Tim Flannery at the 5th World Conference of Science Journalists, 2007
Born	Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (1956-01-28) 28 January 1956 (age 56) Melbourne, Victoria
Nationality	Australian
Known for	Public speaking on the environment
Website
www.timflannery.com.au www.climatecommission.gov.au
Notes [1]

Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist and global warming activist. He is the Chief Commissioner of the Australian Climate Commission, an independent body providing information on climate change to the Australian public.

Flannery was named Australian of the Year in 2007^[2] and is currently a professor at Macquarie University. He is also the chairman of the Copenhagen Climate Council, an international climate change awareness group.^[3] His sometimes controversial views on shutting down conventional coal fired power stations for electricity generation in the medium term are frequently cited in the media.

Background[link]

Flannery was raised in a Catholic family in the Melbourne suburb of Sandringham, close to Port Philip Bay, where he learned to fish and scuba dive and became aware of marine pollution and its effects on living organisms. He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at La Trobe University^[4] in 1977, and then took a change of direction to complete a Master of Science degree in Earth Science at Monash University in 1981. He then left Melbourne for Sydney, enjoying its subtropical climate and species diversity.^[5] In 1984, Flannery earned a doctorate at the University of New South Wales in Palaeontology for his work on the evolution of macropods (kangaroos).

Flannery has held various academic positions throughout his career. he spent many years in Adelaide, including a spell as Professor at the University of Adelaide, and several years as Director of the South Australian Museum. He was also Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Museum, and an adviser on environmental issues to the Australian Federal Parliament. In 1999 he held the year-long visiting Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University.

In 2007, he became Professor in the Climate Risk Concentration of Research Excellence at Macquarie University. Flannery is also a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, and a Governor of WWF-Australia. He has contributed to over 90 scientific papers.

Flannery is an advisor on climate change to outgoing South Australian Premier Mike Rann, and is a member of the Queensland Climate Change Council established by the Queensland Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation Andrew McNamara. In February 2011 it was announced that Flannery had been appointed to head the Climate Change Commission established by Prime Minister Julia Gillard to explain climate change and the need for a carbon price to the public.^[6] This legislation is now passing through Parliament.

Flannery is married to Alexandra Szalay. She coauthored his 1998 book Tree Kangaroos: a Curious Natural History. He lives in a house with environmental features at Coba Point on the Hawkesbury River, 40 km north of Sydney, accessible only by boat. Critics have suggested it is quite close to the waterline if his predictions of sea level rise are borne out.^[7]

Climate Commission[link]

On February 10, 2011, Professor Tim Flannery was appointed as the Chief Commissioner of the Climate Commission by the Australian Government. The Commission is a panel of leading scientists and business experts who provide an authoritative, independent source of information for all Australians. The Commission is an independent body which does not comment on government policy.

Scientific contributions[link]

Mammalogy[link]

Flannery's early research concerned the evolution of mammals in Australasia. As part of his doctoral studies, he described 29 new kangaroo species including 11 new genera and three new subfamilies. In the 1990s, Flannery published The Mammals Of New Guinea (Cornell Press) and Prehistoric Mammals Of Australia and New Guinea (Johns Hopkins Press), the most comprehensive reference works on the subjects. Through the 1990s, Flannery surveyed the mammals of Melanesia – discovering 16 new species – and took a leading role in conservation efforts in the region.^[8]

The specific name of the Greater Monkey-faced Bat (Pteralopex flanneryi), only described in 2005, honours Tim Flannery.^[9]

Flannery's work prompted Sir David Attenborough to describe him as being "in the league of the all-time great explorers like Dr David Livingstone".^[10]

Palaeontology[link]

In 1980, Flannery discovered dinosaur fossils on the southern coast of Victoria and in 1985 had a role in the ground-breaking discovery of Cretaceous mammal fossils in Australia. This latter find extended the Australian mammal fossil record back 80 million years. During the 1980s, Flannery described most of the known Pleistocene megafaunal species in New Guinea as well as the fossil record of the phalangerids, a family of possums.^[8]

Tim Flannery was awarded humanist of the year in 2005 for his outstanding work in zoology.

Work on population and land use[link]

In 1994, Flannery published The Future Eaters: an Ecological History of the Australasian Lands and People, and provides a sweeping glimpse of land, flora, fauna and people of the long past up to the present.

The synopsis of the work regards three waves of human migration in these regions. These waves of people Flannery describes as “future eaters”. The first wave was the migration to Australia and New Guinea from south-east Asia approximately 40 000 – 60 000 years ago. The second was Polynesian migration to New Zealand and surrounding islands 800 – 3500 years ago.^[11] The third and final wave Flannery describes is European colonisation at the end of the eighteenth century.

Flannery describes the evolution of the first wave of future-eaters:

Sixty thousand or more years ago human technology was developing at what we would consider to be an imperceptible pace. Yet it was fast enough to give the first Australasians complete mastery over the ‘new lands’. Freed from the ecological constraints of their homeland and armed with weapons honed in the relentless arms race of Eurasia, the colonisers of the ‘new lands’ were poised to become the world’s first future eaters.^[12]

While the book continues to be controversial in some of its hypotheses, it is a call to arms to preserve the Australasian natural heritage ^[13] – and by extension global natural heritage.

Perhaps his most controversial hypothesis regards early Australian Aboriginal history; Flannery paints an intriguing picture. Based on new sediment core studies, the continent up until 100,000 years ago had much greater expanses of rainforest than after Aboriginal arrival. He poses the “possibility” did Aborigines through firestick farming alter the ecology of Australian flora and fauna? ^[14] Flannery links other circumstantial evidence to the puzzle predisposing his hypothesis, such as the continent’s long suffering poor soils, historical extinction events of other continents and tens of thousands of years of fire adaptation.^[15]

Flannery also argues the hypothesis that at current population growth rate levels, Australasia is living beyond its population carrying capacity, to the extent that its biological stability has been damaged. European colonisation of Australia and New Caledonia brought its own artefacts and ways suitable in the ‘old world’, and yet struggle to adapt its “culture to biological reality”.^[16] This reality is evident in Australia, where unpredictable climate combined with a lack of natural life giving resources have created a flora and fauna that have adapted over millennia to be extraordinarily efficient in the consumption of energy.^[17]

The Future Eaters enjoyed strong sales and critical acclaim. Redmond O'Hanlon, a Times Literary Supplement correspondent said that "Flannery tells his beautiful story in plain language, science popularising at its antipodean best". Fellow activist David Suzuki praised Flannery's "powerful insight into our current destructive path". Some experts disagreed with Flannery's thesis, however, concerned that his broad-based approach, ranging across multiple disciplines, ignored counter-evidence and was overly simplistic.^[18]

The Future Eaters was made into a documentary series for ABC Television and was republished in late 2002.

