominates them.
Nominate online at australianoftheyear.org.au. Nominations close at midnight on July 31.
Vicki Jellie was told a cancer centre for her community would never happen. But she never gave up hope.
After losing husband Peter to cancer, Ms Jellie made it her mission to bring treatment services to her part of regional Australia.
It was a dream of her husband's that she didn't discover until after his death in 2008.
From there, Peter's Project was born - a group dedicated to fighting for better cancer services for Warrnambool on the south-west coast of Victoria.
Ms Jellie lobbied governments and rallied the community to raise funds.
The region raised $5 million in just nine months, while $25 million came from state and federal governments.
The South West Regional Cancer Centre opened in July 2016, offering radiotherapy treatment for regional patients.
Ms Jellie's campaigning led to a nomination in the Australian of the Year Awards. She was named Victoria's Local Hero before then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced in Canberra that she was Australia's Local Hero of 2017.
Ms Jellie said the years since the opening of the centre and the Australian of the Year honour had been a whirlwind.
"The opening of the centre was something that had come together after years of work by so many people," she said. "It was just such a great outcome for the community."
She had never expected to be recognised for her advocacy.
"I didn't do it for that, that's not my style," she said. "I did it because it was in my heart and the community followed on board to work together to do that. To be told I'd received the award was, of course, an honour, but very humbling, and I continue to pursue the cause for the community because even though it was my name on the award, for me, our community's name was on it."
Ms Jellie said the emotional weight of her husband's diagnosis was intensified by the fact they were required to travel three hours for treatment.
"We had no family in Melbourne yet had to go down there for treatment for weeks on end, away from our jobs, our family and children," she said. "It was a huge upheaval."
Ms Jellie says she knows Peter would be proud of the outcome their community achieved.
"He was a very big community person," she said. "He was in the rural fire brigade and on school councils, we were also a community-minded family so it means a lot to be able to achieve it, even though a lot of times along the way, we never knew if we would. We knew it wouldn't bring him back but that it was going to benefit so many in our region for generations to come."
Ms Jellie said the Local Hero award led other communities to seek advice.
"I had contact from a lot of different groups around Australia, that weren't all necessarily cancer related, that felt they did not get the same services as our metropolitan counterparts and asked how they could move forward like we did," she said.
"Really, my response to them was 'You have to work as a team and you have to not give up when you easily could', because we didn't give up, we kept going even though we were told we would never get such a centre."
The South West Regional Cancer Centre provides oncology, haematology, radiation therapy and other support services.
"There have been some really great outcomes," Ms Jellie said. "And I still get feedback from people just down at the supermarket or elsewhere, who have now been able to stay at home and have their treatment, and that is the biggest benefit."
She hopes others in her community and elsewhere around Australia who are making a difference will be recognised for their dedication with a nomination in the Australian of the Year Awards.
"You don't have to look far to see all the great clubs and groups we have here, and it's the quiet achievers in those groups that go around doing things, not for acknowledgment, but sometimes we need to really say to people that what they are doing is something extraordinary," she said.
Help find the 2025 Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia's Local Hero by nominating someone you admire.
The only way someone can be considered for the annual awards, which were first presented in 1960, is if a member of the public nominates them.
Nominate online at australianoftheyear.org.au. Nominations close at midnight on July 31.
Vicki Jellie was told a cancer centre for her community would never happen. But she never gave up hope.
After losing husband Peter to cancer, Ms Jellie made it her mission to bring treatment services to her part of regional Australia.
It was a dream of her husband's that she didn't discover until after his death in 2008.
From there, Peter's Project was born - a group dedicated to fighting for better cancer services for Warrnambool on the south-west coast of Victoria.
Ms Jellie lobbied governments and rallied the community to raise funds.
The region raised $5 million in just nine months, while $25 million came from state and federal governments.
The South West Regional Cancer Centre opened in July 2016, offering radiotherapy treatment for regional patients.
Ms Jellie's campaigning led to a nomination in the Australian of the Year Awards. She was named Victoria's Local Hero before then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced in Canberra that she was Australia's Local Hero of 2017.
Ms Jellie said the years since the opening of the centre and the Australian of the Year honour had been a whirlwind.
"The opening of the centre was something that had come together after years of work by so many people," she said. "It was just such a great outcome for the community."
