AFL great Neale Daniher has been named Australian of the year for 2025. He has been recognised for his dedication to finding a cure for motor neuron disease, an illness he was diagnosed with more than a decade ago. A duo operating a social enterprise café, a young scientist and a man who has provided thousands of children with wheelchairs were also honoured.
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00:00An AFL legend, motor neurone disease campaigner, and now Australian of the Year, Neil Danaher
00:09has been a tireless advocate for finding a cure to the debilitating disease since his
00:15diagnosis in 2013.
00:18It lit a fire within me, a determination to fight for those who are currently affected
00:23and those who will face it after me.
00:26I chose to fight because if I didn't, how could I expect anyone else to?
00:31The former player and coach co-founded Fight MND, which has raised and invested more than
00:36$115 million into medical research.
00:41Our vision is simple, a world without MND.
00:45Some may call it a dream, but I don't believe it's an impossible one.
00:50Dad's always said that this is about those in the future, it was never about himself.
00:54It was a night that celebrated extraordinary Australians.
01:01Brother Thomas Oliver Pickett named Senior Australian of the Year for his commitment
01:06to providing thousands of children around the world with life-changing wheelchairs.
01:10Dr Katrina Ruck is the Young Australian of the Year.
01:14She's transforming lives in remote Indigenous communities with her groundbreaking research
01:20into ways of breaking down harmful chemicals, making water cleaner and safer.
01:25This award is not just for me, it's for the young people daring to dream big and the communities
01:31fighting for justice and the elders who continue to keep the fire burning.
01:36Vanessa Brettel and Hannah Costello were named Australia's Local Heroes.
01:41They run a social enterprise cafe in Canberra, employing women mostly from migrant and refugee
01:47backgrounds.
01:48It's about providing opportunities, stability and hope to people who just like us just want
01:54a chance to make something of their lives.
01:56All now making the most of the national spotlight.
02:00We all have the power to choose to fight, to choose our attitude, to choose to smile
02:06and to choose to do something because their mark of a person isn't what they say, it's
02:12what they do.