Views on environmental issues[link]

Species acclimatisation[link]

The Chacoan Peccary can be brought from Paraguay to North America, to replace the extinct Flat-headed Peccary

In The Future Eaters, Flannery was critical of the European settlers introducing non-native wild animals into Australia's ecosystem. At the same time, he suggested that if one wanted to reproduce, in some parts of Australia, the ecosystems that existed there ca. 60,000 years ago (before the arrival of the humans on the continent), it may be necessary to introduce into Australia, in a thoughtful and careful way, some non-native species that would be the closest substitutes to the continent's lost megafauna. In particular, the Komodo dragon can be brought into Australia as a replacement for its extinct relative, Megalania, "the largest goanna of all time". The Tasmanian devil could also be allowed to re-settle the mainland Australia from its Tasmanian refuge area.^[19]

In The Eternal Frontier, Tim Flannery made a proposal for what later became nicknamed "Pleistocene Rewilding": restoring the ecosystems that existed in North America before the arrival of the Clovis people and the concomitant disappearance of the North American Pleistocene megafauna ca. 13,000. He wonders if, in addition to the wolves that have been already re-introduced to Yellowstone National Park, ambush predators, such as jaguars and lions should be reintroduced there as well, in order to bring the number of elks under control. Furthermore, the closest extant relatives of the species that went extinct around the Clovis period could be introduced to North America's nature reserves as well. In particular, the Indian and African elephants could substitute, respectively, for the mammoth and the mastodon; the Chacoan Peccary, for its extinct flat-headed cousin (Platygonus compressus). Llamas and panthers, who still survive outside of the USA, should too be brought back to that country.^[20]

Carbon emissions[link]

In The Weather Makers: The History & Future Impact of Climate Change, Flannery outlined the science behind anthropogenic climate change. "With great scientific advances being made every month, this book is necessarily incomplete," Flannery writes, but "That should not, however, be used as an excuse for inaction. We know enough to act wisely."

Concepts outlined in the book include:

• That a failure to act on climate change may eventually force the creation of a global carbon dictatorship, which he calls the "Earth Commission for Thermostatic Control", to regulate carbon use across all industries and nations – a level of governmental intrusion that Flannery describes as "very undesirable";^[21] and

• the establishment of "Geothermia" – a new city at the NSW-South Australia-Queensland border – to take advantage of the location's abundance of natural gas reserves, geothermal and solar energy. Flannery argues that such a city could be completely energy self-sufficient, and would be a model for future city development worldwide. Of the city project, Flannery told The Bulletin that "I know it's radical but we have no choice".

The book won international acclaim. Bill Bryson concluded that "It would be hard to imagine a better or more important book." The Weather Makers was honoured in 2006 as 'Book of the Year' at the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards.^[22]

Flannery's work in raising the profile of environmental issues was key to his being named Australian of the Year in 2007. Awarding the prize, former Prime Minister John Howard said that the scientist "has encouraged Australians into new ways of thinking about our environmental history and future ecological challenges."^[23]

That said, Howard – along with many others – remains unconvinced as to Flannery's proposed solutions. Flannery joined calls for the cessation/reduction of conventional coal-fired power generation in Australia in the medium term, the source of most of the nation's electricity. Flannery claims that conventional coal burning will lose its social license to operate, as has asbestos.^[24]

In response to the introduction of proposed clean coal technology, Tim Flannery has stated: "Globally there has got to be some areas where clean coal will work out, so I think there will always be a coal export industry [for Australia] ... Locally in Australia because of particular geological issues and because of the competition from cleaner and cheaper energy alternatives, I'm not 100 per cent sure clean coal is going to work out for our domestic market."^[25]

In 2006 Flannery was in support of nuclear power as a possible solution for reducing Australia's carbon emissions,^[26][27] however in 2007 changed his position against it.^[28] In May 2007 he told a business gathering in Sydney that while nuclear energy does have a role elsewhere in the world, Australia's abundance of renewable resources rule out the need for nuclear power in the near term. He does however feel that Australia should and will have to supply its uranium to those other countries that do not have access to renewables like Australia does.^[29]

In May 2008 Flannery created controversy by suggesting that sulphur could be dispersed into the atmosphere to help block the sun leading to global dimming, in order to counteract the effects of global warming.^[30]

Sustainable whaling[link]

When, in the concluding chapters of The Future Eaters (1994), Flannery discusses how to "utilise our few renewable resources in the least destructive way", he remarks that

A far better situation for conservation in Australia would result from a policy which allows exploitation of all of our biotic heritage, provided that it all be done in a sustainable manner. ... [I]f it is possible to harvest for example, 10 mountain pygmy-possums (Burramys parvus) or 10 southern right whales (Balaena glacialis) per year, why should we not do it? ... Is it more moral to kill and consume a whale, without cost to the environment, than to live as a vegetarian in Australia, destroying seven kilograms of irreplaceable soil, ... for each kilogram of bread we consume?^[31]

In late 2007, Flannery suggested that the Japanese whaling involving the relatively common Minke Whale may be sustainable:

In terms of sustainability, you can't be sure that the Japanese whaling is entirely unsustainable... It's hard to imagine that the whaling would lead to a new decline in population^[32]

This raised concerns among some scientists, and environmental groups such as Greenpeace,^[33][34] fearing it could add fuel to the Japanese wish of continuing its annual cull. In contrast to his stance on the Minke Whale quota, Flannery has expressed relief over the dumping of the quota of the rarer Humpback Whale,^[32] and further was worried how whales were slaughtered, wishing them to be "killed as humanely as possible".^[35] Flannery suggested that krill and other small crustaceans, the primary food source for many large whales and an essential part of the marine food chain, were of greater concern than the Japanese whaling.^[35]

Activism[link]

Flannery has achieved a prominence through his environmental activism. His advocacy on two issues in particular, population levels and carbon emissions, culminated in being named Australian of the Year at a time when environmental issues were becoming prominent in Australian public debate.

He is a member of the World Future Council.

