Brisbane finalists in 2013 Queensland Australian of the Year Awards congratulated

Premier Campbell Newman today congratulated the nine Brisbane finalists of the 2013 Queensland Australian of the Year Awards.

Mr Newman said “This year we received 427 nominations.  From the nominations, I am proud to congratulate our Brisbane finalists”:

·         Sergeant Dimitrios (Jim) Bellos – Community champion (Calamvale) – Queensland Local Hero finalist

·         John Curro AM MBE – Musical maestro (New Farm) – Queensland Senior Australian of the Year finalist

·         Professor Lisa Gasteen AO – Opera singer (Corinda) – Queensland Australian of the Year finalist

·         Professor Adèle Green AC – Cancer researcher (Toowong) – Queensland Australian of the Year finalist

·         Aunty Joan Hendriks – Reconciliation advocate (Dunwich) – Queensland Senior Australian of the Year finalist

·         Joshua Lang – Gift giver (Loganlea) – Queensland Young Australian of the Year finalist

·         Paul Stanley – Anti-violence campaigner (Thornlands) – Queensland Senior Australian of the Year finalist

·         Charles Thomas – Anti-bullying campaigner (Holland Park) – Queensland Young Australian of the Year finalist

·         Graeme Wood AM – Conservationist and philanthropist (Milton) – Queensland Australian of the Year finalist

“These awards play an important role in recognising and celebrating the extraordinary efforts of Australians who have gone above and beyond and continue to make Queensland and Australia the wonderful place we know and love,” Mr Newman said.

“Each finalist is being honoured for their dedication, passion and commitment in educating, raising awareness and influencing change within our community and as such are incredibly deserving of this recognition.”

One award recipient from each category will be announced at a ceremony in Brisbane on Thursday 15 November 2012. 

The award recipients from Queensland will join other State and Territory recipients as finalists for the national awards, which will be held on 25 January 2013 in Canberra.

“I wish all finalists the best of luck and thank them for their contribution,” Mr Newman said.

The Australian of the Year Awards is a National Australia Day Council program and is proudly supported by the Queensland Government.

More information is available at www.australianoftheyear.org.au

[ENDS] 1 November 2012

Media Contact: 3224 4500

QUEENSLAND FINALIST BIOGRAPHIES

Sergeant Dimitrios (Jim) Bellos – Community champion

Sergeant Jim Bellos is the Queensland Police Service’s cross-cultural liaison officer for southern Brisbane, an area home to 200 communities speaking 150 languages and practising more than 130 religions. Over the years, Jim has built a relationship of trust, respect and understanding between these communities and the police. With endless energy and enthusiasm he establishes community consultative groups, organises multi-faith dinners, supports people through personal and family tragedy and best known of all, runs the For the Love of the Game program. Through the shared enjoyment of sport, particularly soccer, the program brings together more than 8,000 young people from diverse backgrounds and is a real catalyst in breaking down barriers, and has resulted in a substantial decline in youth crime. When the 2011 floods devastated a local sporting store Jim returned from holidays and gathered together 400 volunteers to clean up. On call 24 hours a day, seven days a week Jim’s voluntary work extends far beyond his core work responsibilities.

John Curro AM MBE – Musical maestro

John Curro is both the founder and Director of Music for Queensland Youth Orchestras. Since its inception in 1966, he has conducted the Queensland Youth Symphony. Under his continuing artistic leadership it is regarded as one of the top youth orchestras in Australia and has toured internationally for several decades. Today the Queensland Youth Orchestras consists of three symphony orchestras, two concert bands, a junior string orchestra, a chamber orchestra and a big band comprising more than 500 musicians who perform more than 60 concerts throughout Queensland each year.  Its enduring success and the quality of its students is due in large part to John’s skills as a musician, leader and entrepreneur and his personal philanthropy. He has also conducted Australia’s leading professional orchestras as well as many opera and ballet seasons in Australia. His guest conducting appearances include the London Virtuosi, the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, the Australian and Bavarian Youth Orchestra and the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra. Now in his eighth decade, John’s commitment to young musicians who he teaches and mentors remains undiminished.

Professor Lisa Gasteen AO – Opera singer

Professor Lisa Gasteen is renowned for the glorious dramatic-soprano roles that have seen her perform at the Royal Opera House in London, the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan in New York as well as in Australia. But after an accident interrupted her stellar career four years ago, she has used the enforced sabbatical to channel the tenacity that saw her reach international heights into working with young singers.  She knows from experience that much of a singer's development is often ad hoc or left to chance. Professor of Opera at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, Lisa runs the Lisa Gasteen National Opera School in Brisbane providing aspiring professional singers with a bridge between their formal studies and the opera stage. As the only Australian ever to win the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, Lisa is admired not only for her wonderful voice and exemplary diction but also for her integrity as a performer and colleague. She is making a return to the stage appearing with the Queensland Conservatorium, Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Brisbane Festival.

