Arabic version: هودجسون يتصدر المكرّمين بجوائز أستراليا لعام 2027 في إقليم العاصمة الأسترالية

According to ABC News, human rights lawyer and advocate Martin Hodgson has been named the ACT’s 2027 Australian of the Year, recognised for supporting vulnerable Australians including First Nations people and prisoners with wrongful convictions.

Hodgson, 46, has represented hundreds of clients pro bono through the Foreign Prisoner Support Service and the Disappeared Project, which he co-founded to spotlight First Nations cold cases. He has supported the Bali Nine and journalist Peter Greste, who was imprisoned for 400 days in Egypt, and helped free First Nations man Kevin Henry after he was wrongfully imprisoned for more than 25 years.

Food scientist Andrzej Kilian was named ACT Senior Australian of the Year for work on global food security. Kilian developed a tool to analyse organisms’ DNA, helping farmers, scientists and ecologists improve crop yields. He commercialised the invention in 2001 through Canberra-based social enterprise Diversity Arrays Technology.

Zakary Pino received the ACT Young Australian of the Year award after his weekly Lake Burley Griffin walks, begun in 2021 to address his own loneliness and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic, grew into the charity WITH-ME. The organisation has brought connection to thousands, while Pino also speaks with ACT school students about mental-health taboos.

Micaela Centenera was awarded ACT Local Hero for advocating for mothers’ community and connection through the co-founded social enterprise The Little Capsule Co. The organisation included an online marketplace for new and pre-loved children’s clothing, while Centenera also sends monthly medical, clothing, bedding and toiletry supplies to families facing extreme poverty. The four ACT recipients will attend the national awards in Canberra in January.