Humanitarian[link]

In 2009, Flannery joined the project "Soldiers of Peace", a move against all wars and for a global peace.^[36][37]

Awards[link]

• Edgeworth David Medal for outstanding research in zoology
• Centenary of Federation Medal for his services to Australian science
• Colin Roderick Award, Foundation for Australian Literary Studies for Tree Kangaroos (1996)
• First environmental scientist to deliver the Australia Day address to the nation (2002).
• Australian Humanist of the Year (2005)
• NSW Australian of the Year (2006)
• Australian of the Year (2007)
• NSW Premier’s Literary Prizes for Best Critical Writing and Book of the Year (The Weather Makers, 2006).
• US Lannan Award for Non-fiction works (2006).
• The New York Times bestseller list (The Weather Makers)
• Order of St Charles, Monaco

Bibliography[link]

• Tim Flannery (1990 – revised 1995), Mammals of New Guinea, ISBN 0-7301-0411-7
• Tim Flannery (1994), The Future Eaters: An Ecological History of the Australasian Lands and People, ISBN 0-8021-3943-4 ISBN 0-7301-0422-2
• Tim Flannery (1995), Mammals of the South-West Pacific & Moluccan Islands, ISBN 0-7301-0417-6
• Tim Flannery, Roger Martin and Alexandra Szalay. (1996) Tree Kangaroos: a Curious Natural History
• Tim Flannery (1998), Throwim Way Leg: An Adventure, ISBN 1-876485-19-1
• Tim Flannery (2001), The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and its Peoples, ISBN 0-8021-3888-8
• Tim Flannery & Peter Schouten (2001), A Gap in Nature, ISBN 1-876485-77-9
• Tim Flannery & Peter Schouten (2004), Astonishing Animals, ISBN 1-920885-21-8
• Tim Flannery (2005), Country: a continent, a scientist & a kangaroo, ISBN 1-920885-76-5
• Tim Flannery (2005), The Weather Makers: The History & Future Impact of Climate Change, ISBN 1-920885-84-6
• Tim Flannery (2007), Chasing Kangaroos: A Continent, a Scientist, and a Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Creature, ISBN 978-0-8021-1852-3
• Tim Flannery (2008), Quarterly Essay, Now or Never: A sustainable future for Australia?. ISBN 978-1-86395-271-2
• Tim Flannery (2009), Now or Never: A sustainable future for Australia?. Melbourne: Black Inc. Books. ISBN 978-1-86395-429-7
• Tim Flannery (2009), Now or Never: Why we need to act now for a sustainable future, ISBN 978-1-55468-604-9
• Tim Flannery (2010), Here on Earth, ISBN 978-1-921656-66-8

In addition, Flannery has edited and introduced:

• The Birth of Melbourne, ISBN 1-877008-89-3
• The Birth of Sydney, ISBN 1-876485-45-0
• The Explorers, ISBN 1-876485-22-1
• Watkin Tench, Watkin Tench's 1788, ISBN 1-875847-27-8
• Terra Australis, Matthew Flinders' Great Adventures in the Circumnavigation of Australia, ISBN 1-876485-92-2
• John Morgan, The Life and Adventures of William Buckley, ISBN 1-877008-20-6
• John Nicol, Life and Adventures: 1776–1801, ISBN 1-875847-41-3
• Joshua Slocum, Sailing Alone Around the World, ISBN 1-877008-57-5

Journalism[link]

• "We're Living on Corn!" The New York Review of Books 54/11 (28 June 2007) : 26–28 [reviews Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and Bill McKibben, Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future]
• "The Third Wave", The Monthly, April 2009, on extinction of Australian animals
• "Comment", The Monthly, May 2009, on Carbon Omissions
• "Goodbye to All That" The Monthly, June 2009, reviews The Vanishing Face of Gaia by James Lovelock

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Tim Flannery

• Official website
• Climate Commission
• The Weather Makers book website
• Tim Flannery lecture online, RMIT School of Applied Communication Public Lecture series
• National Australia Day Council – Australian of the Year 2007
• NSW Ministry for the Arts – NSW Premier's Literary Awards Winners
• The Story of Tim Flannery by Our World in Balance
• A talk with Tim Flannery podcast interview with La Trobe University, 27 July 2008.
• Flannery author page and article archive from The New York Review of Books

Video[link]

• Tim Flannery on SlowTV
• Address from Professor Tim Flannery at University of Technology, Sydney, recording of live speech, 22 May 2008
• Tim Flannery interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
• Tim Flannery interview on Democracy Now! program, 25 October 2007
• APEC Singapore 2009 The business of climate: A look to technology
• Councillor at World Future Council
• Keynote address at Alfred Deakin Lecture series "Innovation in Changing Climate
• Tim Flannery: Here on Earth (ABC Radio National), 23/9/2010

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)

Raymond Morris Hadley OAM (born 27 September 1954) is an Australian talkback radio broadcaster. He presents 2GB Sydney's morning show, and leads the Continuous Call Team, a rugby league-based talkback radio panel program.

Early life[link]

Hadley was born in Paddington and grew in up in Dundas Valley in the western suburbs of Sydney but spent a great deal of time with his grandparents in a small village called Eungai Rail on the mid north coast of New South Wales.^[1]

He decided at a young age to become a sports broadcaster, but reports being questioned by his family and friends whenever his ambitions were brought up. After sitting his Higher School Certificate at Macquarie Boys High School in 1971, he tried unsuccessfully to gain a job in sports broadcasting. He soon found work in auctioneering, and after getting his auctioneer's licence, was an auctioneer for ten years.

He quit auctioneering to become a taxi driver, so that he could spend his weekends getting casual work as a race broadcaster. By 1980, he was calling the greyhound races at Appin, Bulli and Nowra.

In 2010, Tim Elliott (Sydney Morning Herald) described him as the "...right wing.... brawler of the airwaves." ^[1]

Radio career[link]

2UE[link]

One day, while driving his taxi, he was called to Radio 2UE in Sydney to pick up news director Mark Collier, who gave him casual work at the station. Within a month, he was presenting traffic reports for Gary O'Callaghan's breakfast program, and did on-air promotions for various 2UE programs. He eventually landed up as an understudy race caller, behind Des Hoysted and John Tapp.

In 1987, Hadley was chosen to head up 2UE's Rugby League coverage: The Continuous Call Team. The station had ratings victories 10 out of the 13 years 2UE had the rights to cover the game during his tenure.In 1994, he was the first league broadcaster since Frank Hyde to attract 200,000 listeners per quarter hour. During that time, he was also understudy and fill-in presenter for morning show presenter John Laws.

In 1999, 2UE lost the rights to the National Rugby League to 2GB. Faced with a difficult challenge to retain listeners, 2UE asked Hadley to present a rugby league program without access to the actual game. Despite this hurdle, the renamed Talking League Team won every rating period during 2000 and 2001. At times 2GB complained that the frequent "updates" given on the show extended to near real time commentary, which 2UE denied.

During his time at 2UE, Ray also broadcast at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was commentating on Cathy Freeman's memorable 400m race, where she had won gold. Freeman had later heard the replay of the race, and said that Ray's call made it sound better than she thought it was.

2GB[link]

In December 2001, Hadley joined 2GB to present the weekend rugby league coverage but when fellow 2UE presenter Alan Jones came to 2GB in April 2002 Ray accepted an offer to present the morning show as well.

His talkback show started as a traditionally local, community and state-based current affairs oriented - but over the past two years he has extended his program to networks stations in regional NSW, Queensland and the ACT.

His favourite music genre is country and western (both traditional and modern) - especially new releases and some old favourites but would occasionally play nostalgic 50's 60's and 70's radio-friendly pop hits. Hadley's opening theme is "Murrumbidgee" by one of his favourite country groups, The Wolverines, who are also great mates, while the closing theme is the world famous country instrumental "Last Date" from renowned country pianist Floyd Cramer.