She had never expected to be recognised for her advocacy.
"I didn't do it for that, that's not my style," she said. "I did it because it was in my heart and the community followed on board to work together to do that. To be told I'd received the award was, of course, an honour, but very humbling, and I continue to pursue the cause for the community because even though it was my name on the award, for me, our community's name was on it."
Ms Jellie said the emotional weight of her husband's diagnosis was intensified by the fact they were required to travel three hours for treatment.
"We had no family in Melbourne yet had to go down there for treatment for weeks on end, away from our jobs, our family and children," she said. "It was a huge upheaval."
Ms Jellie says she knows Peter would be proud of the outcome their community achieved.
"He was a very big community person," she said. "He was in the rural fire brigade and on school councils, we were also a community-minded family so it means a lot to be able to achieve it, even though a lot of times along the way, we never knew if we would. We knew it wouldn't bring him back but that it was going to benefit so many in our region for generations to come."
Ms Jellie said the Local Hero award led other communities to seek advice.
"I had contact from a lot of different groups around Australia, that weren't all necessarily cancer related, that felt they did not get the same services as our metropolitan counterparts and asked how they could move forward like we did," she said.
"Really, my response to them was 'You have to work as a team and you have to not give up when you easily could', because we didn't give up, we kept going even though we were told we would never get such a centre."
The South West Regional Cancer Centre provides oncology, haematology, radiation therapy and other support services.
"There have been some really great outcomes," Ms Jellie said. "And I still get feedback from people just down at the supermarket or elsewhere, who have now been able to stay at home and have their treatment, and that is the biggest benefit."
She hopes others in her community and elsewhere around Australia who are making a difference will be recognised for their dedication with a nomination in the Australian of the Year Awards.
"You don't have to look far to see all the great clubs and groups we have here, and it's the quiet achievers in those groups that go around doing things, not for acknowledgment, but sometimes we need to really say to people that what they are doing is something extraordinary," she said.
Help find the 2025 Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia's Local Hero by nominating someone you admire.
The only way someone can be considered for the annual awards, which were first presented in 1960, is if a member of the public nominates them.
Nominate online at australianoftheyear.org.au. Nominations close at midnight on July 31.
Vicki Jellie was told a cancer centre for her community would never happen. But she never gave up hope.
After losing husband Peter to cancer, Ms Jellie made it her mission to bring treatment services to her part of regional Australia.
It was a dream of her husband's that she didn't discover until after his death in 2008.
From there, Peter's Project was born - a group dedicated to fighting for better cancer services for Warrnambool on the south-west coast of Victoria.
Ms Jellie lobbied governments and rallied the community to raise funds.
The region raised $5 million in just nine months, while $25 million came from state and federal governments.
The South West Regional Cancer Centre opened in July 2016, offering radiotherapy treatment for regional patients.
Ms Jellie's campaigning led to a nomination in the Australian of the Year Awards. She was named Victoria's Local Hero before then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced in Canberra that she was Australia's Local Hero of 2017.
Ms Jellie said the years since the opening of the centre and the Australian of the Year honour had been a whirlwind.
"The opening of the centre was something that had come together after years of work by so many people," she said. "It was just such a great outcome for the community."
She had never expected to be recognised for her advocacy.
"I didn't do it for that, that's not my style," she said. "I did it because it was in my heart and the community followed on board to work together to do that. To be told I'd received the award was, of course, an honour, but very humbling, and I continue to pursue the cause for the community because even though it was my name on the award, for me, our community's name was on it."
Ms Jellie said the emotional weight of her husband's diagnosis was intensified by the fact they were required to travel three hours for treatment.
"We had no family in Melbourne yet had to go down there for treatment for weeks on end, away from our jobs, our family and children," she said. "It was a huge upheaval."
Ms Jellie says she knows Peter would be proud of the outcome their community achieved.
"He was a very big community person," she said. "He was in the rural fire brigade and on school councils, we were also a community-minded family so it means a lot to be able to achieve it, even though a lot of times along the way, we never knew if we would. We knew it wouldn't bring him back but that it was going to benefit so many in our region for generations to come."
Ms Jellie said the Local Hero award led other communities to seek advice.