Professor Adèle Green AC – Cancer researcher

Professor Adèle Green has been at the frontline of melanoma research for 20 years, long enough to see students she has inspired and mentored join the campaign against the disease which is diagnosed in 9,000 Australians every year. As head of cancer and population studies at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Adèle’s research focuses on assessing the impact of environmental factors in the cause and prognosis of melanoma as well as the effect of genes on the development of melanoma. Her research establishing that daily sunscreen use can halve the risk of melanoma set the benchmark for prevention. More recently she was lead author on a study of more than 26,000 Queenslanders diagnosed early with thin melanomas which revealed a heartening 20-year survival rate for 96 per cent of patients. The study received international acclaim and has been described as a blueprint for assessing thin melanomas with a risk of metastatic disease. A brilliant mentor, Adèle has also been recognised for her contribution to public health including Indigenous health and her leadership in the wider scientific community.

Aunty Joan Hendriks – Reconciliation advocate

Aunty Joan Hendriks, a descendant of the Ngugi people of Moreton Bay Queensland, is an inspiring community leader, an outstanding adult educator and passionate advocate for reconciliation achieved through the understanding of cultural differences. She believes sharing cultures, spiritualities and ways of living with the land can be the stepping stones to a united Australia where justice and equity prevails. Since the 1980s she has worked in Aboriginal education in primary and secondary schools, local church and community organisations, in government and internationally at the United Nations Indigenous Peoples Forum. A former student at Brisbane’s Lourdes Hill College where she is now honoured as Elder in Residence, Aunty Joan was awarded the Australian Catholic University’s highest honour, Doctor of the University in 2012. She is also an Elder in the Murri Court at Cleveland where her wisdom and experience contributes to a greater cultural understanding. A consistent advocate for the rights of Indigenous people, Aunty Joan was actively involved in the campaign which saw traditional owners win native title recognition over their lands on North Stradbroke Island.

Joshua Lang, aged 17 – Gift giver

Every Christmas Eve since the age of three, 17 year old Josh Lang returns to the hospital where he was born delivering presents and hampers to the parents of premature babies being cared for in the Special Care Nursery. His connection with Logan Hospital stems from his own premature birth at 28 weeks when, weighing just 1,420 grams and only 40 centimetres long, he was given only a 30 per cent chance of survival. But thanks to the specialist care at the newly opened Special Care Nursery, Josh defied the odds and has thrived and grown into a young man determined to give back to the hospital and the people who cared for him. Understanding the worry and strain that parents of premature babies endure, he delivers his Christmas gifts as a symbol of hope and survival. He wants them to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. With his Christmas Eve tradition now firmly established in the Logan area, Josh also receives donations of gifts from local businesses and clubs to boost his Christmas hampers.

Paul Stanley – Anti-violence campaigner

In 2006 Paul Stanley’s son Matthew was a popular 15-year-old when he was killed by a single punch at a party in suburban Brisbane. Despite their terrible grief, Paul and his wife Kay established the Matthew Stanley Foundation to make young people aware of the dangers of youth violence and equipping them to deal with it. The Foundation works with the police and ambulance services, schools, churches and community to groups to spread the message about violence which include the Party Safe initiative and the One Punch Can Kill campaign. Police cars and ambulances vehicles now carry the stickers urging young people in potentially violent situations to Walk Away Chill Out. In the years since Matthew’s death Paul has spoken to thousands of students using his own tragic loss to emphasise that bad things can happen to good people and that one punch can kill. He also mentors young leaders and has released a documentary telling Matthew’s story called One Punch Did Kill. Paul’s philosophy is if one life is saved it is all worthwhile.

Charles Thomas, aged 21 – Anti-bullying campaigner

Charles Thomas’ indie-rock band The Medics is riding a wave of popularity but away from their convention-defying tunes and energetic performances, Charles took time out to cycle through North Queensland to raise awareness about the crippling impact of bullying. Bullying is now estimated to affect as many as three in 10 high school students and Charles aimed to help equip young people to counter it by encouraging them to build their confidence, self image and well-being. In a trip dubbed Called To the North, bass player Charles cycled 400 kilometres from Townsville to Cairns calling in at schools along the way to spread the anti-bullying message. The self-effacing member of The Medics – who recently completed a sell-out headline tour and released their first album – Charles explains that while he may not be the ‘coolest dude in the world every kid needs a role model and I am passionate for change’. He wants to see an end to bullying in schools so students can realise their potential as the next generation of leaders.

Graeme Wood – Conservationist and philanthropist

Graeme Wood created the concept for, and co-founded, Wotif.com revolutionising the travel industry in Australia. The Global Mail's sole founding philanthropist, Graeme is heavily involved in a range of philanthropic endeavours in the arts, the environment, youth development and medical science. A passionate environmentalist, in 2008 he founded Wild Mob, a not-for-profit, non-political environmental charity. Wild Mob provides student volunteers with the opportunity to undertake scientist-led conservation projects in spectacular wilderness destinations. Graeme’s donation helped establish the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland, which tackles some of the world’s toughest challenges, including population growth, climate change and resource depletion. Equally passionate about the transformative power of the arts, Graeme founded the not-for-profit Artolgy. Its flagship program, WotOpera, enables high school students to work with industry professionals to create their own mini-operas. The program unlocks the teenagers’ innate creativity, boosts their school performance, and builds pathways to higher education. Describing himself as a working class kid from Rockhampton, Graeme has also given $6 million to the University of Queensland to fund research into teenage drug and alcohol abuse.