In 2009 Hadley started broadcasting to a wider audience. His program from 9am to midday is also broadcast to stations across Rural NSW, Queensland and parts of Victoria and through Canberra station 2CC. Those stations are part of the Southern Cross network owned by Macquarie Bank Media and Capital Radio and are some of the stations which also broadcast the Continuous Call Team.

While Hadley achieved a new milestone in May 2009 when his 2GB morning show ratings reached 19.1% (the best figure for a morning show since John Laws topped 20% in the early 1980s, and back then there were no FM stations in the Sydney market), he bettered it two years later when in May 2011 he became the highest ever listened to radio announcer in Australian radio, commanding an unprecedented 20.1%.^[2]

Awards[link]

He has been named the best Radio Sports Broadcaster at the "Rawards" for the 8 out of the past 11 years, and was awarded an Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Queen's Birthday 2002 Honours List for services to rugby league (as a broadcaster) and the community, through fundraising initiatives for charitable organisations.

Hadley won an accolade at the 2006 ACRAs (also known as the RAWARDS) for "Best Current Affairs Presenter". He won that award again 2009 and became the first radio broadcaster to win both that award and best sports commentator. He has won 20 major ACRA Radio awards since 1987.

Television[link]

After initially commencing as a sports reporter on Channel 7, Ray was recruited to Channel 9 by having his profile catapulted onto the small screen as part of The Footy Show with his radio and rugby league colleague Steve "Blocker" Roach from 1994 to 1998. Ray made a one-off appearance on The Footy Show in 2005 as part of a forum to discuss brawling and antagonism between Bulldogs supporters at Telstra Stadium during a game against the Brisbane Broncos. Ray also branched out into TV commercials and for 17 years was spruiking the popular menswear establishment Lowes.

During 2010, he had appeared on the Matty Johns Show on the Seven Network, a NRL focoused programme hosted by Matthew Johns.

Also in 2010, Hadley was signed by Sky News Australia to present a weekly current affairs programme entitled Hadley!. The programme aired on Wednesday nights.^[3] He resigned from Sky News Australia after only 4 episodes reportedly due to 'differences' and staff not wanting to work with him. In October 2011, Hadley was signed up by Channel Nine to commentate on the 2011 Rugby World Cup semi-final match between the Wallabies and the All Blacks.

In 2012, he returned to The Footy Show as a panelist on the Five in the Bin segment. As of round three of the 2012 NRL season, Ray Hadley will commentate alongside Peter Stirling and Paul Vautin on Channel Nine's rugby league coverage.

Olympics[link]

Hadley has covered the Summer Olympic Games since 1992. It was during the coverage of the Olympic Games in 2004 that Hadley referred to one of his colleagues as a spastic. Hadley claimed to be embarrassed by his behaviour and offered an apology.

Personal[link]

Hadley has four children. Emma and Sarah to wife Suzanne, with whom he reconciled after a short split in early 2011^[4] and Daniel and Laura, from his first marriage to Anne Marie that ended in 1992.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ray Hadley's Official Website
• Ray Hadley at the Internet Movie Database
• 2GB 873 AM

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2010)

Jackie Greene
Jackie Greene performing
Background information
Born	(1980-11-27) November 27, 1980 (age 31) Salinas, California United States
Genres	Americana, roots rock, blues
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, musician
Instruments	Guitar, piano, keyboards, harmonica, mandolin, banjo, drums
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Dig Music, Verve Forecast, 429 Records
Website	www.jackiegreene.com

Jackie Greene is an American singer-songwriter and musician.

Career[link]

Greene was born Chris Nelson ^[1][2] in Salinas, California, and developed an interest in music at an early age, starting with the piano. At 14, he began to play guitar and within a short time, was able to sit in with local bar bands. As he got older, he began composing his own songs. He recorded in a makeshift garage studio, burning his own CDs and selling them everywhere he could. Using the money he saved, Greene was eventually able to record and release his first full-length album, Rusty Nails, on his own.

After graduating from Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, California, Greene moved to Sacramento, where he began performing regularly. Marty DeAnda, owner of local label DIG Music, noticed Greene at an open-mic session in 2001 and signed him as the label's first artist. In late 2002, Greene released his first album with DIG, Gone Wanderin', which won the California Music Award for the Best Blues/Roots Album in 2003 and remained on the national Americana charts for over a year. In 2004, Greene released his third album, Sweet Somewhere Bound, and began receiving radio play for singles like "Honey I Been Thinking About You".

Greene has toured nationally with B.B. King, Phil Lesh, Ratdog, Huey Lewis, Susan Tedeschi, Taj Mahal, and Buddy Guy, and has played major U.S. festivals, including All Good, Gathering of the Vibes, Mountain Jam, Grateful Garcia Gathering, Newport Jazz, Newport Folk, South by Southwest, Wakarusa, Winnipeg Folk, Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, and Rothbury.

In early 2005, he signed with a major record label, Verve Forecast. Sweet Somewhere Bound was reissued that year, followed by a new release, American Myth, in March 2006.^[3] The following year, Greene joined Phil Lesh and Friends, the Grateful Dead bassist's ensemble dedicated to the interpretation of the Dead's extensive song book. Other members of the band at the time included John Molo, Larry Campbell and Steve Molitz. Also in 2005 his song "I Will Never Let Go" was used in the score for the movie Brokeback Mountain winning the Academy Award in 2005 for Best Original Score, and which was also released on the Verve label.

Meanwhile, Greene continued to pursue solo efforts, releasing Giving Up the Ghost on 429 Records in April 2008, and made his second visit to Late Night With Conan O'Brien in June 2008, performing "Like A Ball & Chain". Another song from the album, "I Don't Live in a Dream", was featured on episodes of the NBC television series Life in November 2008 and ABC's Private Practice in March 2009.

In October through November 2009, Jackie Greene played a series of shows with Gov't Mule, culminating at the end of the tour on Halloween at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, during which Jackie played and sang through an entire set of Rolling Stones songs with Gov't Mule.^[4]

The Jackie Greene band currently features Nathan Dale on guitar, Jeremy Plog on bass, Steve Taylor on keyboard, and Zack Bowden on drums. They tour nationally, but perform most often in northern California. In their home territory they are usually sold out.

Greene is currently a member of Trigger Hippy along with Joan Osborne, Steve Gorman, Audley Freed, and Nick Govrik.