"I had contact from a lot of different groups around Australia, that weren't all necessarily cancer related, that felt they did not get the same services as our metropolitan counterparts and asked how they could move forward like we did," she said.
"Really, my response to them was 'You have to work as a team and you have to not give up when you easily could', because we didn't give up, we kept going even though we were told we would never get such a centre."
The South West Regional Cancer Centre provides oncology, haematology, radiation therapy and other support services.
"There have been some really great outcomes," Ms Jellie said. "And I still get feedback from people just down at the supermarket or elsewhere, who have now been able to stay at home and have their treatment, and that is the biggest benefit."
She hopes others in her community and elsewhere around Australia who are making a difference will be recognised for their dedication with a nomination in the Australian of the Year Awards.
"You don't have to look far to see all the great clubs and groups we have here, and it's the quiet achievers in those groups that go around doing things, not for acknowledgment, but sometimes we need to really say to people that what they are doing is something extraordinary," she said.
Help find the 2025 Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia's Local Hero by nominating someone you admire.
The only way someone can be considered for the annual awards, which were first presented in 1960, is if a member of the public nominates them.
Nominate online at australianoftheyear.org.au. Nominations close at midnight on July 31.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
Algal bloom citizen scientist records more than 1,000 dead sea creatures on 500m beach
Each day for the past two weeks, Johanna Williams has walked a stretch of Adelaide's coast with a metal ruler and smartphone in hand. Feeling helpless amid the state's ongoing toxic algal bloom, she decided to start documenting the impact on her local beach. She had no idea that in such a short time she would make more than 1,000 observations of dead sea creatures along a 500-metre stretch of the Glenelg shoreline. "I try to get out here along the shore once every day … I've been making a point of coming along the beach," Ms Williams said. "I got back from holidays 12 days ago. I was absolutely gutted to see all the dead fish on here. "So, I guess to shift my sense of despair I thought, 'What can I do? I'll get out here, I'll take photos and upload them to iNaturalist.'" Ms Williams, who is an occupational therapist by trade, said she had learned a lot about different species since she began contributing to the citizen science site about a fortnight ago. "I started on the 26th of July … along the 500-metre strip between Pier Street and the south side of the jetty, pretty much walking once a day," she said. "I've uploaded 1,003 different observations." Among them, Ms Williams has identified 113 species. "My knowledge of the sea has just expanded," she said. Ms Williams is among hundreds of South Australians who have joined the citizen science movement. More than 20,000 observations have been uploaded to the SA Marine Mortality Monitoring Project since the bloom began in March. Ms Williams said her thoughts had also turned to the "health concerns, and just even people's recreation". "You can't go out and fish anymore," she said. "You just think … of how the commercial fishing industry is affected, how the cafes and all that are affected, when people don't come down, [and] the tourism." On Thursday, SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said the bloom had worsened in some areas, but had improved in others, with 27 per cent of the state's coastline impacted. He said authorities were now conducting testing at 76 different locations for Karenia mikimotoi, and were carrying out separate tests for brevetoxins near oyster and mussel harvesting sites. "What we have seen with the 76 locations is that in many of them, the algae presence has gone up, and in many of them they have gone down — which is very much a demonstration of the pulsating nature of the algal bloom," Mr Malinauskas told a media conference on Thursday. "The algal bloom is constantly moving, it's not stationary. "It will pulsate as the conditions around it change." He said there were 17 sites being tested in metropolitan Adelaide waters. "Of those 17 sites, we saw an increase in eight of them and a decrease in nine … so one down more than there's one up," he said. "But I don't think that allows us to say it's going away. Mr Malinauskas said among the small glimmers of hope was the fact that 100 per cent of mussel farms were in operation, with the brevetoxin clearing in Boston Bay, Brickers Island and the lower Eyre Peninsula in and around Port Lincoln. He said 10 per cent of the oyster industry was closed, and the remaining 90 per cent was open. Earlier this week, the state government announced it would create a new artificial reef off the South Australian coast to help the state's recreational fishing sector battle the ongoing impacts of the algal bloom. The $300,000 reef is part of $28 million in state and federal government funding. "The idea of re-establishing reefs as soon as we see this bloom pass is a really important one," SA Environment Minister Susan Close said on Sunday. "The faster we can accelerate that recovery, the faster we'll all be able to move past the experience of this bloom and also make ourselves more resilient in the event that it returns."
