The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
Member for Fenner
2026 Australian of the Year Awards
Welcome Reception
Australian War Memorial, Canberra
23 January 2026
Good evening everyone.
Thank you for that generous Welcome to Country. I acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, the Traditional Custodians of this land, and pay my respects to Elders past and present.
I also acknowledge John Foreman AM, Chair of the National Australia Day Council, the Board and CEO Mark Fraser AO CVO; the 2025 Australian of the Year recipients and alumni; and, most importantly, the remarkable finalists for the 2026 Awards.
On behalf of Patrick Gorman, the Assistant Minister responsible for Honours policy, I also acknowledge Members of the Order of Australia and all recipients of Australian Honours with us tonight.
Welcome to Canberra.
If you’ve travelled from interstate, thank you for making the journey. For many of you, this may be the last time you’ll come to Canberra without being asked to give a talk or give evidence to a parliamentary committee. Please enjoy that rare freedom.
You will hear people say Canberra is quiet. That is only because they haven’t met this group of Australians.
In the room tonight we have people who have run across the continent, transformed national health outcomes, rebuilt communities, rethought homelessness, reshaped education, strengthened mental health, advanced science, preserved history, fed schoolchildren, delivered hay across drought-stricken regions, and quietly changed the lives of thousands of Australians.
Which means this may be the only room in Australia where “So, what do you do?” is a genuinely intimidating question.
Some of you arrived here after journeys that deserve their own statistics.
Alison Thompson has deployed over 30,000 volunteers to the world’s worst disaster zones – bringing humanitarian assistance and medical aid to over 18 million people.
Rose McGready has spent three decades providing health services to displaced people in the border region between Thailand and Myanmar.
Others came from Hobart, Broome, Katherine or Cunnamulla – which, in Canberra terms, also counts as “a long way”. Especially when you discover that Canberra distances are measured less in kilometres and more in roundabouts.
And then there are achievements that make the rest of us quietly reconsider how we spend our weekends.
Malcolm “Mac” Benoy has spent years patiently digitising 19th-century weather records by hand. If you ever want to know what the weather was like on your great-grandfather’s birthday, Mac is the man to ask.
Rolf Gomes looked at unequal heart health outcomes in rural Australia and thought, “What this really needs is a heart truck,” and then built a fleet of them.
Emily Briffa has built a café that turns disadvantage into opportunity – proving that hospitality can change lives as well as serve excellent coffee. Which immediately puts pressure on the catering tonight.
Carrie Bickmore has raised tens of millions of dollars for brain cancer research, and somehow also convinced Australians that a beanie is formal wear – a legacy that has quietly reshaped the dress standards of half the country.
James Currie has spent a lifetime crafting the sound of Australian cinema – including films so immersive that, if you’re struggling to sleep tonight, he recommends the soothing Australian classic Wolf Creek. Personally, I suggest keeping the lights on.
As a keen runner, I’m delighted that the nominees include not one but two runners.
Ultramarathoner Nedd Brockmann, who can tell you exactly what happens to your toes when you run from Cottesloe to Bondi, at a rate of two marathons a day.
And Ben Alexander, who co-founded Running for Resilience, using running to help people chase away their demons.
My job tonight is to make you feel welcome. Given the collective achievements in this room, I should say upfront that I am aiming for “adequate”, not “inspirational”.
It is perfectly normal to feel nervous.
I can assure you, however, that I am very relaxed.
I cannot win an award.
I do not decide who wins.
And none of my friends from the Parliamentary Press Gallery are here.
Any complaints about the judging process should, of course, be directed to John Foreman.
It is a privilege to welcome you to Canberra, and to do so here, at one of Australia’s most sacred places.
The Australian War Memorial reminds us that the freedoms we enjoy were not inevitable. They were defended, at great cost, by generations of Australians – those born here and those who chose to make this country their home.
Australia is a nation created in peace, defended in war, and strengthened by people from every background.
What unites those remembered in this place and those gathered here tonight is a deep love of country – and a determination to make it better.
That commitment matters especially this year.
The tragedy at Bondi has cast a long shadow. Grief, sadness and anger remain close to the surface.
But so does something else: compassion, care, and that enduring Australian instinct to reach out rather than turn away.
At moments like this, Australians look for examples of what is possible – of courage, generosity and quiet leadership.
They find those examples in you.
The Australian of the Year Awards are when we pause and say, with pride: this is who we are.
A country that believes one person can make a difference.
A country that values service.
A country that understands that progress often begins with someone simply deciding to act.
You have already changed the world for the better.
You have already inspired others.
Even when the work was hard, you kept going.
Even when the task seemed daunting, you persisted.
That optimism is contagious.
Tonight, and over the coming days, Australians will be reminded why this is such a special country.
Thank you for what you do.
Congratulations on being here.
And welcome to Canberra.
We hope you enjoy your stay – and that Canberra proves as welcoming as the Australians we’re here to celebrate.
Ends