Discography[link]

• Gone Wanderin' (2002)
• Rusty Nails (2003)
• Sweet Somewhere Bound (2004)
• American Myth (2006)
• Giving Up the Ghost (2008)
• Till the Light Comes (2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website — jackiegreene.com
• Jackie Greene on MySpace
• phillesh.net
• Live Performance on the Music Exchange from July 4, 2005
• Jackie Greene collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive

Since 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day (26 January), during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual Australia Day celebrations. The official announcement has grown to become a major public event, with thousands of onlookers witnessing the televised ceremony in Canberra. The award offers an insight into Australian identity, reflecting the nation’s evolving relationship with world, the role of sport in Australian culture, the impact of multiculturalism, and the special status of Australia’s Indigenous people. It has also provoked spirited debate about the fields of endeavour that are most worthy of public recognition. In this way the awards have advanced a national conversation. "Money and power aren't the point here. The rich have no place on the list. Raw success isn't enough. There has to be something more, some sense of distinction that lifts a candidate out of the ruck of the famous."^[1]

The Awards have served an important role in drawing attention to Australia’s national day which, despite very strong participation has struggled to find a rich resonance with all Australians. The award program has also grown in importance as a way of promoting active citizenship and recognising role models. Three companion awards have been introduced, recognising both Young and Senior Australians, and proclaiming the efforts of those who work at a grass roots level through the ‘Australia's Local Hero’ award.

With over fifty years of history^[2] and a high public profile, the Australian of the Year Awards are unique around the world. It is unusual for such a program to have broad public support and the endorsement of its national government. In the USA the Time Magazine ‘Man of the Year’ (more recently ‘Person of the Year’) predates the Australian award by 33 years, but the Time award has not been reserved for any particular nationality. Furthermore, it does not necessarily focus on positive role models and has chosen such figures as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Elsewhere, the Canadian Club of Toronto honours a 'Canadian of the Year', but the award does not have a strong link with the national government. Since 2004 the ‘Great Britons’ awards program has honoured such figures as author J.K. Rowling and Olympian Sebastian Coe, but relies almost entirely on financial support from the bank Morgan Stanley and the newspaper The Daily Telegraph. The Australian of the Year award receives substantial sponsorship from private companies, including a relationship in excess of thirty years with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, but its close association with the Australian Government ensures that its profile and reputation is significantly enhanced. "Nothing comes with this office except an inscribed chunk of green glass. There's no title; no stipend; no uniform; no official residence; nothing to pin in the lapel; and only the haziest of duties. What the winners are given is a voice."^[1]

Awards history[link]

1960s[link]

During the 1960s, a network of state-based organisations worked hard to increase the profile of Australia Day. The most active and best resourced of these was the Victorian Australia Day Council, which had grown out of the Australian Natives Association. In January 1960 the council’s chairman, the unabashed patriot Sir Norman Martin, announced the introduction of a new annual award for the ‘Australian of the Year.’ He explained that Australia Day was a fitting occasion on which to give proper recognition to a leading citizen, whose contribution to the nation’s culture, economy, sciences or arts was particularly outstanding.

The first Australian of the Year Sir Macfarlane Burnet, Australian of the Year 1960

For the first two decades the Australian of the Year was chosen by a panel of five, which included the Victorian Premier, the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, the Vice Chancellor of Melbourne University, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne and the President of the National Council for Women. Although the panel was certainly distinguished, it would in time become too closely associated with Melbourne to be appropriate for a national award. The panel’s first choice of Nobel Prize winning immunologist Sir Macfarlane Burnet gained general approval. The editors of The Age proclaimed the new honour was symptomatic of Australia’s growing confidence as a nation: ‘We are beginning to count for something in the world and we should be intensely proud of this fact.’^[3]

Sir Robert Helpmann, Australian of the Year 1965

International achievement remained a key criterion during the award’s first decade. Several sporting heroes were honoured, from America's Cup skipper Jock Sturrock and swimmer Dawn Fraser, to world champion motor racer Sir Jack Brabham and boxer Lionel Rose. The pioneering neurologist Sir John Eccles followed Burnet’s example, becoming the second of five Australians to take out the Nobel Prize/Australian of the Year double. Achievers in the artistic realm were also well represented, including opera singer Joan Sutherland, renowned dancer and choreographer Robert Helpmann and the chart-topping singing group The Seekers. The focus on international achievement reflected the philosophy of the award organisers, who described the Australian of the Year as ‘the person who has brought the greatest honour to Australia in the year under review.’^[4]

1970s and 1980s[link]

During its first two decades, the Australian of the Year award grew steadily in national prominence, but it increasingly suffered from its close association with the Victorian Australia Day Council. This fact became abundantly clear in 1975 when the newly formed Canberra Australia Day Council named a rival Australian of the Year. The Canberra council was run by a vibrant group of Canberrans, who pursued a more progressive agenda than their Victorian counterparts. In particular, the Canberra council was sympathetic to the emerging republican movement, while the Victorian council was staunchly committed to constitutional ties with Britain. The Victorian council also battled a common perception that it was an exclusive organisation that represented the Melbourne Establishment. Australia’s turbulent political climate nourished this division and the Australian of the Year award was embroiled in a wider debate about Australian nationalism.

Between 1975 and 1979, the Canberra Australia Day Council named four Australians of the Year. Prime Minister Gough Whitlam lent his support to the new award when he presented the inaugural honour to Major General Alan Stretton, the commander of the emergency response to Cyclone Tracy. The Canberra council also made good use of the federal parliamentary press boxes to promote its award to the national media. The Victorian council was singularly unimpressed that a rival Australia Day organisation had copied its idea – in 1978 it described its own winner, Dame Rae Roe, as ‘the real Australian of the Year.’ The impasse was only resolved when the Fraser Government created the National Australia Day Council (NADC) in 1979. The Victorian council willingly transferred responsibility for its award to the new national body, while the Canberra council agreed to discontinue its rival program. In 1982 the Victorian council was further sidelined when John Cain’s Australian Labor Party created a new Victorian Australia Day Committee within the Premier’s Department, which joined the NADC’s official national network.

The NADC made immediate changes to the selection process, appointing an independent panel of ten leading Australians from diverse fields. Despite this rigorous approach, the panel’s first choice of historian Manning Clark did not please conservative politicians, as Clark had been critical of the Fraser Government’s social policy. If nothing else, the controversy was a clear sign that the award had become a prominent and valued feature of the Australia Day celebrations. In time the selection of the annual winner fell to the board of the NADC itself, whose members are appointed by the Prime Minister of the day. Former NADC chairman Phillip Adams recalls that heated debates were common. Typically the Australian of the Year was chosen at a special two-day board meeting, which Adams likened to the election of a Pope: ‘We would go into conclave, there would be lots of hot air, then a puff of smoke.’^[5]

During the 1980s, there was an expectation that corporate sponsorship would replace Government funding and that the NADC would become self-sufficient. The list of former Australians of the Year provides circumstantial evidence of this shift towards a more popular imperative. Economist Sir John Crawford and judge Sir Edward Williams thoroughly deserved their awards, but were perhaps not well placed to promote the importance of Australia Day to mainstream Australia, or to secure corporate sponsorship for the NADC. Subsequent winners included marathon runner Robert de Castella, comedian Paul Hogan, singer John Farnham and cricketer Allan Border, who were far more likely to attract public attention. In 1988 the Sydney Morning Herald editors expressed concern at this development: ‘One worrying trend with the award is its attachment to ratings. This year’s candidates appear to have been people who held high public profiles.’^[6] Yet the steadily rising numbers of nominations indicated that the award was capturing the public imagination.