ABC News
02-08-2025
- ABC News
Family that had three organ transplants advocates for more donors
The anxious wait for an organ transplant is something no family wants to experience, but the Stolker family has endured it three times. Joe Stolker has had a kidney transplant and his wife Leonnee and their son Levi have both had heart transplants. She said waiting for an available organ and undergoing transplant surgery were incredibly difficult and having to watch her child go through the same process was even harder. But after three successful organ transplants, the Stolkers say they've been given a new lease on life. The Tamworth family is campaigning for organ donation awareness for the 1,800 other Australians who remain on the transplant waitlist. In 2011, Ms Stolker began suffering heart failure just weeks before giving birth to her son. Doctors informed her she would require a heart transplant after she gave birth. "We spent almost six weeks in the hospital after Levi was born, doctors couldn't figure out why a young fit mum suddenly had heart failure," Ms Stolker said. She said she could barely nurse her newborn as doctors searched for a new heart. It took roughly eight months after Levi was born for a suitable heart to be found. "It was scary, there was lots of unknowns, what was causing it or why," Ms Stolker said. "I almost felt selfish in a way. You are so looking forward to that call but at the same time, you know what needs to happen for that organ to become available. "You definitely feel the grief, excited isn't the right word, but it gives you a chance at a future." Ms Stolker later underwent genetic testing in 2016 and was diagnosed with a rare genetic mutation of the phospholamban (PLN) gene in the heart. The condition occurs when the heart is missing an essential protein, making it pump harder and become enlarged. Ms Stolker's sister was also diagnosed with the rare condition and had to have a heart transplant. Ms Stolker said it was likely their father died from the same disease. Earlier this year, Ms Stolker and her husband discovered Levi was suffering from similar heart failure symptoms. Ms Stolker found out her son Levi had inherited the mutation. "I always hoped I would never have to go through it again with Levi … emotionally it's different when it's your own child," she said. Levi had experienced shortness of breath after a school hike, prompting a visit to the hospital where doctors told him he would need to be placed on the transplant list. "It was pretty scary, I was anxious, but I felt like I was more confident it would be fine after having two parents who were transplant patients," Levi said. Ms Stolker said the doctors gave them a timeframe of 12 to 18 months for a new heart. Luckily, it only took a fraction of that time. "We tried to suppress our emotions [during the wait], just so we could be there for Levi and support him," Ms Stolker said. After undergoing the lifesaving transplant in May, the 14-year-old is checking off recovery milestones quicker than anyone could have expected. A keen rugby union player, Levi hopes he'll be back on the football field as early as next month. "I love being active, getting around, playing sports and just getting amongst it all," he said. Mr Stolker knows all too well the experience of an organ transplant, not only from watching his wife and son go through it, but from his own experience having a kidney transplant in 2017. He had focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), which led to kidney failure and being placed on dialysis for six years. "My kidneys basically deteriorated over time … it might have been hereditary, it might have been because of a knock to the kidneys," he said. Mr Stolker said the entire family was incredibly grateful to the people who donated their organs and the medical staff who ensured they had successful transplants. Mr Stolker said the family wanted to raise awareness of the life-changing impact an organ donation could have and encourage Australians to be donors. The Stolkers are launching a rugby union match next month in Tamworth, with all the proceeds going towards Transplant Australia. Not-for-profit organ donation awareness organisation DonateLife said just a small conversation could lead to amazing stories like the Stolker family's. "On average, 50 people a year will die whilst waiting on the transplant list," said Juliana Celcer, DonateLife's director of nursing. She encouraged people to have a conversation with their family about becoming an organ donor. When a family member is a registered donor, eight out of 10 families agree to donation.
