JUST KIDDING....hehehehe
Seriously though it's good to see someone other than a sports star win this award, and it's well deserved!
Who knows maybe next year I'll be nominated
Australian of the Year named
Child health researcher Professor Fiona Stanley has been named Australian of the Year for 2003, while tennis champion Lleyton Hewitt is Young Australian of the Year.
Prime Minister John Howard also announced Bruce Campbell, 71, founder and chairman of the Year of the Outback, as Senior Australian of the Year.
Local Hero of the Year is Brian Parry, 60, from Shoalhaven on the NSW south coast, for his services during the 2001/02 bushfires.
The announcements were made in Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.
Prof Stanley, from Perth, is the founding director of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, and a professor of Paediatrics at the University of Western Australia.
 |
|
Prof Stanley studies the causes and prevention of birth defects and major neurological disorders, particularly cerebral palsies, and patterns of maternal and child health in Aboriginal and other populations.
Others in contention for the award this year were:
* Moira Kelly, a Victorian who has travelled the world helping children from the Third world and war-torn countries receive much needed medical assistance;
* Father Christopher Riley, the finalist from New South Wales, has helped an estimated 40,000 children with his Youth Off The Streets program;
* Singer and songwriter Ted Egan from the Northern Territory was nominated for the top award for his contribution to bridging Aboriginal and other culture over 50 years;
* Professor Frank Fenner, a distinguished microbiologist renowned for the worldwide eradication of smallpox, from the ACT;
* Celebrated speech pathologist Dimity Dornan of Queensland;
* The developer of the Adelaide Centre for Spinal Research Professor Barrie Vernon-Roberts and;
* Psycho-geriatrician Dr John Tooth of Tasmania.
Tennis player Pat Rafter was last year's Australian of the Year.