1990s[link]

During the 1990s, the Australian of the Year award intersected noticeably with the politics of national identity. In its attempt to encourage unified national celebrations, the NADC was a strong promoter of both multiculturalism and reconciliation. The council was also linked to the growing republican movement and the campaign to change the national flag. Australians of the Year in this period included Yothu Yindi lead singer and prominent aboriginal identity Mandawuy Yunupingu, environmentalist and republican Ian Kiernan and Chinese-Australian paediatrician John Yu. Yunupingu’s award continued a strong tradition of honouring Indigenous Australians. The first Aboriginal winner was boxer Lionel Rose, who quipped: ‘One hundred and eighty-two years ago one of my mob would have been a dead cert’ for this.’^[7] Since then a further seven Indigenous people have been named Australian of the Year, for achievements in sport, music, politics, law, public service and academia. Many have played a role in Indigenous advocacy and some have raised concerns about the celebration of Australia Day on 26 January, most notably the 1985 recipient Lowitja O'Donoghue.

2000s onwards[link]

Fiona Stanley, Australian of the Year 2003 running with Summer Olympic Torch 2008

Debates about the Australian of the Year award often revolve around the relative balance between sport, science and the arts. Fourteen winners have excelled in sports as diverse as cricket, [swimming, athletics, sailing, tennis, boxing and motor racing. A recurring criticism that sport features too regularly peaked in 2004, when Steve Waugh was the fourth sporting winner in seven years and the third Test Cricket Captain to be honoured. Despite the perception of an over-emphasis on sport, the list of past winners reveals a strong endorsement for scientific achievement; by 2009 thirteen Australian scientists have received the honour, including a remarkable ten from the medical sciences. A long-term view also reveals that Australia’s talented artists have not been neglected; ten winners have excelled in creative pursuits, including six musicians, a dancer, a painter, a comedian and a Nobel Prize winning novelist.

Dame Joan Sutherland, Australian of the Year 1961

Many Australians of the Year do not fit neatly into categories such as sport, science and the arts. Phillip Adams once described the past winners as ‘an eclectic collection of people who reflect the diversity of achievement in this country.’^[8] Australians of the Year have also excelled in public administration, the military, social and community work, business enterprise, academia, religious leadership and philanthropy. There has been relatively little public debate about the gender balance of past winners. In 1961 several news outlets incorrectly referred to Sir Macfarlane Burnet as ‘Man of the Year’; the mistake was not allowed to continue, as Joan Sutherland took out the second award, but it is certainly true that women are under-represented. By 2009, 11 winners out of a total of 56 were women.

While the selection of a single Australian of the Year is bound to stimulate debate, the awards program as a whole recognises a much wider range of achievement. In 1979 the NADC named its first ‘Young Australian of the Year,’ community service volunteer Julie Sochacki. Twenty years later the veteran country music star Slim Dusty received the inaugural ‘Senior Australian of the Year’ award. In 2003 the NADC introduced an award for ‘Australia's Local Hero’, which honours outstanding contributions to local communities. With four award categories and a system of state and national finals, the NADC now recognises a total of 128 inspiring Australian role models every year.

Young Australian of the Year[link]

For the first twenty years of the Australian of the Year Awards there was no specific honour reserved for younger Australians. Nevertheless, in this period several young sports stars won the main award, including Dawn Fraser, Shane Gould, Lionel Rose and Evonne Goolagong. Gould remains the youngest person to be named Australian of the Year.

Jessica Watson, Young Australian of the Year 2011

Shortly after the formation of the NADC in October 1979, the Northern Territory representative Dr Ella Stack convinced her fellow board members to introduce a new award that focussed specifically on the achievements of younger Australians. The inaugural winner, youth unemployment worker Julie Sochacki, was named Young Australian of the Year in January 1980. The NADC coordinated the announcement with the Victorian Australia Day Council, which chose the Australian of the Year for the last time. The following year, the NADC assumed responsibility for both awards.

Senior Australian of the Year[link]

Maggie Beer, Senior Australian of the Year 2010

The Senior Australian of the Year award initially had no connection with the NADC. When the United Nations declared 1999 the ‘International Year of Older Persons,’ the Minister for Aged Care Bronwyn Bishop approached National Seniors Australia with a plan to increase the prominence of the award. The Department of Health and Ageing took over responsibility for the program and Prime Minister John Howard presented the award to veteran country music star Slim Dusty in October 1999. Bishop arranged for the NADC to administer the program on behalf of the Department of Health and Ageing, but the award continued to be presented in October, with no discernible link to Australia Day. Three years later the NADC streamlined its awards programs. The council was running three separate awards, as even the Young Australian of the Year was announced earlier in January and had a separate nominations process. The Senior Australian of the Year announcement moved from October to January (skipping 2002 altogether) and joined the other two awards. By integrating the various programs, the NADC increased the prominence of the companion awards by announcing them at the same function as the Australian of the Year. Since then, many remarkable Senior Australians have been honoured on a national stage on Australia Day Eve.

Australia's Local Hero[link]

As the status of the Australian of the Year award grew, it became more common for critics to call for lesser-known winners whose achievements were not otherwise recognised. The NADC was certainly not dismissive of the this view.

In 2003, the NADC addressed the issue by introducing a fourth award category known as the ‘Local Hero Award.’ The new award was part of a shift in thinking at the NADC towards the key goal of promoting good citizenship. It provides an important national forum for acknowledging those who work for the benefit of their fellow citizens.

Choosing the winners[link]

Unsurprisingly, the process of choosing the Australian of the Year has evolved considerably over half a century, including both the make-up of the selection committee and the system of nominations. In the 1960s Sir Norman Martin usually insisted that the decision of the small Victorian selection committee was unanimous. If this is true, then it is in stark contrast to the selection process in the 1990s, when Phillip Adams recalls that heated debates were common. In 1980 the NADC had formed an independent panel to decide the award, but eventually the selection fell to the NADC board itself. Typically the matter was considered at a special two-day board meeting, which Adams likened to the election of a new Pope: ‘We would go into conclave, there would be lots of hot air, then a puff of smoke.’^[5]

The most significant change in the selection procedure has been expansion of the nomination process. In the 1960s and 1970s, the committee usually chose the winner from a relatively small list of nominees; for example, in 1971 Evonne Goolagong edged out only 18 other nominees.^[9] At a meeting in 1982, the directors of the NADC and its state based affiliates identified low nominee numbers as a cause for concern.^[10] The problem persisted and board members were regularly encouraged to spread the word and encourage nominations.^[11] A public relations report commissioned in 1989 recommended greater community involvement in the nominations process: ‘Allow the “ordinary” citizens of Australia a chance to vote for, or in some way have a say in, who should be Australian of the Year.’^[12] During the 1990s glossy brochures calling for nominations were distributed well in advance of the awards deadline.

