Who’s your Australian of the Year?
The clock is ticking, but nominations are still open for the 2012 Australian of the Year award. As the August 31 deadline approaches, the list of hopefuls made public includes a range of prominent Australians like professional cyclist and Tour De France winner Cadel Evans and country musician Kasey Chambers.
LGBTI Australians and their supporters featured prominently in last year’s awards.
60-year-old mother Shelly Argent was awarded Senior Australian of the Year for her work as President of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and for advocacy on behalf of the LGBTI community over 12 years.
Argent went on to use the honour to draw attention to the fight for marriage equality through her online I Expect Better campaign, urging Prime Minister Julia Gillard to support marriage equality.
Young Victorian LGBTI activist Micah Scott was a finalist for 2011 Young Australian of the Year for his work as convenor of the Minus18 youth group and in 2011 went on to become the face of the Commonwealth Bank’s Local Heroes campaign.