The Advertiser
29-07-2025
- The Advertiser
Author Jackie French wants you to find the champion who'll make 2026 count
Jackie French wants you to think long and hard about who you nominate for Australian of the Year. And it's not because she found her time as Senior Australian of the Year in 2015 such hard work. It's because of all the things she was able to achieve in those 12 months. Nominations for the 2026 Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia's Local Hero close at midnight on July 31. The only way someone can be considered for the annual awards, which were first presented in 1960, is if a member of the public nominates them. A decade after she received the honour, as she encourages Australians to think about who to nominate for the 2026 awards, French has recalled her own award's impact on her work. The environmental campaigner and author of novels like The Whisperer's War and beloved children's books like Diary of a Wombat spent her time as Senior Australian of the Year promoting literacy and urging others to recognise the transformational power of reading, creativity and storytelling in the lives of young people. And everywhere she went, people listened to her. "One of the hard things, though, when you're an advocate and you've got a short period of time is that some things can just be done with the stroke of a ministerial pen," she said. "Getting dyslexia classified as a disability, getting the way teachers are trained changed, getting a prototype of what that could look like." Having overcome dyslexia herself, she's passionate about having it recognised more easily in schools so that as many children as possible can get help early. CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE SOMEONE NOW! "I think I expected that within a couple of weeks or a couple of months, everything would change. And of course, it hasn't. People have to be trained. People have to be trained to actually train the trainers, who then need to train the teachers," she said. "[But] it's the way that teaching reading and writing in our schools is changing because of the work I did that year." But she also saw other changes happen quickly. "You can get things done. [For example] speaking to the Northern Territory chief minister, in a very Northern Territory way - he was actually holding a beer at a backyard barbecue - about why my literacy needed to be taught in prisons, which was one of the other things I campaigned for," she said. "I went to prisons and drug rehabilitation areas around Australia, finding out that just about every person in a medium security prison wasn't able to read or write. "And just at the barbecue, the chief minister said, 'Well, they're doing nothing else but sitting on their arses, aren't they?' He calls over his PA or whatever it was and said, 'We'll get it done'." But she cringed at the memory of being invited to the Lodge and lambasting then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at his approach to changing copyright laws, even while she was shaking his hand. "I'm still very embarrassed ... but it was the only way. I knew that greeting or shaking hands was the only time I was going to give a meeting with him." She also played a role in reversing a proposal for a mine near her home in Majors Creek, NSW, to process cyanide upstream of the community's drinking water. And she still cherished the memory of realising that she and her fellow recipients were, for the first time, all women. "We did an enormous amount of work," she said of the ensuing 12 months. "It was absolutely gruelling work that we did to get the projects going, and we kept checking on each other, just saying, basically, how are you going? "And I suspect we may have been the only group of recipients who did that, and I think it was again, because we were all women." READ THEIR STORIES In the same year, she was named National Children's Laureate, and said she found the double responsibility quite overwhelming. "I really urge people to nominate, but when you nominate, remember the criteria," she said. "This isn't for someone who has done something wonderful. That's what all of the awards are for - the King's birthday awards and things like that, for what people have already done when you nominate them. "Nominate someone who can use that year to really, really make a difference." Help find the 2026 Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia's Local Hero by nominating someone you admire. The only way someone can be considered for the annual awards, which were first presented in 1960, is if a member of the public nominates them. Nominate online at or scan the QR code on this page. Nominations close at midnight on July 31. Jackie French wants you to think long and hard about who you nominate for Australian of the Year. And it's not because she found her time as Senior Australian of the Year in 2015 such hard work. It's because of all the things she was able to achieve in those 12 months. Nominations for the 2026 Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia's Local Hero close at midnight on July 31. The only way someone can be considered for the annual awards, which were first presented in 1960, is if a member of the public nominates them. A decade after she received the honour, as she encourages Australians to think about who to nominate for the 2026 awards, French has recalled her own award's impact on her work. The environmental campaigner and author of novels like The Whisperer's War and beloved children's books like Diary of a Wombat spent her time as Senior Australian of the Year promoting literacy and urging others to recognise the transformational power of reading, creativity and storytelling in the lives of young people. And everywhere she went, people listened to her. "One of the hard things, though, when you're an advocate and you've got a short period of time is that some things can just be done with the stroke of a ministerial pen," she said. "Getting dyslexia classified as a disability, getting the way teachers are trained changed, getting a prototype of what that could look like." Having overcome dyslexia herself, she's passionate