More recently, the NADC has realised that the nominations process is important not only to the integrity of its various awards, but is also a crucial means of engaging with the Australian community. In 2004 NADC Chair Lisa Curry-Kenny proudly reported that nominations had doubled from the previous year: ‘This is a key indication that increasing numbers of Australians of all walks of life are actively engaging with the awards program.’^[13] Public interest in the awards serves a much broader purpose, as NADC Chief Executive Warren Pearson explains: ‘The awards program is not primarily about choosing four national recipients; it is about engaging with Australians about citizenship.’^[14] The introduction of the Local Hero award was directed towards this goal, as were various other changes made in 2004. Most importantly, the NADC introduced a new selection process based around state finals. This approach meant a more prominent role for the state-based Australia Day councils and committees, which now oversee the selection of the finalists and host official functions to announce the contenders in November each year. The NADC board now only chooses between the eight state finalists in each category and organises the national announcement in January.

Statistical profiles[link]

These summary data were compiled from the List of Australian of the Year Award recipients.^[15]

Award by Category

Award by Gender

Contemporary governance[link]

The National Australia Day Council (NADC) has administered the Australian of the Year awards program since 1979, when it inherited the responsibility from Victoria’s Australia Day Council. The NADC’s mission statement demonstrates how the awards program fits its wider purpose:

The National Australia Day Council works with and for the people and government of Australia to:

• Unite all Australians through celebration with a focus on Australia Day;
• Promote the meaning of Australia Day through activity, education, reflection, discussion and debate; and
• Promote good citizenship, values and achievement by recognising excellence and service to the communities and the nation.^[16]

The third of these aims is predominantly addressed through the Australian of the Year Awards, which offer a high profile moment for the celebration of outstanding achievement. The awards greatly assist the NADC in its central task, which is aptly summarised by its Chief Executive Warren Pearson: ‘On 26 January each year, the National Australia Day Council encourages Australians to celebrate what’s great about Australia and being Australian.’.^[17] The Australian of the Year Awards have certainly attracted controversy and criticism, but in doing so they have advanced a national conversation – they have encouraged citizens of this country to consider, who are the ‘Australians who make us proud’?

Selection criteria[link]

There has also been a significant shift in the criteria for the Australian of the Year award in fifty years. Initially the focus was on awarding the person who had ‘brought the greatest honour to Australia.’^[18] This emphasis on international acclaim was gradually relaxed and Australian-based achievement was recognised more often from the 1970s onwards. The official criteria have usually been suitably broad in their scope, so changes in approach are largely attributable to the membership of the NADC board and the political climate of the time. In the mid-1980s there was a notable shift towards high profile winners, while in the 1990s some of those honoured reflected the prominent political issues of republicanism and reconciliation. Currently, the selection committees refer to three main criteria when considering nominees:

• Demonstrated excellence in their field;
• Significant contribution to the Australian community and nation; and
• An inspirational role model for the Australian community.

The third of these criteria supports the NADC’s key goal of encouraging good citizenship.

Announcement[link]

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Australian of the Year award was presented at Melbourne’s Australia Day Luncheon, which was held in either the Town Hall or the Royale Ballroom. The winner was usually announced about two weeks earlier at a function that provided an opportunity to promote the upcoming Australia Day celebrations. This event was a public relations exercise that attempted to capture the imagination of the media and the nation, but in 1966 a journalist from The Age did not follow the script, preferring to poke fun at the stage-managed event:

Awards Announcement, Australia Day Eve 25 January 2005

The patriotic tension in the boardroom on the 8th floor of the Australian Natives’ Association building in Elizabeth Street yesterday morning was being stretched to breaking point. From four corners of the room hung Australian flags. At the Head of the long boardroom table sat Sir Norman Martin, chairman of the Australia Day Council. …

There had been intense speculation earlier as to what the “special uniformed messenger” would be wearing when he arrived bearing a sealed envelope containing the Australian of the Year decision. … He was made to walk from the lift door to Sir Norman twice to satisfy other television cameramen, until, rather thankfully, he at last handed the envelope over.

It was somehow an anticlimax when Sir Norman demanded: “Do you bear a message from the Premier?”

“Yes” said the messenger meekly, and as Sir Norman announced the winner to be Robert Helpmann, a shower of prepared press releases announcing the same thing landed gently on the table in front of the waiting pressmen.

—^[19]

Since the 1960s, the annual announcement has become progressively more sophisticated. After the NADC took over in 1980 it usually presented the award at an Australia Day concert, which moved around the nation and was often televised. In the 1990s an Australia Day breakfast at Admiralty House in Sydney was the usual venue for the announcement, but more recently the concert has been revived and is held in the national capital.

A highly memorable Australian of the Year function occurred in 1994, when the guest of honour was the His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. The Australian of the Year, environmentalist (and republican) Ian Kiernan, sat on the stage after receiving his award, when a gunshot was heard and an assailant rushed toward Prince Charles. Kiernan jumped to his feet and wrestled the intruder to the ground with the assistance of New South Wales Premier John Fahey. Kiernan later recalled: ‘the Premier and I lay on the stage, panting as the adrenalin began to flow, and wondering what to do next.’^[20] As it turned out, the man was armed only with a toy cap pistol, but the incident was a serious security breach and somewhat upstaged Kiernan’s award.

Since 2004 the award presentation has been held on Australia Day Eve in Canberra. The 32 finalists enjoy an eventful day including morning tea with the Prime Minister at The Lodge, and lunch with the Governor General at Yarralumla. The winners are announced on a specially erected stage in front of Parliament House, witnessed by a crowd of thousands and a national television audience. Specially produced video packages describe the winners in each of the four categories. The scale of the event displays a marked contrast to Sir Norman Martin’s modest press conferences of the 1960s.

Medallions and trophies[link]

The various medallions and trophies that have been presented to the Australians of the Year over fifty years are, in themselves, an interesting insight into changing understandings of what it means to be Australian. Reflecting his lofty ambitions for the new award, Sir Norman Martin announced a ‘world-wide competition’ to design the inaugural trophy in 1960.^[21] Sir Norman hoped to attract entries from the world’s finest artists, but the eventual winner was Victor Greenhalgh, the head of the Arts School at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Greenhalgh designed a bronze medallion, which reflected the prevailing mood as to the importance of Australia Day: its most prominent feature was a likeness of Governor Arthur Phillip, who was described on the medal as ‘The Outstanding Australian [of] 1788.’^[22] In 1961 The Age reported that Sir Macfarlane Burnet was anxious when a photographer asked him to display the medallion at the awards ceremony: ‘The nervous scientist, whose hand with a pipette would be as steady as a rock, fumbled the medal and dropped it under the table.’^[23]

Greenhalgh’s bronze medallion was presented to winners of the Victorian-based Australian of the Year award for two decades. When the NADC assumed responsibility in 1980, it apparently overlooked the issue of a trophy, so Manning Clark received a framed certificate. For the 1986 award to Dick Smith, the NADC commissioned artist Michael Tracey to produce a more appropriate trophy, which the council described in its journal Australia Day Update: ‘The trophy, symbolising achievement, incorporates a figure holding the Australian flag. The figure is made from steel and the lettering is in pewter.’^[24] In the bicentenary year Tracey was asked to cast his trophy in bronze instead of steel.

In the early 1990s the NADC commissioned glass sculptor Warren Langley to create a new trophy based on the updated Australia Day logo. NADC Chairman Phillip Adams had been criticised for removing the Australian flag from the logo and replacing it with a hand reaching for a star.^[25] After Adams resigned his position in 1996, the NADC asked Langley to produce an alternative trophy, which featured a map of Australia.^[26]

Melbourne-based artist Kristin McFarlane designed the current Australian of the Year trophy in 2004.^[27] Like Langley, McFarlane works with glass, but she is also trained as a graphic designer; she combines both text and images and sets them in kilned glass to produce striking works of art. The task of designing a new trophy prompted McFarlane to think more deeply about national identity than she had before: ‘It made me look at Australian identity and think about what was an Australian? Who is the archetypal Australian?’ She quickly realised that an image of one person, or even a group of people, would not work, and that her images needed to be generic. She decided to use a map of Australia: ‘It is one of the oldest continents in the world and it is a very recognisable form for anyone who lives here.’^[28] McFarlane also chose to use the text of the National Anthem, but gave particularly prominence to the lesser-known second verse.

Australians of the Year Walk[link]

Australians of the Year Walk (2948676741)

The "Australians of the Year Walk" in Canberra was designed by the National Capital Authority^[29] and comprises a series of plinths, seats and lighting. Incorporated in the pathway are five metal strips set flush in the concrete, representing the five music stave lines. The plinths are placed in musical note position to the score of Advance Australia Fair (Australia's national anthem). Fixed to each plinth is an anodised aluminium plaque containing the names and images of the Australians of the Year. There is one plaque for each year of the award. The plaques are arranged chronologically, starting at the western end of the path near Commonwealth Avenue Bridge. The lake side is bordered by white paving stones, the land side by a white paved walkway.

The Walk is situated along a straight section of shoreline on Lake Burley Griffin between the National Library of Australia and the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge( 35°17′42″S 149°07′44″E / 35.295°S 149.129°E / -35.295; 149.129 (Australians of the Year Walk)Coordinates: 35°17′42″S 149°07′44″E / 35.295°S 149.129°E / -35.295; 149.129 (Australians of the Year Walk)).

The Walk was opened by the then Prime Minister of Australia John Howard, on Australia Day, 26 January 2006.

The Australians of the Year Walk is on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra.

In December 2007 journalist Mark McKenna visited the Australian of the Year Walk and interpreted it as a highly symbolic form of national memorial. The empty bollards stretching into the distance particularly intrigued McKenna:

These blank plaques – memorials to the future – stand as if waiting for the years to pass before they can be filled in and become whole. Yet strangely they seem more intriguing than the plaques that precede them. It is possible to imagine the line of blank plaques stretching on endlessly, and their emptiness begs the question: What sort of nation will Australia become over the next few decades?

—^[30]

Defining Australia[link]

The Australian of the Year Awards represent only one of many ways in which national identity is expressed, but after fifty years they have become a significant part of the ongoing conversation about Australia’s past, present and future. The awards have also attracted the interest of foreigners, including BBC correspondent Nick Bryant, who recently observed that the awards program ‘offers an intriguing perspective on the Australian national character, which is both reinforcing and revelatory.’^[31]

The Sydney Morning Herald critic who in 1960 lambasted the ‘all-Victorian’ selection panel for the inaugural award, also offered a more general critique of the proposed honour: ‘It is seldom that one citizen is so obviously raised above his fellow-men as to deserve solemn investment with the title of the most representative or meritorious Australian.’^[32] The journalist correctly forecasted that it would be almost impossible to choose a universally acceptable winner; but perhaps he overlooked the potential of the award to promote productive debate about Australian identity. Critics of the Australian of the Year are inevitably drawn into a national conversation about active citizenship and about what it is that Australians value about individual achievement and effort. There might not be consensus, but the awards encourage a conversation about national identity and the values of a civil society. In this way, the Australian of the Year Awards have inherent value, which is largely independent of the choices made by the selection committee each year.

Nevertheless, an ongoing challenge faced by the NADC is that it is hard to represent the diversity of Australian achievement when there is only one winner per category in each year. The ongoing debates about the numbers of winners from the sciences, arts and sport are evidence of this. In the future, these debates might revolve around other issues, including gender balance and ethnic diversity. Awards Director Tam Johnston suggests that the value of the awards program is best measured by consulting the complete list of finalists for each year.^[33] In its 2005 Annual Report the NADC included a summary of the 111 finalists honoured nationally, which revealed a remarkable variety of achievement and a diversity of personal backgrounds.^[34] Importantly, the NADC has recently devoted attention to promoting the state finals, which emphasises the wide variety of achievement that is recognised each year.

Not all of the debate and discussion generated by the awards program has been of a serious nature. A more light-hearted portrait can be found in the award-winning television satire We Can Be Heroes (2005), in which actor Chris Lilley plays five obscure nominees for the Australian of the Year award. One reviewer suggested that Lilley’s creation was both a humorous mockumentary and a serious critique of the awards program: ‘if you want a show that skewers the nation’s pretensions and aspirations, while providing laugh-out-loud comedy, this is the real deal.’^[35] All five characters have in one way or another inspired people in their local community, but none of them appears even a remotely suitable choice for Australian of the Year. Although primarily a vehicle for Lilley’s comic talent, We Can Be Heroes is also a biting critique of what we look for in role models. In contrast, the magazine Eureka Street offers a strong endorsement of the awards program’s potential:

Critics might suggest that the awards are manipulated by politicians, or point to the fact that a number of former recipients such as Alan Bond subsequently fell from grace. But the fact remains that the naming of role models is an important community-building exercise. It assists young people to set goals for themselves, and encourages older people to take pride in what they have achieved.

—^[36]

The editors of Eureka Street suggest that the awards have been successful in achieving one of the core goals of the National Australia Day Council, which is to ‘promote good citizenship, values and achievement by recognising excellence and service to the communities and the nation.’^[37]

See also[link]

• List of Australian of the Year Award recipients
• List of Young Australian of the Year Award recipients
• List of Senior Australian of the Year Award recipients
• List of Australian Local Hero Award recipients
• We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year
• Orders, decorations, and medals of Australia

References[link]

External links[link]

• Australian of the Year website
• Australians of the Year Walk

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