about having it recognised more easily in schools so that as many children as possible can get help early. CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE SOMEONE NOW! "I think I expected that within a couple of weeks or a couple of months, everything would change. And of course, it hasn't. People have to be trained. People have to be trained to actually train the trainers, who then need to train the teachers," she said. "[But] it's the way that teaching reading and writing in our schools is changing because of the work I did that year." But she also saw other changes happen quickly. "You can get things done. [For example] speaking to the Northern Territory chief minister, in a very Northern Territory way - he was actually holding a beer at a backyard barbecue - about why my literacy needed to be taught in prisons, which was one of the other things I campaigned for," she said. "I went to prisons and drug rehabilitation areas around Australia, finding out that just about every person in a medium security prison wasn't able to read or write. "And just at the barbecue, the chief minister said, 'Well, they're doing nothing else but sitting on their arses, aren't they?' He calls over his PA or whatever it was and said, 'We'll get it done'." But she cringed at the memory of being invited to the Lodge and lambasting then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at his approach to changing copyright laws, even while she was shaking his hand. "I'm still very embarrassed ... but it was the only way. I knew that greeting or shaking hands was the only time I was going to give a meeting with him." She also played a role in reversing a proposal for a mine near her home in Majors Creek, NSW, to process cyanide upstream of the community's drinking water. And she still cherished the memory of realising that she and her fellow recipients were, for the first time, all women. "We did an enormous amount of work," she said of the ensuing 12 months. "It was absolutely gruelling work that we did to get the projects going, and we kept checking on each other, just saying, basically, how are you going? "And I suspect we may have been the only group of recipients who did that, and I think it was again, because we were all women." READ THEIR STORIES In the same year, she was named National Children's Laureate, and said she found the double responsibility quite overwhelming. "I really urge people to nominate, but when you nominate, remember the criteria," she said. "This isn't for someone who has done something wonderful. That's what all of the awards are for - the King's birthday awards and things like that, for what people have already done when you nominate them. "Nominate someone who can use that year to really, really make a difference." Help find the 2026 Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia's Local Hero by nominating someone you admire. The only way someone can be considered for the annual awards, which were first presented in 1960, is if a member of the public nominates them. Nominate online at or scan the QR code on this page. Nominations close at midnight on July 31. Jackie French wants you to think long and hard about who you nominate for Australian of the Year. And it's not because she found her time as Senior Australian of the Year in 2015 such hard work. It's because of all the things she was able to achieve in those 12 months. Nominations for the 2026 Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia's Local Hero close at midnight on July 31. The only way someone can be considered for the annual awards, which were first presented in 1960, is if a member of the public nominates them. A decade after she received the honour, as she encourages Australians to think about who to nominate for the 2026 awards, French has recalled her own award's impact on her work. The environmental campaigner and author of novels like The Whisperer's War and beloved children's books like Diary of a Wombat spent her time as Senior Australian of the Year promoting literacy and urging others to recognise the transformational power of reading, creativity and storytelling in the lives of young people. And everywhere she went, people listened to her. "One of the hard things, though, when you're an advocate and you've got a short period of time is that some things can just be done with the stroke of a ministerial pen," she said. "Getting dyslexia classified as a disability, getting the way teachers are trained changed, getting a prototype of what that could look like." Having overcome dyslexia herself, she's passionate about having it recognised more easily in schools so that as many children as possible can get help early. CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE SOMEONE NOW! "I think I expected that within a couple of weeks or a couple of months, everything would change. And of course, it hasn't. People have to be trained. People have to be trained to actually train the trainers, who then need to train the teachers," she said. "[But] it's the way that teaching reading and writing in our schools is changing because of the work I did that year." But she also saw other changes happen quickly. "You can get things done. [For example] speaking to the Northern Territory chief minister, in a very Northern Territory way - he was actually holding a beer at a backyard barbecue - about why my literacy needed to be taught in prisons, which was one of the other things I campaigned for," she said. "I went to prisons and drug rehabilitation areas around Australia, finding out that just about every person in a medium security prison wasn't able to read or write. "And just at the barbecue, the chief minister said, 'Well, they're doing nothing else but sitting on their arses, aren't they?' He calls over his PA or whatever it was and said, 'We'll get it done'." But she cringed at the memory of being invited to the Lodge and lambasting then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at his approach to changing copyright laws, even while she was shaking his hand. "I'm still very embarrassed ... but it was the only way. I knew that greeting or shaking hands was the only time I was going to give a meeting with him." She also played a role in reversing a proposal for a mine near her home in Majors Creek, NSW, to process cyanide upstream of the community's drinking water. And she still cherished the memory of realising that she and her fellow recipients were, for the first time, all women. "We did an enormous amount of work," she said of the ensuing 12 months. "It was absolutely gruelling work that we did to get the projects going, and we kept checking on each other, just saying, basically, how are you going? "And I suspect we may have been the only group of recipients who did that, and I think it was again, because we were all women." READ THEIR STORIES In the same year, she was named National Children's Laureate, and said she found the double responsibility quite overwhelming. "I really urge people to nominate, but when you nominate, remember the criteria," she said. "This isn't for someone who has done something wonderful. That's what all of the awards are for - the King's birthday awards and things like that, for what people have already done when you nominate them. "Nominate someone who can use that year to really, really make a difference." Help find the 2026 Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia's Local Hero by nominating someone you admire. The only way someone can be considered for the annual awards, which were first presented in 1960, is if a member of the public nominates them. Nominate online at or scan the QR code on this page. Nominations close at midnight on July 31. Jackie French wants you to think long and hard about who you nominate for Australian of the Year. And it's not because she found her time as Senior Australian of the Year in 2015 such hard work. It's because of all the things she was able to achieve in those 12 months. Nominations for the 2026 Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia's Local Hero close at midnight on July 31. The only way someone can be considered for the annual awards, which were first presented in 1960, is if a member of the public nominates them. A decade after she received the honour, as she encourages Australians to think about who to nominate for the 2026 awards, French has recalled her own award's impact on her work. The environmental campaigner and author of novels like The Whisperer's War and beloved children's books like Diary of a Wombat spent her time as Senior Australian of the Year promoting literacy and urging others to recognise the transformational power of reading, creativity and storytelling in the lives of young people. And everywhere she went, people listened to her. "One of the hard things, though, when you're an advocate and you've got a short period of time is that some things can just be done with the stroke of a ministerial pen," she said. "Getting dyslexia classified as a disability, getting the way teachers are trained changed, getting a prototype of what that could look like." Having overcome dyslexia herself, she's passionate about having it recognised more easily in schools so that as many children as possible can get help early. CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE SOMEONE NOW! "I think I expected that within a couple of weeks or a couple of months, everything would change. And of course, it hasn't. People have to be trained. People have to be trained to actually train the trainers, who then need to train the teachers," she said. "[But] it's the way that teaching reading and writing in our schools is changing because of the work I did that year." But she also saw other changes happen quickly. "You can get things done. [For example] speaking to the Northern Territory chief minister, in a very Northern Territory way - he was actually holding a beer at a backyard barbecue - about why my literacy needed to be taught in prisons, which was one of the other things I campaigned for," she said. "I went to prisons and drug rehabilitation areas around Australia, finding out that just about every person in a medium security prison wasn't able to read or write. "And just at the barbecue, the chief minister said, 'Well, they're doing nothing else but sitting on their arses, aren't they?' He calls over his PA or whatever it was and said, 'We'll get it done'." But she cringed at the memory of being invited to the Lodge and lambasting then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at his approach to changing copyright laws, even while she was shaking his hand. "I'm still very embarrassed ... but it was the only way. I knew that greeting or shaking hands was the only time I was going to give a meeting with him." She also played a role in reversing a proposal for a mine near her home in Majors Creek, NSW, to process cyanide upstream of the community's drinking water. And she still cherished the memory of realising that she and her fellow recipients were, for the first time, all women. "We did an enormous amount of work," she said of the ensuing 12 months. "It was absolutely gruelling work that we did to get the projects going, and we kept checking on each other, just saying, basically, how are you going? "And I suspect we may have been the only group of recipients who did that, and I think it was again, because we were all women." READ THEIR STORIES In the same year, she was named National Children's Laureate, and said she found the double responsibility quite overwhelming. "I really urge people to nominate, but when you nominate, remember the criteria," she said. "This isn't for someone who has done something wonderful. That's what all of the awards are for - the King's birthday awards and things like that, for what people have already done when you nominate them. "Nominate someone who can use that year to really, really make a difference." Help find the 2026 Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia's Local Hero by nominating someone you admire. The only way someone can be considered for the annual awards, which were first presented in 1960, is if a member of the public nominates them. Nominate online at or scan the QR code on this page. Nominations close at midnight on July 31.
